Being Deliberate

[rayzer]

Quote:As much as I'm loving going with the flow of writing instrumentals (and having them forwarded and signed to deals ),Ted, you sly fox, I like how you just casually mentioned your DEALS!!I had to go explore new parts of the taxi boards (for me) to find more info about your excellent news. That's sooo great! Congratulations! I'm also happy that you discovered your talent for organizing workshops. I hope the Pat Pattison event comes together without a hitch. BTW, do all the presenters have to have the same first and last initials (JJ, PP)? How about getting Steve Seskin next?I'm looking forward to hearing some of your mp3s.Rayzer

[anne]

I have been on only a fraction of the time that I used to. Lots of work around the homestead is keeping me busy, so I decided to GET DELIBERATE about:checking in and helping others on the boards at least 3x weekwriting 1 song / weekgetting much better at handling the return that I just got (my first one, and from a direct pitch outside of taxi)getting my business smoothly so I can focus more on musicHappy St. Patty's day -

[rayzer]

Hi Anne,Welcome aboard the Deliberate Express!I'm finding that setting attainable goals and being held accountable for them is a great way to keep moving forward, even in the middle of our busy-ness.Remember to check in here April 15 and tell us how you did!Get ready. The best is yet to come!Rayzer

[tedsingingfox]

OK, it took me a couple of hours to get up the nerve, but I finally posted the first two EXTREMELY RAW mp3's for your listening pleasure(?). I also decided to post them in Peer-to-Peer rather than here in the hopes of getting more votes, more feedback. (That sentence will make more sense once you've read my post.)Thanks, y'all, for any help you can offer.Ted

[rayzer]

Welcome to the April Day of Accountability!I gotta tell ya, if I wasn’t doing THIS, I wouldn’t be DOING this.Life has a way of sucking the life out of me. It feels like life is constantly trying to make me give up my dream. The truth, of course, is that life really couldn’t care less that I have goals and dreams. There are lots of outside influences screaming for my attention, but if I don’t do this, the only one to blame is me. The latest installment in time fillers has been visiting colleges with my daughter. There’s so much to absorb and process after seeing so many schools in a short amount of time, that my brain has even been using my dream time to process the information.However, during one of the nights ‘on the road’ we saw a 2002 baseball movie called ‘The Rookie’ with Dennis Quaid. His character had potential. He had talent. He had opportunity, but then he got injured, and for 12 years he didn’t throw another pitch. He buried and ignored his dreams, but they never died. The movie starts right there, between successes, where I think a lot of us are. We’ve had some success early on, but it doesn’t work out for one reason or another. We allow life to take over and bury our ‘irrational’ dreams, but they don’t ever die. Now, a little older, a little wiser, we’re working to reshape and complete our dreams, but it’s not easy.I love how the movie shows the victories AND the struggles along the way to making the big leagues. This movie was worth the two hour investment for me.This month has been full, but I could have been more deliberate. I need to refocus. I’m going to reread this whole ‘Being Deliberate’ thread and get centered again. Instead of being deliberate, I’ve been ‘cramming’ over the last week to get my goals done, and then I ran out of time and didn't finish them.For example, yes, I wrote a song. Cross off that goal, right? Well, the song is built on a fresh idea that has potential, but it’s not close to my best work because I wrote it in one day. It wouldn’t be wise to submit sub-par work, so I’m not going to. Does that mean I failed? Partly, yes, but I’ve grown through the process and am committed to using the whole month next time, so this month wasn't a total loss. I’ve got to keep my eye on the prize. Being deliberate is more than just meeting a deadline. It’s a 24/7 way of living. The objective for having goals isn’t the goals themselves; they’re just a tool to reach the dream. My dream is to express myself through my music in a marketable manner. Goals and attitudes should only support that goal. Nothing more and nothing less.I think I’m back on track now. Thanks for listening. But Steve Gilbert and kg, would you mind keeping me honest this month? I need you right about now. I feel like Paul Schaffer in ‘This is Spinal Tap:’ Artie Fufkin: You know what I want you to do? Will you do something for me? David St. Hubbins: What? Artie Fufkin: Do me a favor. Just kick my a**, okay? Kick this a** for a man, that's all. Kick my a**. Enjoy. Come on. I'm not asking, I'm telling with this. Kick my a**.Thanks.Okay. I still had a half-way productive month in spite of myself. It helps to remember that when I’m beating myself up for losing focus. Here’s what happened:1. Do my taxes.Done. Tiny refund, but better than owing.2. Get my music software installed and running on XP.Not without effort, but done.3. Spend at least 4 hours just exploring software with no agenda.Fell three hours short.4. Record and submit two songs from our last Day of AccountabilityOnly did one of the two.5. Write, record and submit one new song.Written and recorded, but not really done, so not submitted.6. Work through chapter 3 in ‘Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer.’Almost. I still need to do the exercises at the end of the chapter.7. Send 2 songs to another connected ‘friend of a friend’ guy.Sent out yesterday. I’ve been working up to sending him some stuff for quite a while, so this was big for me.By May 15, we'll be more than half way to the next Road Rally, and I will:1. Re-read ‘Being Deliberate’ and re-focus, re-start, re-turn to being deliberate full-time.2. Write a good song and submit it to a listing.3. Finish the exercises in Chapter 3 and do Chapter 4 in ‘AaMIDIOftCC.’With your help, this past month will be the low-point on my deliberate journey. Thank you,Rayzer

