Mark Shepard: A Life In Song

Posts Tagged ‘anxiety’

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 Rose Colored Glasses by Mark Shepard: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Rose Colored Glasses | July, 6, 1993 | Song #190

I may look like a fool in my rose colored glasses
I may look like a fool in my rose colored shades
I may look like a fool but I don’t care
Cause I believe in the power of prayer
To pull me a miracle or two right out of thin air*

I know that the good times are gonna catch us
I know that the good times are gonna come and stay
I know that the good times are gonna catch us
Though today they seem slow as molasses
I know that the good times are gonna come and they’re gonna stay

Refrain:
The Sun is hot and mean this morning
It’s a hundred in the shade the radio’s warning
And I’m wishing for a breeze to blow a storm in through these trees
I’m wishing for, I’m wishing for a breeze…

I called you on the phone but you weren’t home today
I called you on the phone but your home and that’s okay
I called you on the phone to tell you why
I refuse to hang my head and cry
Called you on the phone and you weren’t today

Refrain:

I’m walking down a road that’s got no name and has not end
I’m walking down a road that’s got no name and has no end
I’m walking down a road that has no name
Just mountains, rivers, valleys and plains
Walking down a road that got no name and got no end

Refrain:

I may look like a fool in my rose colored glasses
I may look like a fool in my rose colored shades
I may look like a fool but I don’t care
Cause I believe in the power of prayer
To pull me a miracle or two right out of thin air*
To pull me a miracle or two right out of thin air
Gonna need a miracle or two or three right out of thin air…

*Alternate:
‘Cause I’m floatin’ on clouds of air
I know that someday soon I’m gonna have it made

Commentary:

I wrote this song at what was arguably the worst time of my life. I had bought 4 houses for “nothing down” at the top of the 1980’s real estate bubble. The “Bubble” subsequently burst and left me owing far more on the houses than they were worth. I made a living at that time as a Title Insurance agent. And that was a business that was totally dependent on the real estate market as well. So when I talk to a lot of the people in this current economic “melt-down” I have deep compassion. I know that horrible sinking feeling in your gut…

The old saying goes, “the only way to avoid making mistakes in business and life is to have experience. But the only way to get experience is to make mistakes.”

Ultimately after all the twisting and contorting to try to find a way out of the financial mess I was in I ended up losing the houses to foreclosure and went through the “humiliation” of bankruptcy.

I had a lot of moments of sheer panic and doubt and anxiety where I saw myself and my family homeless and living out of cardboard boxes…But on occasion I was able to clear that out and focus on miracles. One miricle that happened was when we went in to court for our eviction hearing. The Bank attorney never showed up. We had 6 more months of living in our home before they found the file that had “fallen through the cracks”. Call it what you will I call it a miracle.

The reason I’d bought all the houses in the first place was because I was trying to make a lot of money so I could do my music. Ultimately I had no choice but to do music. My friend Gene Moore said “Mark, this guy comes to my son’s day care center once a week and plays songs for the kids for $75.00 an hour.”

I had written a bunch of kid songs for my own three children and so I opened the Westchester county phone book and started “cold calling” nursery schools and day care centers. I have since helped a lot of professionals overcome their fear of “cold calling” and I know what that terror feels like staring at the phone…knowing that if you don’t make that call you may not eat.Being  terrifed of “rejection”. But I figured “how mean could a nursery school director be?”

I had no choice. I made the calls and I started getting a few opportunities to play for kids. Ultimately that economic meltdown gave me a chance to do something that I truly loved to do.

Eventually I added drums and story telling to my bag of tricks and DrumSongStory was born (which in this current economic meltdown is still providing income as well as satisfaction.)

Now don’t think that all my financial challenges were over. Because I have yet to discover how to get “steady, passive income” flowing. I am continually challenged by changing circumstances and economic conditions. But the point of the story is that sometimes when it seems really grim, the solution is trying to get your attention. Sometimes when everything else falls apart it’s an opportunity to re-align your core values. And ask some powerful questions like,

• “If I knew I could not fail, what would I be doing?” or

• “If I only had a year to live what would I be doing?”

Take a moment and write some of that down. Now start doing it. Even just 15 minutes a day. Do what you would do if you knew you only had a short time here on earth.

And as you focus on that and begin to do that, I guarantee all the other stuff begins to lose it’s scariness.

Thoughts? I always appreciate hearing from you.

