I woke up this morning so grateful for Lin-Manuel Miranda and the guts he had to create “Hamilton.”
Everyone, of course, is watching “Hamilton”on Disney +. And it’s now completely part of our culture — this Broadway show that uses rap and R&B music and people of color to tell the history of an obscure founding father.
But I was thinking just how amazing it is Miranda had the nerve to create this musical.
And then I wondered, how many of us would have done it? How many of us would have said, “I am going to create a musical for a white-dominated Broadway about a guy most of us spent 10 seconds learning about in history class. And I am going to cast people of color to tell his story through rap music.” (I did a quick Google search of Broadway producers, and surprise! They are all white.)
I imagine most of us would have had a nasty conversation with ourselves when the idea to make a musical about Alexander Hamilton (who?) popped into our heads.
I imagine it would go something like, “There is no way I could make a musical about a founding father with rap music. I will be the laughing stock of Broadway. I will never work again, and I have New York City rent to pay.”
But Miranda listened to his inner creative genius, and he did it. It’s easy to say he’s a genius now. But back then, he didn’t know millions of people would clamor to watch “Hamilton” on Disney +, let alone pay through the wazoo to watch it live in theatres across the world. (Wazoo = about $900 a ticket.)
I think it’s time for all of us to take a page out of Miranda’s playbill. It’s time to start listening to our inner guide and go for it. If this virus has taught us anything, it’s that life is short, and we don’t know how long we’ve got. We are not in control as much as we like to pretend we are.
Heck, if “Hamilton” teaches us anything, it’s that we are not supposed to live life waiting in the wings (see Aaron Burr, who literally sings a song called “Wait for It.”) It’s time to take a stand for ourselves and get “In the Room Where it Happens.”
So we might as well be fearless in our pursuits. Look at how it could benefit the world, just like “Hamilton” did. And who cares if our story does not turn out like Miranda’s? Who cares if we ARE the laughing stock? We may be sick or dead tomorrow, and NONE of it would matter. (I know it’s dark, but in the words of Tim McGraw, “Live like you were dying,” and maybe you will give up the fear.)
It’s just time.
In the words of Marrianne Williamson: “Nothing binds you except your thoughts; nothing limits you except your fear; and nothing controls you except your beliefs.”
So what’s your “Hamilton?” What have you been too afraid to let out? And it does not have to be art. I am talking about anything here — speaking up at work, changing careers, attending a protest for Black Lives Matter, whatever.
Oh, and PS — it always comes to do this: It’s a lot easier to find your “Hamilton” when you are not surrounded by so much crap. Stuff = Energy. When you are surrounded by clutter, it takes your energy, which means you won’t even be able to hear what your inner guide has to say because you are stuck in clutter.
Decluttering will change everything. I always say you have to create physical space to let opportunities flow in.
Say it with me: “May I be of empty self so something bigger can come through me.”
Create your Hamilton.