There are going to be problems no matter what.
Trading one set of problems for another, that’s the road to success.
But there doesn’t have to be complaining about the problems no matter what.
If you find yourself complaining beyond the acceptable threshold of complaining, it might be time to go get a new set of problems.
If you bring your surf board everyday to the lakes in Minnesota…you’re not a surfer.
Because there isn’t surfing in Minnesota. There could be lots of people who have the gear, love the sport, love talking about the sport and want to surf…but if the whole thing is void of the thing that it’s suppose to be built upon, then the result is something completely different.
The result isn’t surfers. It’s simply people who like surfing.
In a similar way…
It’s fun to show up to Nashville or LA or New York and wear the clothes, go to the meetings, drink the drinks, shake the hands, romanticize your plans, passionately discuss your dreams and do it all again the next day…
But can you sing? Can you play? Do you have songs? Can you connect? Do you take people’s breath away? Are they glad you’re the one on stage, on camera, taking the lead? Can you actually do the things that this whole business is built upon?
Decide what this is.
You brushed your teeth this morning…that’s probably not enough to be this. But if you have to start there, then let that be this.
The trick is to get yourself to notice and label what this is so you can add to it and tweak this as you go.
This isn’t about doing the least but rather raising the bar.
When something works out in your career…
Some people prefer ‘it just happened’…on it’s own, magically, surprisingly, someone picked me…So if this good thing turns out to be not so good, I’m not responsible because ‘it just happened’.
And some people prefer ‘I made it happen’…sheer willpower, an island, air tight plan and execution…So I get all the credit.
The truth is somewhere in between…it wouldn’t have happened without a little luck…and your contribution.
There’s just as much creativity in how you write the song as the song itself.
‘Let’s try it this way’ turns the song into ‘that way’.
There’s creativity in the deep dark. There’s creativity in surface level. There’s creativity in collaboration or by yourself. In writing in your bedroom. In the studio. In writing across the world. Writing at night vs. in the morning vs. as night becomes morning. In mourning. In ecstasy. Before lunch. After lunch.
And then there’s the matter of what instrument you pick up or plug-in you plug in or whether you write on a yellow pad or a yellow iPhone note.
The creativity that goes into the creation is endless and is worth messing with.
»» Even those with a system know there’s no system.
It’s probably not actually bad advice…it’s just bad advice for your situation.
And of course the person means well…as there’s not many people looking to derail you with bad advice on purpose.
But it happens all the time…it’s well meaning but not applicable.
So how can you tell?
Discernment is accrued (in part) by knowing where you are going and why you are going there. That way you can easily and quickly hold the advice up to your vision and decipher how it might help on your particular journey…or if it doesn’t at all.