It’s not about “I’ve been doing this for years.”
Talking to a friend who’s struggling and they’re really stuck on how long they spent doing the thing they’re doing that’s no longer working for them.
I contend the length of time spent on a method or project, job, or system, has nothing to do with why you should or shouldn’t keep doing it.
“Let it go.”
It may have gotten out of fashion, maybe it’s making you crazy, maybe you wanted money and aren’t getting it, maybe you were duped and just now realize it. There’s tons of circumstances, but none that I can think of require you to be stubborn because you’ve been doing the thing so long.
What is entitlement? Really???
Let me try to be as gentle as I can. You see, when we expect something from the world, that’s entitlement. The world will chew you up. It does not consider you in disasters, corrupt regimes, and crisis. It likely doesn’t even know who you are. When we expect something from an entity like that, we’re being entitled. This does not mean expecting justice is being entitled. Or even fairness. Those are broken systems that need bolstering. Our songs ain’t that. Our songs are like, “look at me,” while all that goes on.
I’m chaotic/good.
Chaos is a hard concept for a lot of folks. One reason is it means we don’t mean anything. I think folks struggle with worthlessness as it is. They don’t want to hear that. The reason they struggle is because it’s true in many respects. They feel entitled to more.
Key: Inside Job
I’ve long ditched notions of meaning and purpose for anyone else. It’s become an inside job, not an outside one. If I mean something to me, I consider that a win.🥇 In fact, I might be the only person I’m saving in this crazy life. All I get. You know what? That’s fine to me today. But it wasn’t always. It means not being worth much to folks. This isn’t as bad for me as it used to be. In fact, I sometimes enjoy it. I like when folks don’t need me. It’s kinda’ what I want for them.
What a negative value proposition is.
Your value is up to you. Just like deciding on a religion, you decide on what you are worth. When you think about what money is, look it up, realize it’s a concept, there’s no reason in the world each one of us can’t be worth a shit load of it. When you let yourself out the gate for less than that, you are in the thick of a negative value proposition. Why put yourself on sale? Likes? Listens? Friends? I’ve done it. But I’ve found that maintaining a base-line value and not going below that essential for me to like me. I treat myself better today because I’m worth something to me. It takes practice just to get here. Who knows where I’ll wind up tomorrow?
Without taking care of my mind and putting a value on myself, I’d be a miserable musician. As it is, I got asked for djembe tracks last night. I’ll take my way. I love djembe and it feels good to be asked for it. But if I was a worthless djembe player….
All of our boats have leaks, but we don’t all sink at the same rate.
Just because you have spent forever doing things one way doesn’t mean it’s the right way. It simply means you’re invested in that way. Hate to tell you, but investments go south more often than not. Don’t throw resources at a sinking ship if you ain’t happy, I say. Find a different boat.
“Keep making music.”🤷
People say “keep making music” all the time to me. I don’t know what they mean. It makes me laugh. Says nothing about liking or not liking the song I showed them. I would feel awkward saying that that to anyone. Comes off as “good try.” That’s not how I feel about any music.
Yet, “don’t quit” is the takeaway. As if I’d ever! But I’ll certainly change things up to make it fun or interesting. I might quit one way or another of doing things. But I’m sure the music will stick around. I’m changing all the time. The music does too. Can’t help it.
Ditch it like cigarettes…Learn what artistic power is.
What I’ve given up, and am better off for, is expecting anything from anyone. I have a few close friends that have the power to make me upset. But 99 percent of the folks reading this just don’t have that kind of power over me today. It’s not about my power anymore. It’s about theirs. And they’ve finally lost it. When I’m myself, when I’m honest, they have lost power over me. Scary, I know. I’ve done it. But I haven’t found a better way to go at this……yet!
Eye to eye here…
To be completely honest, I think being a “successful musician” or even “successful person” is in this entry somewhere for me. Most of my life I was a scared little lying shit. To not have that problem today? Priceless. But it took a long time. If you can relate, I’d get crackin’. Might have to change things up. I did! Time’s ‘a wastin’. 🤷😜
Return to home.
Like a River is a song we wrote together that gave us chances at walking in other folks’ shoes. I love taking those chances today. But it took a bit for me. I hope it’s sooner for you.