Alex Woodard reminded me of how pliable our lives and dreams are if we let go. Alex’s story is a powerful example of driving hard towards his goal of playing his music to thousands. On the eve of achieving his dream, the bottom fell out. His record contract vanished, his dog died and his dream became a nightmare.
Enter stage left; he received a letter from a fan telling her story about loss and love. Alex decided to write her (Emily) a song based on her letter and send it to her. A new dream was born, For the Sender, became the project of Alex and team publishing books and music inspired by letters from the senders.
Today he plays for thousands of people, raises money for charity and collaborates with top musicians. The irony is his original dream had similar ingredients, but once he let go of his desire for fame and fortune, his career took off as his story is rewritten focusing on others.
One of the highlights for me in this conversation with Alex Woodard was discovering the For the Sender song Celebration (click to watch the YouTube performance). Written for Scarlett Lewis after she wrote Alex a letter about the loss of her son Jesse. Jesse was gunned down during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14th, 2012. We featured Scarlett’s letter in this episode in honor of Scarlett, Jesse, and family. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Podcast highlights with Alex Woodard
“It’s not about what you think you want. Stop dreaming. Maybe what you’re supposed to be doing is something more beautiful and bigger than you’ve dreamed. The hard part of this is letting go.”
“Getting rid of my own story, doing something for someone else opened a door in my own soul.”
