Mike Posner He achieved worldwide fame in 2010 by releasing his first single, Cooler Than Me. As if that weren’t enough, the artist once again stood out with his second single, Please Don’t Go. At that time it seemed like he would be homeless, but it took him five years to release his biggest hit: I Took a Pill in Ibizawhich catapulted him to concerts, tours, awards, fans and everything that comes with reaching the number 1 in the top of nine different countries.
Just as he achieved success, the singer himself was the one who presented in a talk TED what I felt before that moment that changed everything. “My story begins with my father. He always told me when I was little: ‘Mike, there are two things that are most important to me. Number one, I want you to be healthy. And number two, I want you to be happy.’”
“The healthy part was easy for me,” he recalled. “But happiness… I struggle with that.”. “He was a little shy and depressed kid, and I thought if I could get everyone to like him maybe he would be happier,” he added. At 22, Posner was already famous and said that, although he felt the affection of the people on stage, when he arrived at his hotel room he realized how alone he was.
The international artist explained that this search for joy took him 10 years, until he discovered how to do it. “I decided to cross to the other side of the United States on foot,” he confessed. “People I worked with in the music industry told me it was a bad, crazy idea: ‘You can’t just stop making albums, stop doing shows and walk away. This is a decision that ends your career.’ That’s when I learned life lesson number one: not all crazy ideas are great. But all great ideas are crazy.”
Even though bad thoughts and fears were in his head, Posner made the decision and finally set out on his exciting journey. To begin his walk, he had to drive towards the east coast, to end his journey in the Pacific Ocean. The singer’s idea was to travel one eighth of the circumference of planet Earth on foot.
On April 15, 2019, the famous man took his first step on the New Jersey coast. “When I took that step, all the fears and doubts about what could happen if I chose to do this disappeared because he was doing it. And that’s when I learned the second lesson: the first step is to take a step,” he recalled.
He walked through New Jersey, crossed Pennsylvania, and in Ohio began to experience pain in his foot. Although he was very strong, he continued his route and crossed Indiana and Illinois. Plus, he managed to pass through Missouri in the middle of a scorching heat wave. Then, he followed the path through the states of Kansas and Colorado. At that moment, Posner noted that more than three months had passed since his departure and he could already see the Rockies on the horizon.
Everything was going well, until he felt a noise and something strange in his body. “A pain shot up my left leg. And then I heard a sound I didn’t want to hear. I feel that It was a poisonous rattlesnake.. She had just sunk her fangs into my left leg. “I called 911 and asked for quick help,” she recalled. “’Am I going to die?’ I asked. And the voice on the other end of the phone answered: ‘I don’t know, sir.'”
After three nights in the hospital and with his leg greatly swollen, medical help made the singer improve quickly. “He sucked and it hurt a lot, but he taught me “Lesson number three when it comes to things that matter to me: My reasons for quitting are always excuses in disguise.” he explained.
Considering that a venomous snake bite is a valid reason for abandoning that exhaustive trip, Posner knew that finishing his hike was what would make him feel truly proud of himself, so he set out to finish the remaining 1,000 miles. He returned to the same place where the rattlesnake stuck its fangs into him and continued towards the west coast.
The music star went step by step until he crossed Colorado. Although he no longer wanted to continue, he continued walking and crossed Navajo Mountain, Arizona, Nevada, the Mojave Desert, Hollywood… until he found himself with his feet in the sand of the California beaches that border the Pacific Ocean.
After six months, three days, 2,851 miles and 5.7 million steps, the famous artist managed to dive into the sea water he had long desired. And when he was finally in the dreamed place, he felt a new emotion in his body. “That was happiness. That’s why I learned lesson number four. True happiness comes from growth,” she explained.
In any case, the I Took a Pill in Ibiza singer pointed out that, despite being healthy and happy, he no longer had his father by his side, who had died on January 11, 2017. Jon Posner suffered a glioblastoma that It triggered brain cancer, causing his death, according to Mike himself.
The artist’s dream of walking across the United States began years before his later practice, but he always ended up postponing it because of his work. His tight schedule as a professional musician relegated these months of plenitude that he needed for his own well-being and happiness.
“My dad never got to see me achieve my biggest dream. My greatest accomplishment. And he never got to see me really happy. And so, if the lesson number one ‘not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.’ Lesson two‘the first step is to take a step’. Three‘reasons are excuses in disguise’. Four‘true happiness comes from growth’. Then, lesson number five… Don’t wait,” he advised.
Finally, after giving an inspiring TED talk, Mike Posner performed a song live in honor of his father. Its title is Could You Do the Same, and it has not yet been officially published on any of its digital platforms.
