Introducing TEM Coaching Chats!

We at Pedal Note Media have recently jumped into the deep end on multistreaming which is kind of exciting! We signed up for a service called Castr which enables us to live stream simultaneously to multiple Facebook pages as well as to YouTube.

Last night I kicked off what will be a series of live series called TEM Coaching Chats.

The first one was me riffing on a passage from the incredible new Derek Sivers book, Your Music and People. In this passage, he shares some thoughts on networking. But he has a slightly different take on it than you frequently hear.

He stresses the importance of setting aside time to nurture the relationships with the people who are already in your network rather than only trying to widen the net all of the time. It’s great, actionable advice.

This TEM Coaching Chat is only about 7 minutes long. Below the video is a transcription of a short clip.

Hope you enjoy!

TEM Coaching Chats feature thoughts on making art the world can't live without, finding your audience, and how to prepare yourself for tomorrow's music busin...

“Business has been so weird or non-existent in Covid, in 2020. There are a lot of people who I would usually speak to regularly who I have not spoken to in quite some time, who I would regularly play with or be in the same room as and that has not happened because of Covid.

Reach out to somebody. Seek out their content. If it's good, tell them! If it's good, tell other people! If somebody who is a contact, whether it's a close contact or just a superficial one, puts something out into the world in the form of music or a YouTube video or you name it, and it resonates with you, tell the world! Tag them! They're gonna be really happy that you did.

Send them a message saying ‘I know I've been up and down creatively during this time and it's impressive that you are still doing what you're doing on a regular basis.’ Send them a note. I guarantee you it's gonna make their day. And they are going to keep you in mind and recommend you to people who they feel need to be exposed to what you're putting out into the world if there was a mutual respect there to begin with.

So yes, try and expand your network. But also make sure you spend some intentional time that is set aside to nurture your already existing network.”

Do what matters, now

“The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.”

―Leo Babauta

If you aren't in love, really and truly IN LOVE, with some aspect of your life or career, make a change. What are you waiting for?

Far too often I see people (myself included!) continuing to do something they don't love because they lack the courage to make a change. But rest assured, any time I am not making a change because I'm afraid of the uncertainty on the other side of it, I tell myself a great story that involves all sorts of reasons other than fear to justify it in my head. And I always believe that story, too!

I can't tell you how many TEM Coaching clients I've had over the years who wrestled with a decision that to me as an outsider was an obvious one and when they finally made it they were ecstatic they did.

And I would be remiss to not point out that even though I'm someone who gets paid to help people make these kinds of decisions that I still struggle with making them myself occasionally!

Derek Sivers has a great formula for living life. He says if it's not a &@#$ yes, it's a no. If you are presented with an opportunity (or considering staying in a current one), a no is obviously a no. A maybe is also a no. Derek says that even a yes is a no. The only things he recommends you say yes to are ones that are a &@#$ yes!

Circling back to the above quote, doing anything that I'm not fully and 100% into feels like wasting the gift that is the life we have left. We have to do what matters today because we aren't guaranteed even one more day. There is no time like the present.

This is of course an oversimplification. There are lots of reasons to not simply cut loose an aspect of your portfolio career or your life in general, especially during a pandemic.

Health insurance. Shelter. Food on the table. Stability for yourself or your family. None of these are optional.

But even while checking these vital boxes, we all have more control over how we choose to spend our precious time than we sometimes realize. This is a point that I’ve seen made over and over again in the books that have had the biggest impact on me. It's also a point I've seen the people I look up to model repeatedly through their actions.

In my professional career I’ve quit four college teaching jobs and two professional brass quintets and every single time it was a good decision for me and for them. Anyone reading this is busy just like me. Any time we say yes to anything, we are by definition saying no to other things.

Saying yes to something you like but don’t love or to something that doesn’t have much impact on the world is saying no to doing more important work with the limited amount of time you have left on this earth.

It’s a cliche but this isn’t a dress rehearsal! We only get one crack at this. That’s why I am constantly trying to evaluate my priorities and always trying to have the courage to make difficult decisions. Those decisions will never end in my career and in life so all I can do is face them. Because putting off a difficult decision becomes a decision in and of itself.

Do what matters, now.

Must Hear: Derek Sivers on The James Altucher Show

I am going to start a new series of posts here at the TEM blog called "What I'm Listening To".

I listen to a whole lot of podcasts. I listen to a podcast every day. I also host two of them with a third on the way. I can't get enough of them as an incredible source of completely free information.

I recently stumbled upon The James Altucher Show. He is an incredible interviewer and thinker. He always asks the question you want him to ask next which is the biggest compliment I can give to an interviewer.

Episode 159 features a discussion with Derek Sivers, one of my favorites. I will be shocked if this interview doesn't get you fired up to create what you were meant to create. Can't recommend this interview enough.

(Side note: This interview contains the best quote about goal-setting I've ever heard. He absolutely nails the you know what out of it.)

James Altucher Show Episode 149: Derek Sivers

(Another side note: The blog post that James put together at the above link about the interview is worth the click even if you don't plan on listening to the interview. Good stuff.)