Creative Risk

You are going to have to risk something so that you can continue to create beautiful music in your life.

Risk will make you sweat

  Risk will make you uncomfortable

  Risk will make you wonder why you ever chose to do this new thing.

Your art will call you to do something new, because that is the nature of art.  It demands recognition and visibility and risk. 

I find far too many artists are complacent.   They don’t want to risk.  They somehow think that if they create one song and/or write an album worth of music, success in the outer world will happen because they posted a song or two on Spotify.  

Nothing wrong with sharing, but the problem with the one-shot angle is that it doesn’t work in the long run. The very nature of art continues to call you to a higher plane, a bigger thing and the next thing.

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What happens when we dream of bigger things, but settle for less? What happens when we fail to risk?

I can tell you, because I see it every day. 

Unfulfilled dreams inevitably turn into low-grade stress and emotional weirdness; And you can carry this tension like a sack of potatoes with you everywhere you go - for years.  

The natural outcome, without a strategy in place, without some knowledge of what you are getting yourself into, is to stay grounded, like an airplane on the tarmac, frozen in place.

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When you do get going, there will be an inevitable time when you will wonder why you are pursuing your music at all because it seems too hard, difficult or impossible. And once again, you will be brought to your own front door where you will be asked to take a risk and re-commit to the task at hand.

The creative journey will offer some things you hadn’t thought about before. Embrace it. Wear it like a second skin because the alternative is not anything you’d want anyway. You know in your heart that music is too important and necessary in your life, so you will just have to keep going, despite the hardship.

The strategy is a simple one:

Step #1: Stay in the moment and take one action step, everyday.  

Not a “I’m just thinking about it first” action step - but an actual hit-the-ground-running action step. Every step along the way will feel risky and odd – guaranteed.  But that is the nature of our business.  It comes with the territory.

And start this week.

Yes, scary, I know.

Step #2: The second thing is keep your thoughts and dreams at the forefront of your consciousness.

A shining north star. A goal. Something out there that seems incredibly awesome. Something that makes you smile when you think about it.

Write your dream scene down and put it by your bedside. Read it in the morning and read it at night. When things get rocky, your dream statement will keep you centered, as long as you keep feeling it, loving it and dreaming about it. Then take that one step……

P.S. If you don’t know what your next step is, put your hand over your heart and ask. Listen carefully. Your heart will tell you the answer.

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When you are done with step 1 and 2, do the process all over again; and then watch the miracles accumulate in your life.  

Don’t be in a hurry. This will take awhile.

The momentum of happiness will increase organically.

I promise you will feel excitement and fear all at the same time.   

And that’s a very good thing.