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I am SO TIRED. Did I just come back from vacation a month ago? As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve recently been given a high-priority project, and the release date is actually in a matter of months, so we’re already in crunch time with set up. I’ve been logging insane hours at work and dreaming about co-workers and my artist and any multitude of hypothetical disasters (like the day I had an 11am meeting with management and my label’s president and dreamed I overslept and missed the whole thing).

But I have to say that times like these: times when I’m stressed; when I have like eight running to-do lists; when I go to sleep and wake up thinking about work; when I’m in back to back meetings; when I basically feel like I’m two seconds from losing my mind; these times are also when I’m the most fulfilled. It’s when I have to really draw from my talent and push myself, and when I’m sure that I’m in the right career field. And if I wasn’t any good at what I was doing, or if I was in the wrong line or work, this is when  those things would be the most telling.

So even though my life is not mine for a while, I’m ok with that. It sounds cliché, but growth requires some struggle. If we’re always at a level of comfort and never put in environments that require us to stretch just beyond our current level, we’ll never thrive, right?  Right. So, that seems to be my message for this time.

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Remember I said I was having some self-doubts for a second? Well, when I tell you all that I was getting all kinds of messaging from the “universe” – horoscopes, daily meditations and inspirations that I receive via email, books and magazines I was picking up, even the sermons at church – saying pretty much what I just said about growth…I said “Ok, ok, I get it. I’m on it” So I’m tired, yes, but I’m content, and I’m grinding.

Now, in the midst of all the work craziness, I have still managed to keep track of the real world. Well, not really for a couple of weeks, but I’m back now. Summer is always a season to check our your favorite artists performing. There are tours, Summer Stage, and all kinds of random shows here and there. It’s great.

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I caught an amazing performance with John Legend & The Roots a couple of weeks ago. Amazing. And I’m not the biggest John Legend fan. Like I like him, he’s cool and everything, has a nice voice, but I’m not rushing out to buy his albums. The Roots I love (but don’t we all?). So when I heard that they were working on something together, I was like “Ok, what’s this gonna be?” I will just say that if you get a chance to catch them, catch them. Live music at it’s finest.

Then Erykah Badu and Maxwell were at MSG last weekend. I’ve seen Maxwell a million times, so although I love him, I wasn’t that pressed to see him, but I haven’t seen Erykah since like ’98, and I’m a huge fan of the album, so I was really excited to see her. And she was in true Badu fashion with top hat, trench coat, sweat pants, and some sick six inch booties on. Her