Keep Your Mind on Your Goals

One of the hardest parts of working online AS WELL AS being a singer songwriter producer in the new music business is the management of all the moving pieces, multiple hats, and thus multiplied responsibilities...

Update your social media properties, post to your blog regularly, keep all the music hosting channels up to date, work on your crafts, work on your crafts, write the music, develop your music, record your songs, update the website...AAAAAAAAAAHHH!

One thing i’m beginning to notice and wonder if this really is a fundamental change we must embrace to be successful in this day and age. The notion is that we CANNOT sacrifice doing these things, i mean we could... But the prize will go to the those who do, and find a way to manage, until they can systemize, workshift, and the with a new found excitement - be allowed to recharge and refocus on ONLY the things he/she NEEDS and wants to do.

But at first, without the money, without the manpower, it must be a committed effort, on our part to do ALL WE can on our own. For most of us, it appears this is road we must go, if we make strides to prove that we DO what we can to have what we want.

Anyway, back to the concept. The idea i’m driving at is that there are certainly much more things that we must do today, and i cannot rationally expect to just be a singer, or just a guitarist, or just a songwriter, and be the best songwriter i possibly can, and focus all my effort and time on only that, NO???

So then does this mean that the focused mastery of learning one skill must be sacrificed, for some portion, some start-up-get-momentum and get ready to fly period of time, where in that time we scramble to put as much doing in as many of the right places for as long as we can keep our heads together, and then are finally afforded the ability of altitude in our vantage point once we’ve built our foundation.

So is the new paradigm learn as you go, is this model a learn what you need to learn, to do what you need/choose to do?

Because to me, this seems, irrefutably, to be the case.

What i’ve learned is that the best thing you can do is to keep your mind on your goals, and i mean, fixed firmly on your goals. When you run into snags, or distractions, or tussles with perfectionism... You have to think, what is the end goal that i’m actually trying to achieve here? The real key here is the conclusion that you make after asking yourself that question. It should, and the trick is to use this question as a reframing exercise, and immediately regain a grip on whats actually important. Perhaps the biggest priority is getting the task done verses worrying about something tedious that has got your hung up?

The name of the game here is to build that into your conscious problem solving skills, this will keep you more productive and help you stay on target instead of straying of target, scattering your focus, or getting stuck on something trivial.

Welcome to DIY Artist Development. This is the new music business. Be strong in your resolve, and don’t give up my friends.

If we were able to simply go down to the local labels artist development office and pitch our act, get some pointers, and then go back and work on perfecting only my crafts... AND then, finally, when i had it all right, then i’d go down there, perform my stuff and blow em all away, and then subsequently the curtains would part, a congratulatory marching band came rushing out from the backstage, and a smirking CEO stepped on stage to present me with the deal of a lifetime that ensured my unobstructed guarantees of just making music, never worrying about money, and getting to live my life in freedom on my terms...

Well, then that would be just fine. I’d say to hell with the DIY route...

Unfortunately, thats not the case. So my goal is simply to keep my head above water, keep making progress in all the areas that are important, and do my best to keep evaluating my priorities, until i find myself where i picture myself, and continue to, very practically and realistically, dream about.

To Your Success, Jamie