10 things Beyoncé taught me about life

See the end...

I've always believed that Life has a very interesting sense of humor. It also has many lessons to teach. To the constant seer, hearer and doer, there's a lesson followed by a wink around every corner. I can almost hear Life whispering "did you hear that?" ..."did you see that?" ..."did you get that?" ..."remember that". There are lessons in watching nature, animals and people just like there are lessons in attempting to get last minute tickets to a sold out Beyoncé concert.

I decided that I was going to attend the Beyoncé concert at Dodger Stadium months in advance. I've never been part of the "Beyhive" but from watching a few of her concert documentaries and getting first hand accounts from friends who had attended previous concerts, I knew it would be a great show. The plan was to buy tickets as soon as they went on sale but I made some new friends over the summer who convinced me that we could get killer tickets at the last minute for a fraction of the cost. The trick was to wait till the very last minute (sounds like a fantastic plan right?). Unfortunately, concert day rolled around, ticket prices kept rising and I was left contemplating whether to buy nose bleed section tickets for close to $200, continue to wait for a miracle or call the whole thing off.

Lesson #1

Life does not like wishy-washy.

Ask for what you want and be clear about your exact desire. Should I go? Should I not go? But I love "Lemonade" (both the album and the drink)...Maybe I'm not meant to go...The more chaotic things got in my head, the more chaotic things were in real life. We found some tickets but then they got bought right from under us. We found another pair but the prices suddenly went up. I realized that I needed to make up my mind. I finally made a commitment to go and set a price limit for the ticket that I wanted. The moment I became clear about what I wanted, the wheels started turning in my favor.

Lesson #2

Trust that you will receive the answer for what you want and that it will be the best possible scenario.

At around 4:30PM, I still had no tickets but I got word from my friend that some new tickets had been released at the box office. Another friend of ours was now rushing there to buy those tickets. We later found out that they were Dugout seats for a little over $200 but there was no guarantee that we would get them. The anxiety and tension that followed was absolutely ridiculous. Now I really wanted to go. When you want something so badly that it mentally hurts to think about not having it, then it's time to let go and trust. I do a little exercise of "seeing the end". I imagine myself having what I want. The trick here is not only visualizing but feeling the end result as if it is already happening. In my case, I saw my friend texting me a confirmation of the tickets. I knew I would squeal when that happened so I saw and felt that squeal in my mind's eye. I saw myself dancing and singing along at the concert. I could feel the bass running through my veins. My feet were itching to dance. I trusted and I saw the end.

Lesson #3

Ignore the naysayers.

There are always going to be people who don't believe in your dream, such is the nature of most human beings. You have to learn to ignore these people. There were a lot of people jokingly telling me that there was no possible way that I was going to that concert and that I should have bought tickets ahead of time. Maybe they were right, maybe not. In that moment, it was important to tune out the noise and keep my eye on the prize.

Lesson #4

Prepare for what's coming and fake it till you make it.

While waiting to hear if we got the tickets, I had two options. I could either wait in anxiety or prepare to receive what I'd asked for. In this case, I could sit in the office and wait for an answer or go home and get ready.

Lesson #5

Pay attention to the signs.

As I drove home to get ready, a car popped up in front of me with the license place "DIVA434". To anyone else, it would have meant absolutely nothing but to my expectant mind, it was a sign-- a wink to lift my spirits. Sometimes all you really do need is faith the size of a mustard seed-- just a little hope to carry you through to the finish line. Don't discount the signs, no matter how small or silly they may seem to the cynical mind.

Lesson #6

Take a leap of faith. Go all in or not at all.

I got home and freshened up my makeup while still waiting for confirmation of the tickets. The only thing left to do was put on my lipstick. I held off because I thought about the process and annoyance of having to wipe it off if everything fell through. As silly as it sounds, I could sense inside me that this was a sign that I still wasn't fully convinced that I'd be able to go. I recognized this and decided to put the lipstick on. The moment I did, I received a text message from my friend letting me know that we were able to secure the tickets. We were going to see Beyoncé! When you go all in, you are signaling to the Universe that you have nothing to lose. It is a scary thing jumping without a safety net but what is more scary is not jumping at all.

Lesson #7

Be Present.

It always comes down to this doesn't it? After all of those suspense filled hours waiting to find and confirm those tickets, more hours waiting in traffic to get to the venue and finally making it to our seats in the middle of the first song, we pulled out our phones and started recording. It makes no sense to want and wait and finally get what you want just to allow what you've strived so hard for to pass you by. Thankfully my phone died mid-way through the fourth song. The fact is, if I wanted to watch Beyoncé on a screen, I should have stayed home and watched YouTube. We live in a world where most of us would rather experience a staged life than a lived life. It takes work to remind the self to just be but it is work that is well worth it.

Lesson #8

Life is more interesting with twists and turns.

It's not easy dealing with uncertainty but the best stories I've ever been told and the best ones I've ever had the pleasure of reading were filled with intrigue, ups and downs and suspense filled moments. I think about all the drama that led to a night of amazing performances and one of the best times I've had in a while and I smile at how the twists and turns made for a better narrative. Life is equally filled with nail-biting and unpredictable moments. Those moments are what make it worthwhile.

Lesson #9

You too can do what you love and get paid for it.

In the middle of the show, Beyonce mentioned how she'd been doing what she loved since she was fifteen years old. I marveled as the audience cheered and screamed her name. She stood in the spotlight in her 5' 7" glory and I thought to myself, she has two eyes, two ears, two legs and one voice. She's not from another planet and she doesn't have super human strength. She has a gift and she has used that gift to forge a path for herself. The beautiful thing is that we are all gifted with what Life saw fit for us to have. How we develop those gifts is up to us. What I saw as this artist #slayed on stage is that with hard work, dedication and perseverance, nothing is ever truly out of reach.

Lesson #10

Exceedingly and abundantly above what you desire...

I started this article with "seeing the end". The end that I saw was what I got but what I got was even more than I bargained for. My friend and I actually ended up paying less than the quoted price of the tickets, we also got some fantastic Dugout seats. Our $30 parking fee was waived because the show had to start and the parking attendants were waving all the late attendees through. We found the perfect parking spot right in front of the main entrance to the stadium and it took us less than fifteen minutes to get out of the stadium and onto the freeway after the show (a rare feat).

Trust, clarity, perseverance and presence --all major lessons learned from a minor life experience. Like I said, Life has a very interesting sense of humor.

About: When I'm not recruiting incredibly talented folks, I spend most of my free time musing about all things fashion and style as well as finding spiritual balance on my blog, La belle et le chic.