Start dreaming in decades

In December of 2014, a friend and I drove to Hollywood to see an obscure poet-turned-rapper named Watsky. We drove circles around the venue before we found a free parking spot that wouldn’t have us towed (we decided, with our fingers crossed). We ducked into the dark venue while one of the openers played. We saw a strange setup: a small drum set in the middle of the stage, near the front, with all the spotlights on it. The drummer was also the singer. He grooved and crooned interesting tunes with a big smile.  

Then I realized something: I recognized this guy from one of Watsky’s music videos. I thought I remembered from a Twitter post (remember Twitter?) that he produced a few songs on Watsky’s album. My friend and I didn’t think much of his music. We were impatient to see the headliner we came for. 

When I arrived home, I was still too excited from the concert and our city drive home to go to sleep quickly. I cracked open my laptop to do a little more research on the opener. That was the first time I registered his name: Anderson .Paak.  

In March of 2025, a little over ten years later, I took a ride with my wife and some friends to an Italian restaurant in Hollywood for a birthday party. When we got to the host’s stand at the restaurant, they told us our reservation would be about 30 minutes delayed. Another indignant gentleman grumbled that he had already been waiting for an hour beyond the time of his reservation. 

Birthday vibes undeterred, one of my friends poked her head into the bar next door, discovered some space for us, and called for us to join her. We slipped inside a stylish, classic looking bar/club with a little stage. A keyboardist jammed away, singing R&B tunes. We ordered drinks. The place was cool. I looked around, and started seeing pictures on the walls of someone I recognized: Anderson .Paak. 

The bar we were in is called Andy’s. Apparently, Anderson .Paak opened it recently. My friends and I enjoyed the live music, sipped our drinks, and looked around. I saw Grammy trophies in covered displays, and large (yet, tasteful) pictures of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars.

The thought hit me all at once: “so much can change in ten years.”

I’m not saying that either me or you will achieve the kind of fame that Anderson .Paak has. The likelihood of that is microscopic. But in that moment I was convicted of my own daydreams. I tend to dream in weeks and months. I push so hard for specific outcomes from single opportunities. I try to steer the boat of experience by an inch to the right, or an inch to the left, as it barrels down life’s rushing river. I fail to realize that the real goal is to stay on the boat, and to keep it afloat. Indeed, I do believe it’s headed somewhere spectacular if I have patience and a steady hand. 

So much can change in ten years.