I’m Not Talented

I’m Not Talented

I will admit to having somewhat of a natural gifting when it came to the guitar.

But in other areas of life where I’ve created any level of “success,” it was not because I was talented or gifted.

I’ve been dedicated to my success as an entrepreneur for 12 years.

I’ve been reading and implementing personal development materials for 15 years.

I’ve been fascinated by words and the art of writing for 26 years.

I’ve applied myself consistently in each of these areas. If I’m any good at any of it, it’s only because I’ve committed myself to practice.

I’m not talented. That would be amazing. I often wonder what that’s like.

There was a price to pay to get to my humble little hill in a world filled with mountains.

Getting it Dialed in

Getting it Dialed in

Life is flowing. Energy is moving. Blessings are closing in.

I’ve heard entrepreneurs talk about this phenomena before. And now I can recognize it when it shows up.

When everything feels like it’s dialed in, you’re not looking for ways to improve or optimize your routine. You’re looking for ways to stay consistent. Keep up what you’re doing because you know it’s working.

Many things in my life are getting dialed in. Some are in the process of getting dialed in (and they’re almost there – I can feel it!). And all I’m looking to do now is stay consistent.

I can’t say that I’ve never experienced flow like this before. But after years of stagnation, I honestly didn’t expect for it to show up again. I didn’t think it would change. Crazy how the human mind works. Crazy how easily we adapt to our personal hells.

I’m beyond grateful. And whatever crazy thing I’m doing that’s working, whatever is connecting with people, I want to keep doing it.

How to Set Up Your Schedule as a Musician

How to Set Up Your Schedule as a Musician

A student of mine recently came to me with a bit of a conundrum.

Her week was starting to fill up fast with various calls and meetings, on top of her regular business duties and work schedule. With the sheer volume of activity, she was now facing, she wasn’t confident she’d be able to maintain her well-being, especially as she was used to taking two days off per week, usually in succession.

I acknowledged the urgency of the situation, but first, I asked her to humor me and share with me what her daily activity was like.

What I started to see was that even with everything she’d taken on, she would still be able to take two days off per week. It just wouldn’t be one after another.

“You can take Tuesdays off,” I offered. And at first, she wasn’t too fond of the idea, because that would mean one day off, one day on, one day off, and four days on. But ultimately, she couldn’t argue with the feasibility or practicality of it. “You’d still be able to take two days off and meet all your weekly commitments,” I explained. And she could see the wisdom in that.

As we seek to nail down our weekly schedules, we certainly can’t ignore our well-being. When we’re pushing too hard and start to feel exhausted, we need to acknowledge that what we’re doing is unsustainable and to begin to look for other ways of meeting our commitments.

Starting with the end in mind can be quite helpful. If you know you want two days off, or even three days off per week, you can often find a way. It might mean moving some meetings around, or making requests of your team, but once you separate the emotion from the practicality of it, you start to see that you can really set up your schedule however you want!

And this isn’t just about your well-being. It’s also about consistency. Consistency is easy when you have a routine. Much harder when you’re all over the map.

You need to be clear on what it is you’re trying to accomplish each week. And if you’re goal oriented, it really is about focusing on the needle movers. Don’t get sucked into the black hole of putting out fires. Put out the fires, yes. But be sure the identify the urgency of the situation before calling a spark a fire.

For a proven, step-by-step framework in cracking the code to independent music career success, and additional in-depth insights into making your passion sustainable and profitable, be sure to pick up my best-selling guide, The Music Entrepreneur Code.