Music forces us to look inward. When we hear something, images and thoughts spontaneously arise. When we let ourselves go and allow the music to take us on a journey, we can learn about the deepest parts of ourselves. As founders, our responsibility is to create opportunities for audiences to experience these self-revelations. Our projects can be more than mere entertainment, a way to pass the time. Maybe we don’t get it right...or maybe some people don’t like it. The important part is that we have the intention to do more, to create something bigger than ourselves. What is your intention?
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What are you committed to? What is it that you’re willing to sacrifice everything else for? What is the priority? Knowing what you’re committed to helps. It means you’re not committed to other things, which helps make decisions easier. If there’s a conflict, you go with the commitment that you already decided ahead of time. It’s not even personal at that point. If you’re not willing to give up other things for it, then you’re not committed.
Maybe it’s a value or a project or a person or an ideal. Maybe it’s a few things...maybe it’s one. That’s up to you. FOMO can creep in. But you already know you’re missing out on something else--because you’re giving that up for your commitment. So, choose to miss out on other things for something that is vital to you. Have you tried looking for an audience somewhere you haven’t looked yet? You might be surprised what you find--by people who have been waiting for an ensemble just like yours. Maybe they’re people you’ve assumed wouldn’t enjoy it. Ask them anyway. Let them tell you “no”--don’t speak for them. Invitations also start conversations. Maybe they do say “no.” Why? What are they looking for? It all starts with an email or a conversation.
If you’ve tried something several times before (and it hasn’t worked), you should either: 1) do something different, perhaps drastically so. 2) Fully commit to it--quit trying to do something and do it. One doesn’t “try” swimming...either you do it or you don’t. Committing may also force you to push through the difficulty and find a solution when, at first glance, it didn’t look like there was one.
You have an idea for a project, but you don’t know what to do. You’ve talked with some friends and have done some research online. But you’re not sure. Where do you start?
Try sending an email to yourself, or your mom or dad, or your sibling. Explain your goals--what does the project look like? Who is it for? What does it need? Who are the important people? Why should anyone care? Most projects need straightforward things (a place and people)--and the answers might be more straightforward than you think. Bad situations are ripe for lessons. Maybe we learn to avoid doing something. Maybe we see how something well-intentioned didn’t work. Maybe we notice that small changes would lead to dramatically different outcomes. Regardless, we learn--and we can continue to learn. Why waste the opportunity of a perfectly good bad situation?
More than anything, I hate sending emails. I overthink them. I worry how the other person might interpret the text. Will they misunderstand something--or worse think that I’ve said something mean spirited when I really meant just what I said.
So, I consider. And think more. Will they think I’m a fool? What if they hate the idea? I should revise. This wasn’t clear. I’ll reword this. A lot of times, I never get around to sending an email--especially if it’s for something significant. I think and consider until it’s irrelevant. Even now, I tell myself that you have to risk sounding rude or silly in order to communicate with someone (of course, it’s true everywhere in life!). The overconsidered, perfect email that’s never sent is ultimately meaningless and a waste of time. Music is about connection, and it requires communication to make it happen. So, we must connect, even if it’s with imperfect emails. If you’re like me, here’s an invitation to send that email you’ve been meaning to send but haven’t because it’s not right yet. Finish it, send it, and connect. Sometimes sending something imperfect is better than not sending anything at all. Grant applications are difficult with difficult language that can make it difficult to understand what is actually needed. Even if you don’t have a clue, you should ask someone for help or write an answer and send anyway. The act of writing and applying helps to clarify ideas and to get things out of your head into the real world. Embrace those opportunities for imperfection.
Music is at its core a bunch of sounds with no inherent meaning to them. However, as we invest our hopes and dreams, sadness and despairs, it becomes a reflection of ourselves. Mere sounds are transformed into a well-polished mirror. At peak form, music becomes a divine encounter with ourselves. What we do after seeing ourselves is up to us.
What’s the difference between wanting to do something and doing something? Between wanting to be something and being something? Wanting to write music merely requires a desire. Writing music requires action--you have to sit at a computer or table and input or write notes. Wanting is internal potential energy, while doing is external kinetic energy. If you want to be a musician or a founder, you have to transfer the wanting energy into an action in the real world. Wanting is a thought. Doing and being is a reaching out. Stop wanting and lift your arm.
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