From 12 to 105,000
Tonight is a night I've been eagerly anticipating for months. Heck, it’s one of the most anticipated events I’ve ever attended in my life. Twenty One Pilots is performing its largest show ever. An estimated 105,000 people will attend what will surely be an epic event. It's their biggest show, their longest show, and it's being touted as a one-of-one experience. This will all take place at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH, the band's hometown.
To give you a sense of scale, I tried to buy tickets when they first went on sale. I sat on Ticketmaster's website, anxiously waiting to pull the trigger. After an hour in the pre-sale lobby, it was finally time to jump into the official queue. Much to my disappointment, I entered the queue with big, bold letters across my screen "88,531 PEOPLE AHEAD OF YOU." You don't have to be a math whiz to know you aren't getting tickets when that number pops up. After absorbing the blow of missing out on primary sale tickets, I resorted to the secondary market, where the get-in price was $600+ per person.
Why am I sharing this today? I often wonder what goes through band members Tyler and Josh's heads in the lead-up to these types of events. I imagine they are scared out of their minds. Imposter syndrome is coming out to play. The self-doubts, the what-ifs, all the terrible things that could go wrong. So often in life, the moment seems too big. We don't feel prepared for what we're about to do. Yet, if we're bold enough, we do it anyway.
This leads me to ponder the juxtaposition between tonight's show and their music video for Ode to Sleep. The music video begins with a live show from June 2011, when they played out of state for the first time, in front of 12 people. Twelve people!!! What was it like that night back in 2011? I suspect they had similar feelings. Scared, imposter syndrome brewing, self-doubt, what-ifs, and all the terrible things that could go wrong. Even that moment might have felt too big. Yet, they were bold enough to do it anyway.
So much of life is having the courage to keep pushing through. Not in the absence of fear and self-doubt, but despite it. 15 years ago, they played a show for 12 people. Tonight, they will play for 105,000. The same two men, with 15 years of experience, failures, and repetitions in between.
Frankly, every day seems too big for me. Imposter syndrome, what-ifs, self-doubts, and all the terrible things that could go wrong. Then, I remember that none of us truly have it figured out, so I ought to keep pressing on. The same goes for you. Just keep moving; never let the fear win. Something great is likely waiting on the other side.
____
Did someone forward you this post? We're glad you're here! If you'd like to subscribe to The Daily Meaning to receive these posts directly in your inbox (for free!), just CLICK THIS LINK. It only takes 10 seconds.