© 1993-2009 by Mark Shepard http://MarkShepardSongs.com
All commercial rights reserved.
Permission granted to reprint with copyright info and link intact.
Permission granted to download and distribute/share the mp3 file for non-commercial purposes

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Thirsty For The Sky | 9/18/2000 | Song # 310

I’ve been dreaming of birds and leaves,
Clouds of dust and dandelion seeds
And other things that spend their time in the sky
I’ve been working on healing the hurt,
Digging myself up out of the dirt
Mending these broken wings so I can take flight

Refrain:
I feel so dangerous and I feel so alive
I get so receptive to the heavens,
So thirsty for the sky
I feel like a Peregrine Falcon,
Untamed and unbound
It’s been a long time since
I’ve had my heart on the ground

Sometimes when I am talking,
I think I’m brilliant, I think I am stalking
Some great truth but then
I realize the weakness of words…
Though I may be just a candle flame
In a universe too huge to explain
That doesn’t mean I can’t speak
My intent and be heard!

Refrain:

I release myself from the chains of fear
Climb up into the atmosphere
Learn to quiet my thoughts
So that I can see
I give myself to the calling wind
Out to where the horizon bends
Unattached and at ease I set myself free

© 2000-2008 by Mark Shepard. ASCAP. All Rights Reserved

Commentary: This is the second version of a song that originally wasn’t quite so positive! Written several months before I discovered NLP, it is heavily inspired by some of the key Toltec concepts from the books of Carlos Castandea.

Please leave a comment below or “Stumble” or “digg” this or book mark it with any of the sites below. Also feel free to e-mail a friend or 2 (or 20). thanks – Mark

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Clear The Fear | Song #352 | 5/7/06

Are you feeling frightened, even terrified?
I see you there shaking, petrified
Your gut it churning, your mouth is dry
Your hands are sweating, like you’re gonna die
Fear has the power to tear you to shreds
But you have the power to diminish the dread
What were you thinking that caused you see
The worst that could happen and wish you could flee?

Refrain:
Clear the fear
Move towards the rewards
Dislodge the sabotage
Get your dream out of the garage
Get out of your own way
It could happen here today.

You might not know this but you’re in charge
You’re the one who makes the monster large
So what would happen if you shrank it way down
Or maybe even turned off the sound?
You have the power to turn it around
Cut yourself loose from what drags you down
Float out to the future and then take a look back
See yourself making progress, free from attack

Refrain:

So what will happen when you clear your fear?
Will you be closer to those you hold dear?
Will you make more money? Would you have more fun?
Will you have the courage to get things done?
Thoughts have the power to destroy or create
Now what was that old habit that you wanted to break?
I feel like I know you though we may have just met
Give yourself permission to take the next step and…

Refrain:

©2006-2008 by Mark Shepard. All Rights Reserved.

Commentary: I wrote this song after I took a workshop with Kathy McAfee, “The Marketing Motivator” she helped me to focus my NLP practice on the kinds of clients I enjoyed working with the most, namely people who suffered from fear, phobias, anxiety and panic attacks.  I totally “get” these people and I feel really privileged that one of the benefits of my own anxiety around performing was that when I cleared my own fear I learned how to help others clear their fear as well. This song is dedicated to my clients and clients to be who are willing and ready to make rapid progress in their lives.

Please be so kind as to “stumble” or “digg” or “Twitter” or “Facebook” this song. You can also e-mail this post to a friend. Thanks for listening! )

Courage! – Mark

Need Some Courage? Watch The Video Below.

But before you click “Play”, check this out: To celebrate vanquishing stage fright and performing anxiety through the application of NLP, I’ll be celebrating by performing my first concert in 2 years on Sunday November 23rd at the Space in Hamden.Details and directions here There are still about 20 seats left so get your tickets Now ($20 online / $25.00 at the door).

Also! For the first Time ever I’ll be making some of my Paintings available to be seen and purchased at Sunday’s concert. Whatever doesn’t sell will be uploaded here to my site so even those of you who live on the other side of the world can get access to them. The short version of the story is: At one point performing was so painful for me that I just gave up and started painting acrylic abstract canvases. There’s a much longer story to tell but I’ll share it on Sunday at the concert or in a future post.

Here’s the video:

Let me know what you think

Commentary: This song literally contains the NLP Anxiety treatment process that I use with clients from all over the world to help them stop worry, anxiety, phobias and panic attacks. I used the same techniques to clear my own anxiety and self sabotage around getting my music out of my living room and into the ears of other people. The fact that in the last 3 weeks people  from 49 countries have visited this site and experienced my songs is literally proof that NLP works. Watch the video and enjoy the images. To learn more check out www.ModernJedi.com

Please help me spread the word and share the songs! Leave a comment below, share with a friend or “stumble” or “digg” this post.  Thanks! – Mark