Stop Being A Passanger

Author

Claudia Stellner
December 25, 2022

24th December 2022 - 17:33

My parents & I have just finished eating our delicious dinner (carp & potato salad - tastes better than it sounds) after a long day of starving (a peculiar Christmas tradition), and we're headed to the living room to unpack the presents underneath the Christmas tree (yes, we unpack them on the Christmas Eve).

But you know what...I won't let you much into the details of how Czechs celebrate Christmas because I know it confuses a lot of Americans. Anyways...

When I come in, I see a couple of smaller gifts but...wait...there's a big one under the sofa.

Holy shit...please, please, please...tell me it is that one thing.

And it was.

God, I'll never forget the moment when I got my first acoustic guitar.

Yes, a guitar.

Not many people know it, but I'm f*cking obsessed with music.

Since the age of 11, I was listening to Imagine Dragons songs all the time, singing with my cranky voice & watching random music tutorials on YouTube.

That was until last year's Christmas when I got my first ukulele.

At that point, I got a great opportunity to not only listen to music but also create it.

And things took an even better spin with my sexy guitar.

But what's the matter with all of that?

Well, love music because it's the thing I'm sure is always going to bring me happiness.

It's something to relate to when I'm facing a problem.

It's something that reminds me of who I really am when I get lost.

It's something that gives me a taste of good times when everything is falling apart.

After a year of not being only a passive listener, but also an active musician, I realized one thing:

When you listen to music, you're a passenger. You're just messing around with fake scenarios, wishing things to be different, or unsatisfied with what you already have.

But when you play music, you're actively creating thoe sweet times. You're creating a better future. You're clearing your head while doing the same for others (if you aren't as shy as me).

And guess where I'm going with that?

The same thing applies to being a consumer vs being a creator.

When you are a creator, you are the driver of your life. You are making a better future for yourself while enjoying the journey because you're pursuing something you're hella excited about.

You're not wishing. Your happiness isn't dependent on the season, government, or how other people treat you.

You are in the flow of life, living your highest version that you create.

And that's what happened to me when I started writing on the internet.

And that's what I'd like to make happen for you in 2023 - to create a better future for yourself, not only online, but also personally.

To wrap this year up & set you up for the next one, today I decided to share the top 8 newsletter that I always enjoy reading & their best issues (not a cross-promotion or anything, I genuinely believe that the future belongs to those):

And that's it!

Talk next year,

— Claudia "Musician" Stellner

P.S.: Don't forget to catch some sunlight today!

P.S..: If we hit 10k newsletter subscribers I'll post a video of me singing 😝