New Kickstart Campaign and my story

It’s already Day 8 of my campaign and I’m only finally getting around to writing a blog about it all!
It’s been a crazy couple weeks, no let me take that back. It’s been a crazy few years.
Forgive me for getting vulnerable here, but I figure if you’re actually reading this blog then you probably don’t mind if I tell you the whole story.
The last three years have been hard… I mean really hard. For 23 years I had been a stay-at-home mom. I had 7 kids and I was excited that my youngest was going to be in school full time so I could finally do more with my music.
Instead, the last three years have been filled with amazing trials and struggles including having seizures, getting divorced, fighting for custody of my kids, learning what’s it like to be alone every other week when I’m not with my children, and dealing with judgements from friends, family members and even children that have turned completely away from wanting to have a relationship with me.
It’s been extremely painful and something I never expected I would have to deal with.
At the same time, I found myself not just the mother that I had always been, but also expected to provide for my children’s medical expenses, insurance, food and everything else that my alimony didn’t cover. I had to rely on help in getting food from the Bishop’s storehouse, generosity from amazing friends, and I will never be more grateful for two of the kindest neighbors who allowed my children and I to stay in their home in their basement while we waited to find a place we could afford.
I had a degree in music, but it didn’t seem very helpful in trying to find a good job. Music teachers weren’t in high demand, and though I might have been able to get a job programming, it wasn’t where my heart was, and I only wanted to use it as a fall back, in the case nothing else worked out.
With my Bachelor’s, I was able to get a job working as a special needs teacher’s assistant at a charter school. I had a lot of experience working with special-needs kids, and it was a job that I actually found quite enjoyable. However, during the summer break, I had another set of seizures, and not being able to drive again, I felt like I needed something closer to home. Miraculously, a job opened up for another special needs teacher’s assistant at my children’s Elementary school. It was the perfect job within walking distance and allowed me to be home with my children when were home, and I only had to work when my children were at school.
During that time, I started feeling like it was okay to start sharing more of my music. It was the weirdest prompting, because almost the whole time I was married and had small children, I kept feeling like God was telling me “Wait! It’s not time yet.” I had finally adjusted and stopped thinking about music all the time. I was focused on my children, and with everything that’s happened these last three years, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I was. I have no regrets.
It was hard to just start sharing my music though. I was worried about providing for my kids and I was focused on a lot of other issues.
A few months after I got my job at the Elementary School, I was “asked” to quit. My on-the-job training with seven children clashed with the school education of the teacher. He didn’t feel like I was on his team, but he never even told me there was a problem. I again was out a job, but I felt an amazing peace.  I felt like God was telling me that He had things covered and that I didn’t need to worry about getting another job, that I would be okay.
It was hard for me to trust that feeling when so many people were telling me that I “had” to get another job and that single mothers “have” to work. I was also running out of money fast, and when my son started having to go to Primary Children’s for issues with his heart, I wondered how much longer I could hold on.
I prayed that if I was just being dumb and needed to get a job, that I would start feeling that desire and be able to get one. If not, I prayed God would provide and that I wouldn’t be so stressed about all the bills coming in.
Miraculously, a tax return check came in from 2015 that ended up covering many of the expenses I was having. It also gave me a little bit of a cushion, helping me to again feel peace and know that God was providing and that I shouldn’t fear.
Many miracles have happened over these last three years. A neighbor felt inspired to give me money without even knowing what I was going through. I was given free invitations to attend expensive lectures, and to learn from self-improvement courses. I  also kept receiving scholarships and free tickets to receive special mentoring packages and more expensive training. I never paid for any of the training that I received, but I was going almost monthly to new events, workshops and trainings. I was also receiving mentoring and learning how to be a mentor myself. A friend asked if he could practice life coaching on me as he transitioned from a relationship coach to a life coach. I learned tons of mentoring skills from him, learning the power we have to alter our perceptions, change to a positive mindset and create our own destiny. I could tell Heavenly Father was leading me into mentoring, but I still had no idea of His plan.