[hummingbird]

THis is a good thread & a good way of being accountable to yourself, too. Congrats on what you are able to achieve! Keep putting one foot in front of the other... and don't forget to enjoy the journey. Or is that another thread?

[arkjack]

Well....I'm messed up now. Just finishing a tax season from Hell. I haven't picked up an instrument or been down in the studio for 6 or 7 weeks. I am out of condition and out of commission for touring, recording, writing. But tax season is done. #28 for me. I'll have to reassess where I am with music after I regain consciousness from the coma......ArkJack

[tedsingingfox]

OK... So here's my catch-up deliberations...I, like Rayzer, was a little distracted (although I prefer to say I was "overly focused" on my time in the studio and this cruel quitting-smoking process ).1) I have just emailed my friend about our first meeting about bringing Pat P. back to town. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up this week. 2) My goal was to post 4-5 of the new tunes in all their raw glory. I posted 5, and had GREAT results with all of them in the studio. wooHOO!! that little mp3 recorder is a godsend... couldn't be easier or quicker to use when I need to throw a quick idea down. And being able to send the raw versions to my engineer ahead of time EASILY saved us HOURS of wasted time in the studio...well, not "wasted", but we were certainly more focused in less time.3) Three songs WITH lyrics started...? Uhm, maybe. Does an :08 long, musical tag for a radio commercial (with lyrics) count? Well, I'M going to count it. Then, can I count lyrics with no music or melody put to them yet? If THAT'S count-able, then I'm way ahead of the game. I've got at least 3 of those, and another 2 little snippets of words AND music.I'd still say that's a so/so month of being deliberate.I had forgotten today was check-in day... Mostly, I was only thinking it was my Dad's birthday (his 79th). Happy Birthday, Dad. Love you.Give me a few hours (maybe overnight) to come up with my goals for May 15th, and I PROMISE to come back and post 'em up.I'm SO glad you started this thread, Rayzer. It has been a GREAT thing. Thank you.Ted

[tedsingingfox]

Apr 15, 2008, 3:53pm, arkjack wrote:Well....I'm messed up now. Just finishing a tax season from Hell. I haven't picked up an instrument or been down in the studio for 6 or 7 weeks. I am out of condition and out of commission for touring, recording, writing. But tax season is done. #28 for me. I'll have to reassess where I am with music after I regain consciousness from the coma......ArkJackHey, ArkJack.If I were you, I'd spend about a week on a lake somewhere with a pole in one hand, a net in the other, and a cooler at your feet.THEN, you can come back here and catch us up. Ted

[jmather]

Let's go. Booyaah!!!!