30-days to embrace your inner Artist and start a beautiful creative journey.
I’ve been deep-diving into the world of Music and Creative Entrepreneurship and there’s so much I’ve learned and put into practice that I would like to share.
People often don’t realize that being an artist, is like being the CEO of a startup. It requires not only honing your skills, but also investing a lot of time, money and effort in your work, to pitch to investors (labels) or continue as an independent artist.
Starting as an artist, can be daunting and requires a lot of resilience. Talent can sometimes go to waste when the artists don’t have good coaching and the skills to understand the business or how to market themselves. It took me some time and courage to create this series. Daring greatly, right? I’m happy I get to live my truth, do what I love and be able to share this with the community. This started as a small experiment, based on a series of interviews with a small group of artist alike. The feedback was positive, which encouraged me to share this with my network. There is no previous experience needed, just embrace the part of you that you usually keep hidden. I always had dreams of writing my own songs, producing them, having my music published but I never put the effort to actually do it. I gave countless excuses, such as being tired from work or being too old, I don’t have time and all the self-doubt talk.
So I gave myself 30 days to tap into my creative process and start this journey as well as this year in a powerful way, with no excuses, by creating this series of videos. I’ve really been enjoying my process so I wanted to share it with you. Once I got into it a lot of things started to happen. So here’s a rundown of what my 4-weeks entailed, you are invited to try this out for yourself.
Week#1 Goal setting
Sometimes the projects we are really passionate about end up being left behind. We are so passioned that we only see the end goal, we want to see success, and when you start it’s a lot of uncertainty, obstacles so most of the people lose perspective of the journey right from the start. The fun fact is, if we do get to start we would be quite impressed of how opening ourselves to live our dreams will bring us on a FLOW — a state of mind where ideas come and you are immersed in it. This can also be an overwhelming that will take us so many places and give us so many ideas that it will be hard to get started.
CHALLENGE WEEK#1
Choose one or two goals max, to work on from your desired project.
Once you have chosen your goals. The key is consistency, showing up every day, allocating some time per day to write your thoughts, ideas and whatever comes to you.
Afterthought: Once you have your goals, ideas will come and go when you least expect them to. Have a notebook or your phone next to you just to write those you won’t regret it.
Week#2 Developing your Artist Profile
Who is your inner artist? From your personality to your references, style, music you listen to, all these elements will tell a story about who you are and combining these is what make you unique — so just pay attention to that. Sometimes we don’t manifest who we actually are because of the fear of being judged. We don’t want to feel vulnerable because we don’t live in cultures where vulnerability is appreciated and is instead seen as a weakness.
We don’t do what we love and we become someone else — we feel lost and without purpose. What’s your style, what are the things you like? How are you portraying yourself? What’s the message you want to convey with your music, with your art? Reminding yourself of why you are doing it and being okay about doing it for yourself is crucial in this process, especially in the beggining.
Since I started this artistry process and doing more of the things that I love, I feel much more grounded, like myself again. I highly recommend this for everyone. Another crucial piece in this process is finding people who support you, that appreciate who you are and will encourage your talents and to believe in yourself.
Challenge week#2
Write, draw, self-tape yourself answering that question “Who’s your inner artist?”
Once you realize your full-potential and understand your uniqueness there’s no way back. It’s okay to be vulnerable and be yourself — the world needs more authentic people.
Week#3 Tools & Environment
Things are moving, I got calls to perform in different places and I realized I didn’t have all the tools I needed to succeed, so I had to prepare myself for the next opportunity — which happened few days later. We’ll never be prepared enough for new opportunities, but we can anticipate a few things so we don’t miss out on the next opportunity that comes to you.
#1 Gear Up — having the right gear will require some prior investment but it’s needed in any field (as a producer, as musician, a street performer). Youtube is a great source for researching which items are good value.
#2 Never stop Learning — Finding youtube tutorials, or Masterclasses or signing up for a course, or a ClubHouse discussion, or community based events are great ways to help you prepare for the industry, perhaps even providing you with the skills that you need. If you are looking to get a career in the music industry you’ll also need to understand the business behind it.
#3 Build your Music Corner — Besides the mental space, you will also need the physical space to hone your craft. More likely, you won’t have a whole room to dedicate to music and that’s okay, but choose a “music corner” and have a dedicated place where you can come to every day and do your work.
CHALLENGE WEEK #3
Do some research on the right gear you need to succeed in your projects and make yourself room for a dedicated music corner, this will be a differentiator in your motivation.
Tip: Youtube tutorials, Masterclasses, Simply Piano (for piano lessons and guitar)
Week#4 Wrap Up Party
This might be the last week of the 30-days but this was just the start to get your inner artist out, your ideas flowing, seeing opportunities, and first and foremost, bring more joy to your life.
There’s no such a thing as overnight success, it’s all about showing up everyday, keep moving in the right direction FOR YOU, experimenting, and practicing. Get to know yourself, your style, find your groove and your unique differentiator. And Patience, lots of patience.
Sometimes you will need a break, and that’s okay. If you write songs, like me, you’ll need to write a lot until you find what you like, things take time even if you are productive. The next day is always there for you to look back on your work and improve it until your gut tells you it’s ready. Another essential part for this process is having people that you can count on for feedback. People that know you and that you can trust to tell you the truth and be honest with you. You should still keep your perspective on your “masterpiece” but feedback will give you a different perspective that you maybe haven’t considered.
Ok, now this is super important, Networking — find a community of people that you can connect, share ideas, collaborate and learn from. Linkedin, Meet ups, music schools, are also a great place. You never know what the future holds, maybe you can find a mentor, or a job, or a gig, networking is really powerful besides keeping you motivated — because you can get to know many different stories and the individual journey every artist goes by.
Tip: Don’t be shy about asking people for feedback, or any questions you have, just remember to be yourself. Tip: Find a mentor, someone that can help you along the way with insights for your projects. What are the skills that you lack — who in your circle is good at that?
CHALLENGE WEEK#4
Summarize what you’ve learned about yourself in this process so far.
Remember, to always be kind to yourself and patient — things will start happening as you are on the go.
If you show up every day for 5 years, how much better do you think you are going to be? How many opportunities have you created for yourself, how many likeminded people have you met?
I believe you can, I believe I can…and I hope I inspired you to bring out your inner artist. We need more creative and authentic people in this world. Seriously!
This is just the beginning of a beautiful journey, I’d love to know more of your story and open myself up for a chat.