Wes Yee is an award-winning audio engineer, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He studied Music Production and Engineering and Performance at the prestigious Berklee college of music. He is credited with producing the #1 New York Times Bestselling audiobook, a podcast series for the New England Journal of Medicine, and many other productions. Yee is also the host of a Top-10 iTunes Music Podcast.
In this episode, Yee, shares…
- How to define successful living on your terms.
- Why college isn’t for everyone—and may not be for you.
- How to access compassion for your haters.
- And so much more…
Bite-sized nuggets of wisdom from Yee’s episode:
There is Nothing More Fulfilling Than Pursuing Your Inner Bliss.
We’ve all heard the phrase “follow your bliss” before. It’s the emblem of Pinterest mugs and graphic yoga tees. But what does it really mean? Have you let this phrase marinate in your heart?
Yee shares an experience from his childhood that illustrates the deeper meaning of this phrase. According to Yee, his “Tiger Mom” Asian mother had high expectations for him when he was a kid. Each day, she would set a timer and make him rehearse his scales on the piano again and again. He hated it. One day, she wrote a note to his band teacher in Chinese requesting that her son play the violin. When the teacher asked Yee, “what does this say?”, he replied, “it says she wants me to play the trumpet.”
In that small act of defiance, Yee declared something big for himself. He decided that he would pursue his own dream. Not the dream of his mother—the woman whose unconditional approval he so desperately craved—no, the dream of his own heart.
It’s Never the “Easy” Path.
This courageous act represents a choice we all must make at some point in our lives. We must all decide for ourselves whether we will succumb to social pressure and do what we perceive we should do (i.e., “climb the corporate ladder because it will impress my parents”), or do what would most authentically light our soul on fire.
If you are at a crossroads, about to make an important decision in your own life, consider the following:
- How do I feel when I imagine myself in scenario one vs. scenario two? Notice any expansion or contraction in your physical body. Do you feel light, energized, and excited in one scenario? Do you feel apprehensive, nervous, or heavy in one scenario? The light, auspicious energy may be a signal that your soul wants to experience this scenario.
- Whose voice is telling you to pick one scenario over the other? Be still and quiet; try to tease apart if it is your voice or the voice of somebody else. If it is the voice of somebody else, ask yourself, why wouldn’t this person accept me if I decided to do what I wanted to do? If they did accept me, what would I gain? If they didn’t accept me, what would I lose? What would I gain?
- Choose courage. When it comes down to it, we all know that inner fulfillment is more valuable than perceived social “approval;” especially when that approval is conditional and rooted in fear. Choose love. Choose to allow yourself to experience what you want to experience. Let go of the judgment of what it means that you want to have this experience. Surrender and welcome the sensations. You are the gatekeeper of your heart; you can either deny yourself your deepest desires or facilitate their fulfillment.
- If you didn’t do what you most wanted to do, would you regret it?
- Trust: life will find a way. There is always a way.
Yee says, “People respect you more if you become successful at the thing they said you couldn’t do.”