At one of the workshops I attended, I learned that sometimes you have to step through a door, not knowing if it’s the right one, and through the door you are better able to see the direction in life that you should go. As I finally picked a door and start walking, I realized how long I had been holding myself back, worried that I would lose talents and gifts that were actually a part of me if I decided to step forward in a new direction. Now I know that music isn’t something that’s just a hobby, or that I just enjoy doing in my spare time, but it’s a part of who I am, and something that I don’t think will ever go away. I love music, and I love sharing the songs that I’ve written.
About 12 weeks ago, I began attending self reliance classes to start my own business. I wanted to figure out a way to combine mentoring with my music, but I was having a hard time figuring it out. Each week I would come up with a new idea that kept changing repeatedly. Two weeks ago, our class talked about different ways of funding our businesses. I didn’t really know about crowdfunding and Kickstarter until that class, and when I learned about it, it felt good… I mean really good.
I figured it would be a good thing for me to do regardless of whether or not I was able to meet my goal. I could get some good publicity and start sharing my music more. If I got funded, then I would finally be able to create a CD of music that I had been wanting to make for over 15 years.
I called up a recording studio to find out how much it would cost to record. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the hourly rate for the studio. I realized I could record my piano CD with just the funds I had in my account. It was a little scary to realize there was nothing holding me back. I scheduled a date for the studio and began pulling out all my sheet music that I had already prepared and had been ready for so long.
I made my Kickstarter campaign about helping me to fund the Vocal CD that I wanted to make. The arrangers told me that it cost $2000-3000 to record a song. I wanted 12 songs and it seemed crazy to do a campaign for $24000! It was just too much to ask. I thought about the piano CD I was making and decided that if I did some of the arranging and recording myself, I could probably get away with asking only $10,000.
Once I got my story on the Kickstarter Campaign, I started looking at rewards I could offer. There were so many things I could share! I was going to have 3 CD’s, and if I was able to get the funding, then I could finish at least one vocal song a month. By the end of the year, I’d be able to have a 4th CD completed, and finally have shared the songs that I’d been waiting so long to record.
I checked out some of my other friend’s Kickstarter campaigns to try and decide what other higher end rewards I could offer. One friend was offering to compose a song. I loved that idea! I even mentioned it in the video I recorded for the Kickstarter campaign in the studio the next day.
I kept thinking about the idea of composing songs for other people. I thought about all the things I’d learned about mindset and positive thinking. I thought about all the personal songs I wanted to share and how much they helped me to be happy and to have hope and courage to get through all the things I had been through. I knew God was helping me through all of it, and that He was inspiring me with the steps I needed to take in order to move forward.
This idea of writing songs for people has really exploded for me. It’s the perfect business that uses all my gifts and talents and allows me to do everything I’ve been wanting to do all along. I would get to record. I could make music videos to inspire hope and encourage people through whatever they are going through. I could share the songs I write on a podcast and showcase the stories not just behind my own songs, but other people’s as well.
These songs have the potential to really touch hearts and to change lives and that’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
Today I revamped my whole Kickstarter campaign to reflect the new ideas I’ve been coming up with. In my last self reliance class, our assignment was to present our business to the group. It really is a miracle that I figured it out just in time. I filmed my presentation, and that’s the video that I put on the Kickstarter site. I hope you’ll watch it.  People get pretty excited about the idea having their own song written for them. I mean, who wouldn’t want a song that’s based on their own story – and something meant to motivate, encourage and inspire them?!
I hope you’ll look at my Kickstarter page. If you feel so inspired, I hope you’ll grab one of the rewards. You can get a monthly inspirational download of one of the songs that I write each month through 2019, or you can get a “Light” Room membership to listen, play and enjoy not just the songs I’ve written already, but all the future songs that I’ll be adding to the site as we go along.
There’s also personal mentoring rewards. I could help you write your own song, or just give you some ideas of how you could change your mindset in order to help you to be happy in whatever circumstances you’re in. My favorite thing of course, would be to write you an inspirational song. I’d love to hear your story and write a song that will help inspire you. I promise those songs will inspire others too, no matter how specific to you they are. Music is powerful in helping the spirit to touch our hearts, even if we don’t want it to. I’ve been so blessed by music and don’t want to ever take it for granted. God gave me this gift, and I’m excited to be an instrument in His hands to share it with others. I hope you’ll support me. Click here to visit the Kickstarter site
Thanks so much for reading! Please do share.