I keep thinking about the fact that Dolly Parton was only 28 when this happened.

Not Dolly Parton the institution.
Not Dolly Parton the legend.

Just a young songwriter trying to make it on her own, sitting across from an opportunity most people would have had a very hard time turning down.

Elvis wanted to record her song.

And she said no.

What gets me isn’t that she somehow knew what would happen with the song later. She couldn’t have.

It’s that she apparently knew what she wasn’t willing to give away.

There’s a difference.

I’ve been thinking about how often the biggest decisions in our lives probably don’t look very big when we’re making them.

You don’t know what happens next.

You just have to decide what you’re willing to trade to find out.

btwn.life