Why I FAILED

Thanksgiving

My prayer for you today is that you are surrounded by thankful people. Yes there are problems in the world and yes there are likely problems with your world too. But today is not about that. It is a day of thankful reflection and hopeful dreaming. Get yourself around people who think this way and spend your day talking, thanking and dreaming.

Then do it again tomorrow and the day after. The key to a successful life, more than any other single factor, is the people you hang with.

Nothing brings more joy than people.

Nothing brings more heartache.

Nothing brings more hope.

Nothing brings more love.

Nothing brings more life.

And for you? I wish you life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Read this and then go practice!

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Music & Money Monday - 360 Deals

Your turn:

Read this and let me know your thoughts.

Is this the right business model? Will the labels be able to meet their end of this bargain?

I don’t think so. What do you think?

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Follow the Money Folks

I’ve been tracking this story a few ways and have found an effective recap here.

Simply put, two financial analysts have downgraded the stock of Warner Music Group. So now, in addition to dealing with falling revenue from the sale of unit based music (CD’s and tapes), the major labels (Warner’s just the first) will also have to deal with a lack of interest from investors.

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Radiohead Signs “Conventional” Record Deal

Conventional in the sense of CD distribution but not in the sense of a major label.

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Failure Friday - Fail Forward

The number one key to success is failure, but only if it’s done properly. It’s not enough to simply fail faster, you must also fail forward.

Failing Forward is the antithesis of insanity. It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while hoping for different results. This is how most people fail and it is why most people quit trying.

Failing Forward means continually adjusting your strategy of attempts and/or goals. If your first path doesn’t work, use another. If the path reveals a reason to adjust your goal, change it.

Failing Forward also means you build on wins, however small they may be. There are ALWAYS wins if you look for them. They may be tangible gains or a lesson learned, but they are always there. The important thing is to use them as stepping stones to the next level. Make them powerful wins by putting them into practice.

Success is a minute by minute, inch by inch, win-by-win process. A process that only works through trial and error - and failure.

One more thought: get rid of the word try. Face it, most of the time we use the word “try” so we can have an out when we fail. We say it like “well, I’ll try, but…”  We are also very adept at saying “I TRIED, but it just didn’t….”. It’s likely that the most common word following “try” is “but.”

Stop trying. Do. In fact, fully do. Be engaged, go for it, give what you do 100% of yourself. You can’t get what you want by “trying.”

Go fail forward.

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Facebook Music Is Coming

I’ll keep you posted, but this could be big.

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Donald Trump and A Musician

Donald Trump is running an “Ask Donald J. Trump” contest and guess what the latest winner does for a living?

He’s a musician. 

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Why it Hurts to be a Musician

I’m feeling stifled. I’m feeling lost in a world spinning out of control. The very things I want to do - that I LONG to do - I can’t seem to do. The mundane, “have to do” things have taken over. I’m depressed.

This might strike you as odd considering my goal here is to inspire others to greatness. It is indeed odd.

What’s interesting is the fact that my desire to help others is at the root of my current state. I have a burning desire to accomplish things that become clearer with each day. With each day I see the possibilities of a career spent teaching and guiding people - musicians and non-musicians - toward the life they are meant to live. A life they need to live and a life that we all NEED them to live.

It’s like when I was a musician.

When I was a kid I used to play drums for hours. As soon as I got home from school I was in our basement with headphones on playing to a long list of favorite “drum songs.” If I wasn’t doing that, I was playing in various groups inside and outside of school. The same thing was true in college (University of North Texas) and even afterwards for a while.

But there came a time when the work slowed and we were living in an apartment and I simply wasn’t playing much. It was painful to watch a concert or go to a club. I felt like I was locked outside the hottest party in town. I was watching other people playing the music I knew I was meant to play. I had mixed feelings of joy, frustration and sadness because while watching them reinforced my dream, my heart ached for it to come true. But I was invisible. Left out. Stifled.
This is why it hurts to be a musician. It hurts because music comes from the heart, but it’s expressed through the body. It involves every part of a person unlike anything else except dance and sports. This is also why these things touch observers deeply too. A powerful performance is powerful because the performer is committed 100%.

When a musician performs they are alive.

I know how it feels.