What a headline. “When she no longer wanted the Grammy, she got it.” That raises a few questions. Who didn’t want a Grammy anymore and why? But let’s not start at the end, but at the beginning.
Destiny Hopes Dream
Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Destiny Hope. She had a dream. Namely, to win a Grammy. How do I know that? Well, she wrote it in her 2009 published book “Miles to Go.” Under the heading “100 Things I Want to Do Before I Die,” she listed “Win a Grammy” at number 8. She also reiterated her Grammy wish in 2010. This time in a short scene during the Disney series “Hannah Montana.” There, the young lady wrote her Grammy acceptance speech, which her friend then read out loud.
I want to win a Grammy
So, let’s assume that she surely had this desire to win a Grammy before 2009. What happened then? Well, the coming years until 2023 were quite successful. Three of her music albums reached number 1 on the charts, and she has sold over 100 million albums. What else could be important? Oh yes, she now made approximately $145 million with her work.
Destiny Hope stops touring
And then something quite crazy happened last year. In May 2023, the news came that she was retiring from touring life and no longer wanted to play live concerts. Why? According to Destiny Hope: “The high stage expectations have a negative impact on my ego, which is not healthy for me. The constant observations also have a negative impact on my humanity and my connection with myself. Therefore, I am not able to live out my creativity as a songwriter.” And perhaps another sentence that could be quite important: “I no longer want to meet the expectations of others and practice my art in a way that aligns with my personal values.”
If I’ve completely confused you by now, I’m glad. Because we don’t need she gave up an important part of her role as a singer. Was she afraid? I’m sure. Did her environment (management, record company, and co.) go nuts? Most certainly. “You cannot do that” was surely a sentence that was often heard.
About Flowers and Endless Summer Vacations
To summarize. Destiny Hope wants a Grammy, goes full throttle, and for years does everything others want from her. With what result? She has completely lost herself and still doesn’t have a Grammy. Weeks before, she had been working on a new album that turned out the way she wanted it to be. Perhaps it was precisely then that she got the idea of what she wants and what she no longer wants. And behold – the album “Endless Summer Vacation” was finished. There was also a flower song on it. Well, why not sing about flowers.
The Grammy Awards
Fast forward to February 4, 2024. Mariah Carey opens the envelope of “Best Song” at this year’s Grammy Awards. She pauses for a moment and then reads aloud: “And the winner is… Flowers… Miley Cyrus.” Had I already mentioned that Destiny Hope eventually adopted a stage name and henceforth became known as Miley Cyrus? And that her flower song was called “Flowers”? No. Shame on me. Now you know.
Miley Cyrus Grammy speech
Miley goes to the mic and says: “Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He really wanted a butterfly. His parents then gave him a butterfly net. And he spent the whole day chasing a butterfly. But he didn’t catch it. Tired, he sat down on the ground in the evening and put the net away. And it was okay for him that he didn’t catch the butterfly. Just at that moment, when he put the net down and let it go, the butterfly landed on the tip of his nose. ‘Flowers’ is my butterfly. Thank you very much.”
What does that mean? Only when she gave up chasing and no longer made music to get something out of it, only when she was true to her values again and engaged more with the things that are personally important to her, only when she no longer did what others wanted, only when she put down her butterfly net and it was okay not to have won a Grammy, she wrote “Flowers” and the album “Endless Summer Vacation.” And both the song and the album received a Grammy each.
Let it go
And the moral of the story? As long as you do what others want from you while they are happy and you are sad, as long as you hide your own values, out of fear of what others might think of you, as long as you follow the crowd and do it the way “it’s just the way we do it here”, as long as you don’t enjoy the journey to your goal (due to the previously mentioned points), you will chase your own butterfly and not catch it. The moment you let go and it’s okay for you, the butterfly will land on your nose.
Throw away your “I want to please everyone” butterfly net and start living the life you want. And then? Wait for the miracles.
In this spirit, I wish you a hunt-free week.
