Recently, I heard an interview on NPR with musician Sean Forbes. He’s from Detroit and from a family of musicians. His stepmother is a pianist, his father and uncle have a country rock band called The Forbes Brothers, and his brothers play saxophone and bass. It’s natural that Sean would be a musician; he’s been around music all of his life.

But it wasn’t a given.

In 2000, Sean decided to attend Rochester Institute of Technology, and in 2005 he graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. But music still called. Today, he is a professional rap musician; he’s signed with a major record label and pursuing his dream (and what some might call his destiny). But there is one important thing about Sean that I’ve left out: He has been deaf since he was a baby and he contracted meningitis. People told Sean he couldn’t be a musician, but he ignored them. He can’t hear music, but he can feel the beat.

To help other deaf people love and enjoy music, Sean founded D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network www.d-pan.com) and began signing the lyrics to songs.

Sean is emphatic that being deaf is not a disability. He loves music. He’s passionate about music. And he wants very much to share music with others. (Wanna learn more about how Sean is building a bridge between the music industry and deaf people? Go to www.myspace.com/deafandloud.)

Sean Forbes never let his disability prevent him from pursuing his dream of being a musician. In the interview I listened to, he tells the story of interning for a company while in college. After his internship, the people there offered him a job. He says he could see the shock on the face of his manager when he turned down that full-time position because he wanted to be a professional musician.

The world thought it was crazy—not to mention pretty much impossible—for a deaf guy to be a musician, but it made perfect sense to Sean.

Are you pursuing your passion? Or are you letting others hold you back from achieving what you want at work and in life? Be like Sean. He ignored the naysayers and people with their “let me tell you why that won’t work” opinions of his future. In the pursuit of your own dreams, there might be a million reasons why you can’t do something. I challenge you to move past all that. Get uncomfortable. Take some risks. Set your sights on your dream, and then spend the rest of your time pursuing that dream. When you achieve it, pick another dream and chase that one. Be like Sean.