Follow Your Bliss: The Story of Paul Potts

Yesterday’s article was about doing what you love and following your bliss, which is a term developed by Joseph Campbell.

What does following your bliss and doing what you love look like? It obviously is different for every person. But ultimately it will be the best thing you do, because it will allow you to be in alignment with your true nature.

Today, I give you the incredible case study of Paul Potts. Paul was a mobile phone salesman in England with a majestic operatic singing voice, yet lacked the confidence to follow his dream of pursuing a career in opera.

He had sung opera on and off for a few years, but had not sung for years when he decided in 2007 to audition for the British televison show, Britain’s Got Talent, a show similar to the American television show, American Idol.  Both shows feature Simon Cowell as one of the judges.

The first of the above videos is Potts’ audition in front of Cowell and the judges, along with the studio audience of 2,000.

Potts came out, and the judges sized him up. Potts was nervous, and the judges assumed by his temperament and makeup that he would not have much to offer.

But once Paul Potts began to sing, hearts melted and tears flowed out of many people in the audience, including one of the judges. In fact, you will have to see if you can keep dry eyes while watching him sing.

The second video above is of Paul Potts being interviewed by a Hong Kong television station on a recent trip that he took through China to promote an album. Paul talks about following your dreams and the importance of doing what you love.

So watch the videos, reflect on the story of Paul Potts, and think about whether you too are doing the thing that you love.

It makes all the world of difference if you are. And it’s not hard to do so.

All you have to do is dream.

Do What You Love: The Art of Following Your Bliss

An important ingredient to living a Low Density Lifestyle is doing work that you find meaningful and is an expression of who you are.

This is called Doing What You Love.

This is the subject of this series – the ability to, as Joseph Campbell put it, “Follow Your Bliss.”

Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience. His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: “Follow your bliss.”

This is what Joseph Campbell had to say:

“What is it that makes you happy? 
Stay with it, no matter what people tell you.

This is what I call, ‘Following Your Bliss.’

If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you. 
And the life that you ought to be living,
 is the one you ARE living.
 Wherever you are, if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, 
that lives within you, all the time.

When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open doors for you. 
I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open 
where you didn’t know they were going to be.”

And so the question to you is: Are you following your bliss? Are you doing what you love?

And if not, what is holding you back?

The truth be told, it is fear that holds us back from doing what we love.

But it can be overcome. The first step is to ask yourself: if I could do anything, what would that be?

You may not have an answer right away, and that’s alright, because we are not programmed to think that way.

We are programmed to think that we need to make a living, and that we should make the most pragmatic choice in that regard.

But instead, what if we follow our bliss? As Joseph Campbell says, doors will open for you where you didn’t know they would be.

Which is a tremendous thing, because when you do what you love and follow your bliss, you will be happier, healthier, and more fulfilled.

And you will be living a Low Density Lifestyle.