Keep Good Council

This is probably an understatement, but there are a lot of negative and jaded people in the music business. "No, really?" says you. : ) Yeah, and we've all dealt with their undermining little comments, and backhanded compliments. It's hard to stay motivated and positive when you're frequently surrounded people who would probably take a little bit of pleasure in seeing you fall.

It's essential for us to keep good council. To be choosy about who we hang with and especially who we share our visions and goals with. Our very success depends on who we surround ourselves with.

All endeavors start with an idea. Ideas bloom into a vision. Visions lead to plans, and with implementation and a healthy amount of effort and will power, plans become the reality that we envisioned. That is, IF we do the work needed to accomplish the goals and don't let the little needles of doubt get in the way, and unfortunately more times than not, those needles are delivered by the people we trust most.

It's not that they are always intended, in fact they're usually meant to be of help. The well meaning family or friends that want to help keep us "grounded" or "looking at the reality of things". As they say "The road to ruin is paved with good intentions", so how do we avoid this catastrophe? Of course the simple answer is to just ignore anything that doesn't fit into your plans, but saying it is infinitely easier than doing it.

I suppose it might be a little easier if we kept in mind that, while our friends and family may have our well being in mind, they probably don't have the experience or knowledge to make judgement calls on our visions. It's important to have a person or group of people to touch base with every now and then, who is completely impartial to your success. Folks who are not on the payroll, who don't have a stake in your success or your failure.

In business circles this is called an Accountability group. A group of people who's only objective is keeping each other on task and accountable for their successes or their shortcomings.

From personal experience, I can tell you that this is a very effective tool for keeping you on course with the plans that you've created for yourself, and if you find the right group of people they can help you work around the little needles of doubt that inevitably find their way in. By being on the outside, they can see the silver linings on those storm clouds, or they can tell that maybe they're just clouds of smoke that are hiding the road your traveling, and can help navigate you through and get you back on course. I highly recommend the process.

Good luck with your path and I hope everyone has a Happy and productive New Year!

Later,