Meet Sarah Lightman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Lightman.

Hi Sarah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In a nutshell, I’ve had a love for music and singing for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I would write A LOT of lyrics and listen to all kinds of artists. I was surrounded by music and the arts growing up. It took me a while to figure out my path professionally though. I tried theater and musical theater for a while, then I moved to Los Angeles to try on the acting life.

As much as I liked certain aspects of each of them, music brought me more joy and the amount of life I had faced inspired me to go deeper and write music. I realized I had a passion and a drive for sharing my story and the things I overcome through the medium of song.

It took some time to feel worthy of this path, but with the right things lining up at the right time, I quit acting and went full time into music instead. I started out doing street performing and moved toward sponsorships, residencies, venue gigs, songwriter rounds, and album releases, and now I’m entering the world of festivals and building an online fanbase.

When the pandemic hit, I went through a lot of adversity, and slowly put myself back together in the process. Through all of it, I found myself navigating toward Twitch, and have been actively building an online fanbase ever since then.

I have a lot of unreleased music that I’m looking to put out soon, and I just released a lyric video for my song graduating that’s been doing really well on YouTube.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been super bumpy! I had to deal with a lot of uncomfortable truths, and realize that there is no set age, number of years, or hours that can push me faster to get to the finish line. There are no quick answers or maps, and no amount of pain can be skipped when growth is inevitable.

The artist’s journey is a lifestyle. There are no corners to cut that will help you achieve goals or grow faster, and the more I have found myself less resistant to these facts and the discomfort, the more I have become a better artist, human, friend to myself, business partner, companion, and woman.

The thing that woke me up the most was having to endure vocal surgery during the pandemic. I was living in Los Angeles (moved to Nashville 3 months ago), I couldn’t talk a whole lot because I would get tired super easily and I couldn’t see humans in person who didn’t live in my house without risking further injury to my voice.

There were so many unknowns and I was not really sure how to keep myself from getting sick, so I did the best I could to follow the rules. I sucked it up and told myself I could stick it out till the end, but the longer I isolated and the longer the pandemic went on, the worse I physically and mentally felt. Even though I would never want to go back to that life, I am grateful for the pain that taught me how to shift inward, take better care of myself and make better friends with the unknown. It took a year after the surgery to fully rehabilitate and heal my voice, and around then was when I knew I needed to slowly reintegrate myself into the outside world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I write songs that advocate for mental health by sharing my journey, so others feel seen, connected, and heard. I like to shine my light with music and use my creative voice to show others they also have a unique source of light that provides a purpose for the world, so they can live a life they are proud of.

I’m most proud of my bravery to show up for myself consistently to do better in every aspect even when I get distracted and fall down sometimes. What matters is I keep going and don’t settle. Even when I rest or have fun, I choose to put in the work to keep growing.

I accept the truth that the work doesn’t stop, the tasks just change and evolve over time, and I allow myself to adjust as best as I can. I could have allowed fear, negative self-talk, my comfort zone, mental health struggles, difficult experiences, or unhealthy influences to drown me and hold me back, but I haven’t. It’s just not in my blood.

That might ultimately be what sets me apart from others as an artist. I tend to go after things and write about areas of life that most people don’t let themselves discover because it’s so uncomfortably vulnerable. I fight for sustainability and find the process intriguing and exciting.

I work to accept myself and others authentically, despite the specific shapes society tells us we must fit into. Sure there needs to be some healthy structure and constructs, and there are natural universal laws, but I like to set the example as an artist to show people they can have so much more than they are taught to think.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck is an interesting thing. I think there’s a belief that goes into attracting luck, and I believe that following your intuition and using discernment thoughtfully leads us to the gifts of luck that we yearn for. If you believe bad things will happen, you’ll likely take action towards feeling bad or attracting what you believe is bad.

I think it’s more a matter of perspective when at the end of the day, the world isn’t that black and white. You can have good and bad luck, and also realize the majority of the time, that life is just unfolding for you based on the intention you do or do not put into your decisions. That isn’t to say it’s the person’s fault at all for the things that will come a person’s way.

Unfortunate and undeserving things happen to people all the time, myself included. How we choose to look at it though ultimately will influence our relationship with luck. Learning how to play the game of life and building strong character can teach us out to have it. In some ways, I have been very lucky as an artist, but I also see that I am mostly responsible for how I set myself up to become lucky.

I don’t have all the answers, and everyone will have a different one. I can just say that consistency, patience, and persistence have helped me find the luck that has helped me in life and in business.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.sarah-lightman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahlightman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahlightmansings
• Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/sarahlightman/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sarahlightmanandfriends

Image Credits
Mellie J. Photography