The little chattering voice in your head that provides an endless stream of meaningless thoughts, or the “monkey-mind” as many gurus call it, is first of all not thinking. It is simply having thoughts. Real thinking involves conscious critical analysis, which requires most to actually speak or write their thoughts down to arrive at some useful end.
There is no shortage of interesting pursuits, shiny objects, “plan B’s” and other ways we procrastinate and give into what Steven Pressfield calls “resistance” in his classic, “The War of Art” — the seminal book on creative procrastination. We seem to put everything in the way of just staying the course!
For over a decade, I have studied and experimented with different practices and techniques to become more efficient, productive, creative, and a goal achieving machine. Some practices proved to be much more beneficial across the board than others and I try to keep those in my daily routine.
To hold the attitude that you are in some way “not enough” is to completely misunderstand who you really are. You are more than just another musician. What you create, or as I like to say, channel through your particular artform, is a 100% unique and a one-of-a-kind creation! There has never been anything like it before… Sure, it might resemble a work by a blend of artists you adore, but it is nonetheless your personal expression and reordering of the elements.
Many artists and musicians throughout history have struggled with making ends meet. The subject of money was never one that many of us are comfortable speaking about. So why is this the case? Why is it so hard for us to ask for money in return for providing the services or products that we produce in our industry? This boils down to one thing: What do we believe the true value of our product or rendered services really is?
