Goals: Reach Your Destination Faster Relax. and plan the future. Goals create energy - Goal setting is: knowing what you want to do before you do it. Don't "let things happen". This leads to bitterness, frustration and regrets. If you have no control over your skills and talents you'll be at the mercy of someone else.
Not being prepared when you go to record in studio will waste time and money. Decide what songs to work on, assign who's playing what parts, where the harmonies come in, and title for album. Don't forget extra strings, drumsticks, effects, and instruments.
Plans must evolve and change over time or become stagnent, "old hat". Come up with ideas. Plan in a specific direction. Visualize, act, create! Many songwriters write using a guitar or piano and voice. Some hear the drums, bass, maybe an entire string section.. Share a song with your band members. Try to explain the parts you imagine. Don't be anal and demanding. Allow your band members to put there influence in. The song will end up different from what you heard in your head, but that's better than nothing or something that sounds the same as all your other songs. Variety is the spice of life.
Setting goals for yourself creates opportunities. Do you know what you really want? Vague concepts lead to vague, weak actions. Detail your goals: (Sell 1,000 CDs, play 8 gigs a month, make first $5,000 in 2 months)-anything to keeps you focused and on track. Even if you don't make your targets at least you have started on your way and learn from that. Writing down your goals adds conviction to reach them. Success stories start as notes jotted down on paper. Set aside time, 10min to 2 hours, every day to write random ideas in a notebook. Think of new ways to promote your music, solve current problems, or compose lyrics to a song. Then act on the things you've written to reach your goals.
Compile a list of benefits from achieving each goal. Recognition, satisfaction, money, fame, enlightenment or creative expression are some benefits. Listing benefits will point out your true motivation. Genuine desire and belief will drive you to take on challenges.
Picture in your mind how it would feel to accomplish your goals. Decide that "nothing can stop you from attaining your dreams".
Anticipate Obstacles- Things go wrong, people will disappoint you, schedules fall apart. Don't let these obstacles stop you! Anticipate and deal with them. It's frustrating, but it's the nature of reality. Mentally prepare for this inevitability, You can find a way to work through it.
Information, People and Organizations. Gather data you'll need.for your goals. Include musicians, producers, booking agents, management, nightclubs, web sites, radio stations, conferences, publications, graphic artists, friends and family even. Gather info one category at a time. Compile contacts from all sources from music business directories to other musicians. Do this then keep your eyes and ears open and search for new sources to add to the list - newspapers from other cities, music associations you read about, resources on the Internet, etc. No one succeeds on their own "No Person is an Island" remember it's a business of people and current info.
Deadlines- are motavational as are commitments to oneself and others. Set realistic time limits for your goals from planning to action and meet those deadlines. Careful, too long or easy and there's not enough motivation, too soon or hard and you can stress, run out of time, and get depressed. Be sensible and flexible. Sooner is better to get you motivated, you can always extend the time frame if you figured wrong and start to stress. Goals should change and evolve as you learn.
Write your action plan, start with the goal and work backwards through process. Break each stage down into its most basic tasks (i.e. write songs, find band members, rehearse, book studio time, record, play out, phone calls, mailing packages, set meetings). list the things that need to be done first basic, attainable steps. Now get to work and write that first-draft plan! Maybe later I'll mock one up for myself and share it with you.
Get away for a day or two then come back fresh. Evaluate your sequence of planning. Do you have the needed music equipment. Have you finished writing the music. Have you gathered the right musicians. Do you have cost quotes. Do you have enough money to pay for what you need or organized your sponsors. Have you allowed enough time for recording your demo tape? Are you trying to do too much by yourself? (I'm Guilty of that) Do you need technical support, media contacts, artwork, web design, press releases and more. Now create second-draft plan it doesn't have to be perfect. get started. Trust your abilities and handle whatever needs to be done.
How serious are you? Do you complain or wait for others as an excuse? Take some action every day based on your goal-setting plan. Plans fail if you don't act on them.Nothing gets done unless you do them. Call a media contact, write a letter to an entertainment lawyer, send an e-mail to a club owner, respond to a fan. Do something every day! Compile info, reference list.and/or edit a song. Do something NOW! (repeat as needed) If everything is falling apart in your world learn and study something new.
Work every day for months and see if your actions work. You should be making headway. How is your progress, slower or faster than you hoped? behind schedule? Things getting done? What you can do to get the results you really want.. Adjusting your plan is part of goal-setting process. Evaluate and measure progress often.and find solutions. Fit more of what's working into the plan. When some aspects fail, cut back or, drop them completely. Fine tuning is what goal setting is all about. The art of goal setting works for music and life! You can get frustrated but don't give up! Just Say No To anything that is non-productive, wastes your time, energy and/or money