“You can declare completion with anything. You are the most powerful person in your world.”
As my coach took me through a completion exercise, I finally gained closure on sadness that had built up over the course of years, maybe even decades.
This wasn’t one of those high-priced, lay down on a black leather couch and regurgitate your life story over the course of months while paying through the nose for someone to listen to you kind of sessions. It was done rapidly, over the phone, in a manner of minutes.
Completion can happen that quickly.
As a champion of artists and an avid adventurer in search of new things that will support you on your journey, I prescribe a regimen of yearly closure, be it the method that follows (originally crafted by leadership trainer Michael Hyatt), or another. Either way, it will become an integral part of your yearly routine if you let it.
7 Questions to Close the Chapter on Another Year
These seven questions form the foundation of your thinking and reflection time and once completed, prevent you from dragging last year’s baggage into this year’s. Best not carry the stench of yesteryear into another, because 2022 doesn’t want to hear about 2021 anymore.
Use my answers as a starting point for generating your own.
If the last year were a movie in your life, what would the genre be?
Martial arts drama (like The Karate Kid). I signed up for a yearlong leadership program in June and completed two quarters. I’m currently in my third quarter.
Hours upon hours of calls, meetings, and work went into new initiatives like Elite Players: All Access Pass, Members Only Audios, The Music Entrepreneur Code – 2022 Edition, my forthcoming album, Back on Solid Ground, and the forthcoming book, The Music Entrepreneur Companion Guide. That’s still just scratching the surface.
It’s a bit of a blur looking back, so an 80s training montage seems appropriate, and it’s far more entertaining for the audience, too, in lieu of watching every painful pushup being knocked out.
What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
When I signed up for the yearlong leadership program, I enrolled in a rollercoaster ride, plain and simple. The program is designed to overwhelm with calls, meetings, and requests. At times, I dragged my feet like a whiny and spoiled child looking for an escape, at times embracing and rising to the challenge of a full life – much fuller than I ever thought possible.
Another major theme is that of rediscovering my passion and purpose. And I see now my inner performer is breathing a prolonged, silent death as the world succumbs to insane, irrational, draconian restrictions hatched by scheming elites and politicians who are bent on collapsing the economy to replace it with a better system of slavery.
I will never be fulfilled just being a writer, marketer, and entrepreneur. And I will never be fulfilled just being a musician. The two are inseparable, and they make my world go around. The performer in me is starving for an outlet.
What did you accomplish this year that you are most proud of?
- I have a closer relationship with my sister – as well as some of my friends – than I have ever had. I communicate more with my mom and my family.
- Narrating two books authored by Amos Bracewell.
- Taking on the yearlong leadership program and building multiple teams in multiple areas of life.
- Launching The Renegade Musician System.
- Blogging daily for 365 days (now up to 17 months).
- Bringing Content Marketing Musician to the world.
- Winning three awards for The Nobody Prayer (Original Soundtrack).
- Launching Elite Players: All Access Pass.
- Raising over $2,000 for Sahakarini.
- Launching Members Only Audios.
- Appearing on Break the Business.
- Publishing The Music Entrepreneur Code – 2022 Edition.
What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
I have received acknowledgement in virtually area of life, except for:
- In my continued efforts to champion artistic success
- In implementing and following a new exercise and diet program – results forthcoming
What disappointments did you experience this past year?
- I’m thoroughly disappointed in the hundreds of musicians who come to my websites, and don’t believe in themselves enough to take the next step in their careers with a book, course, or coaching program. I don’t come cheap, but it’s a minimal investment for a lifetime of inspiration and results (i.e., “It’s all my fault, I suck at selling”).
- I’m thoroughly disappointed in the young ladies who pass up an opportunity with one of the most desirable bachelors to ever exist (i.e., “It’s all my fault, I suck at dating”).
What was missing from last year as you look back?
Besides the above: Travel, food, fun, and performance were all missing to greater or lesser degrees.
What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?
- You can convince yourself that you can only stretch so far, only to discover that you can stretch much further. My plate is fuller than ever, but I’ve embraced the practice of moving multiple projects forward with great urgency.
- Structure is good. Life feels like it’s moving when your calendar is full. You feel like a ship without a rudder when it isn’t.
- You don’t rise to the challenge unless there’s a challenge to rise to. Whether it’s publishing daily or taking on an intensive yearlong leadership program, new challenges have presented themselves, causing me to rise higher.
Additional Resources
The best book on the topic, without a doubt, is Michael Hyatt’s Your Best Year Ever. His book will show you in clear detail how you can set yourself up to have an exceptional, powerful, life-affirming, goal-reaching year. I read it before meeting my mastermind group in Silverthore, CO in winter 2019, and it made it into the top three books I read in 2019.
My book, Start Your Year the Right Way, dives deeper into the various practices I have in my life to ensure I cause completion and set myself up for success each year. There are plenty (but not too many) prompts to guide your reflections and space enough to write down your answers.
You can also hire me as your coach at a premium, and if you wish to explore new possibilities together, get in touch. I don’t respond immediately to most emails but do prioritize potential clients.
Past Reflections
I have been consistent in sharing my reflections since 2014. Self-indulgent, perhaps, but if you found this reading valuable, you will find these articles beneficial also:
Closing the Chapter on 2014
Closing the Chapter on 2015
Closing the Chapter on 2016
Closing the Chapter on 2017
Closing the Chapter on 2018
Closing the Chapter on 2019
Closing the Chapter on 2020
Final Thoughts
Remember – completion is caused, not offered. No one can give it to you. You must seek it out and create it yourself. Any memories you continually cycle through in your mind are incomplete. Become present to the impact, and once you’re clear on all the ways it has affected you, declare it complete. You are the most powerful person in your world, and completion is yours to claim.
