SongTown: Beyond Dreams

On Friday, my first publisher, Kim Williams, called me to congratulate me for getting to play the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday.

We talked about the early days when Kim, Ron Harbin and I each wrote 2-3 songs per day. We were putting out an insane amount of music.

We busted our butts and we (mainly Ron and Kim) were tearing up the charts. Kim wound up with songs on well over 100 Million records.

Kim told me he was proud of me, which made me feel good. I thanked him for getting me started on the career of my dreams. He gave me a shot when no one else would.

We talked about my successes - a #1 with Joe Cocker in Germany, a #1 song in Korea and the Asian song of the year in 2013. Six #1 songs. And he asked me, "Did you ever dream where music would take you?"

That one stopped me in my tracks. And the honest truth was "No.” Somehow, my life has gone beyond my dreams. I don't really know how. I've worked hard, but it's more than that.

• In my wildest dreams, I never imagined:
• - A Career in Songwriting
• - Six #1 Songs
• - More than 90 songs recorded
• - Joe Cocker's last #1
• - Playing on the Grand Ole Opry
• - Traveling the world with my music
• - Gold and Platinum Records
• - Friends that are superstar artists and actors

I grew up in a poor home. We went on vacation twice while I lived at home. Our biggest family vacation was a trip from Nashville to Atlanta, Georgia. I went to college and got a degree in psychology because I was SCARED to chase my dreams. I worked for 10 years before I got the courage to even TRY to write songs.

I dreamed of MAYBE getting a song recorded. One song. The rest has been beyond what I imagined.

All that to say - don't limit yourself to your dreams. Shoot for the stars, but also keep your mind open to the idea that there COULD be something even bigger in store for you.

There could be something bigger than your imagination out there waiting if you keep on chasing, keep on working, and keep on believing.

Don't give up. And don't limit yourself to your own imagination.

Write on.

Marty Dodson
Co-Founder Songtown
Songwriter/Producer/One Lucky Guy

Marty Dodson blogs daily on Facebook at www.facebook/songtownusa and on www.songtown.com. You can check out his music at www.martydodson.com. Marty plays Taylor Guitars and Batson Guitars.