Five life Secrets we can Learn from David Bowie

The news came yesterday that David Bowie, the legendary British rock star, had died at the age of 69. Bowie, a one-of-a-kind icon, who was known for stretching the boundaries, can teach us all a thing or two about life.

Lesson 1. Be Proud of your Weird and Wonderful Side

Acknowledged as a musical chameleon, David Bowie was a pro at allowing himself to be whomever he chose to be at any given moment. A pioneer of crazy costumes, extravagant stage shows and creative behavior, Bowie was nothing short of wild and that’s why the world fell so deeply in love with him; he refused to hide his weird and wonderful side, which so many of us struggle to contend with.

Just be yourself and allow people to see the weird, wacky, wonderful, imperfect person that you are.

Lesson 2. Let Yourself be Guided

In 1969 Bowie released “Space Oddity”, which gained him a top spot in the US and UK charts, and is arguably his most famous song. Speaking about inspiration for the single, Bowie said that the song came to him after seeing Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Whether it’s a movie, a song, a bird flying past, or a dream that inspires an ‘Aha Moment’, if you let yourself be guided by signs you are given (and you will be shown them), they can lead to things far greater than you could ever imagine. Simply let yourself be guided and see what happens.

Lesson 3: Tap into your Spirituality

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience and, this, Bowie knew only too well.

In 1967, after recording an unsuccessful album, Bowie went to live at a Buddhist monastery in Scotland for several weeks. While it was short-lived, the impact that this had on his life cannot be undervalued. Harnessing spiritual energy will allow you to reconnect with the true self, whilst guiding you to make the right next moves.

It was following his time at the monastery that Bowie went on to record “Space Oddity”.

Lesson 4: Don’t be Discouraged by Failure

There isn’t one successful person on this planet that hasn’t faced failure, and Bowie is no exception. Throughout his music career he experienced multiple album flops, including Tin Machine (1989) and Tin Machine II (1991), not forgetting his first solo album. Bowie wasn’t discouraged by failure, however, and he proceeded to bounce back time and time again, bigger and better than ever before.

Never be discouraged by failure; see it as a positive process in life that merely steers you in a different direction. Success is impossible to reach without failure, just be willing to change, and everything else will fall into place.

Lesson 5: Don’t die with your Music Still in You

The late Dr. Wayne Dyer taught us to not die with our music still in us; he spoke about it so often and Bowie was a connoisseur at living by it.

All of the above lessons have shown us that Bowie listened to his intuition, found the passion that stirred his soul and he left a legacy for us all to live by – be the best you that you can be and don’t die with your music still in you.