Lindsey Stirling

Through my unique style of playing, I want to prove that you don\'t have to conform to be accepted. The greatest value comes from loving yourself for who you are.

YouTube is such a funny little world. You can create a fanbase.

I know that I received so much help from God to become that kind of person that I wanted to be. That\'s honestly the message that I think is in a lot of my songs.

Online is such an important platform... it\'s all one giant melting pot of talents. The times are changing. It\'s just art now. You can share your audiences with everyone, and it\'s exciting.

I never would\'ve tried YouTube if I hadn\'t had so many doors slammed in my face.

My audience is a huge part of my success, so I see us as a team. They send me tons of song requests every day. Some of the songs I\'ve never heard before, but I listen to them and then pick the ones that I love.

I tried so many different musics. I kind of burned out on classical and wanted to make it fun again. I started playing with indie bands and country bands and finally realized electronic music brought my style to life.

When I first came to college, it was a time that I was trying to figure out, \'Who am I? What makes me special?\' and I started to find most of my value in the fact that I was thin.

I never liked feeling like the world needed to have labels on everything, whether it\'s people or categories of music. I think everyone should be what they want to be, and you shouldn\'t have to look a certain way in order to fit this mold or that mold.

I think it\'s most important to, rather than just do what everybody else is doing, like tons of selfies, find out what makes you excited. You know, is it taking pictures and doing cool makeup and making yourself look great? If so, wonderful. Is it music? Is it teaching something? Are you great at teaching?

Visualization - it\'s been huge for me. Your mind doesn\'t know the difference between imagination and reality. You can\'t always practice perfectly - my fingers will play a little bit out of tune, or my dance moves might not be as sharp - but in my mind, I can practice perfectly.

If your mom asks you to do the dishes, do not pull out your pirate attitude. But if someone tells you you\'re not good enough, says your dreams are too lofty, or claims there is no room in showbiz for a dancing violinist - well then, by all means, pull out your eye patch, my friend, and take to the high seas.

I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don\'t realize you have it. And you can\'t heal until you realize there\'s a problem.

Sometimes, being different feels a lot like being alone. But with that being said, being true to that and being true to my standards and my way of doing things in my art and my music, everything that has made me feel very different... in the end, it has made me the happiest.

The greatest value comes from loving yourself for who you are. I've been teaching myself this for years, so I hope that by showing what I've learned, others can find the same freedom and joy I have.

Make a difference no matter what role you play

Make your influence a good one.<br />Act in a way you would be proud of even if the whole world was watching, because your example could mean the world to just one person.

I want to prove that you don't have to conform to be accepted. The greatest Value comes from loving yourself for who you are.

No one should be afraid to be themselves.

Rise above your circumstances, change the world one person at a time starting with you, and be the inspiration you've been searching for.

The only reason I am successful is because I have stayed true to myself.

We all have negative days, but that doesn't mean we are pessimistic. We all do stupid things, but that doesn't mean we are stupid. It's important to be able to distinguish between what happens to us and who we are, and look forward with hope for new and better days ahead!

I guess you never know what's going to come at you in life, but the answer is never to crawl into a box and throw in the towel. There is good that can come from anything, even if it's just a later laugh and a good story.

Are you maximizing your minute or are you making the most of the moment?

What brings a real and lasting joy is our relationships with God, and our love for His other children He has put in our lives. It's people; friends and family that fulfil us. All else, fame, popularity, beauty, is so fleeting.

By finding the courage to be ourselves, we gain the power to make a difference.