Here is a traditional Cherokee story, one you may have heard before—but with an ending that (at least for me) was brand new. I find its lesson especially relevant for musicians. It’s based on a version posted anonymously on the website awakin.org, and titled Beyond...
Rejection—it’s an inevitable part of life as a professional musician. You fail to advance in an audition round, your grant proposals are turned down, or you experience radio silence in response to your email pitches. Rejection just comes with the territory. The...
What if instead of letting fear and uncertainty overpower us, what if we leaned into accepting where we are now: Musicians — Welcome to the Ordeal. I know, it sounds like a video game. I wish it were. But it's our reality: we're in the Ordeal, the "all is lost"...
Maybe you've had this experience, too. You've been working (or worrying) over some area of your career and then it seems like out of the blue, you stumble upon the perfect book that addresses your issue. Feels like magic. Like the author wrote it just for you. Now,...
Here's a special treat: my colleague and friend Matthew Carey is a pianist, music director, and coach from down under. His terrific podcast Studio Time is about "the big and small ways artists can change the world." Matthew recently interviewed me. It was a fun,...
The #1 reason why musicians seek out career coaching is probably not what you think. It's not about needing more strategies or information. It's because there's something they know they need to be doing for their career but they're NOT doing it. So let's great real:...
Has this ever happened to you? Anticipatory anxiety. There's nothing to worry about yet, nothing bad has happened but you work yourself into a tizzy anyway based on your thought distortions: the messages you're telling yourself. Here's my latest. It involves some...
This week, it's all about mystery: actually, I've got 4 of them for you: #1 Remember the movie "Shakespeare in Love"? There's a terrific scene in which the business of the performing arts is explained. Geoffrey Rush plays Henslowe, the impresario behind Shakespeare's...
MONDAY BYTES — August 22, 2016 Has this ever happened to you? The right book suddenly "appears" — you find yourself reading something perfect that offers the perspective you most need. Whether fiction or non-fiction, the book seems to directly address your...
