Quartet #37: A 2-Step Process for Avoiding Procrastination, the Magic of Uncertainty, and More!
Sorry I've been largely missing in action! I have traveled to Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York City over the last four weekends which feels a lot like my former life touring with Boston Brass!
It is really good to be busy, but that much travel made a lot of things get put on hold. It is good to be settling in again (I say as I'm heading to Philadelphia in the morning!)
#3 below is about procrastination and I looked for a free stock photo about procrastinating and this guy sitting on his couch reading his phone while sitting next to a bunch of cleaning products came up and I can't stop laughing at it.
Anyways, it is good to be back and I hope your fall has been a productive one thus far!
And now on to this week's ideas...
Quartet of the Week
1. The Power of Focusing on One Task at a Time (7-min read)
Multi-tasking is crock. This article gets into why and closes with three strategies for focusing on only one thing at a time.
2. The Uncertainty Pledge (1-min read)
This is just a quote graphic from Instagram with a great description. "Uncertainty is where possibility lives."
Beautiful words to live by.
3. What to Do About That Thing You’ve Been Putting Off (2-min read)
This is pretty brilliant. It is amazing to me how often I can let little things I'm dreading just low-key eat me alive.
This offers a 2-step process for avoiding that dread.
4. Iconic Movie Trailers, Explained by a Trailer Editor (11-min watch)
This is an insightful look inside a very specific creative process: the making of movie trailers.
You might be asking yourself: what the hell does that have to do with having a career as an entrepreneurial musician?
I am sharing this because anytime I see an expert in any creative field go into this much nuanced detail about their corner of the arts it changes my approach to what I do musically.
And this has the added bonus of being all about storytelling - which is what convinces people to take lessons from you or to hire you to compose a piece for them or for their concert series.
This video set my brain in motion almost instantly on a number of fronts so I'm passing it along!
What's New With TEM
TEM310 features the story of actor Steve Schirripa betting on himself and ending up with a permanent role on The Sopranos. It's an incredible story about an artist betting on themself against the advice of others.
I also tell the story of the time one of my mentors, Scott Hartman, explaining to me the difference between building and maintaining an aspect of your career. An important distinction!
My Final Thought of the Week
Here's a quote to send you on your way:
"If you send up a weather vane or put your thumb up in the air every time you want to do something different, to find out what people are going to think about it, you're going to limit yourself. That's a very strange way to live."
—Jessye Norman
I had the privilege of seeing the late, great Jessye Norman perform many times as a kid, including the single greatest concert I have ever attended (page 41 of this program.)
She was one of the best musical storytellers of the 20th century. Her singing demanded that you have an opinion about it, something all great art does.
I find this quote to be quite inspiring. If you take an opinion poll, real or perceived, before you ever try something different, you will never have the courage to make art that commands an opinion.
It will always be pretty good but never good enough for someone to feel the need to share it with others.
And as she so eloquently points out, constantly asking permission is a very strange way to live! Not just strange - exhausting.
So have the courage to be different without asking permission first. You will be happy that you did.
Here's to having a creative week!
Cheers,
Andrew
The Entrepreneurial Musician
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