Are you working yourself to the bone? Do you have time to step back and enjoy life? Are you being effective with your time, or are you in an endless pursuit of productivity?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk to James Schramko and tease out some amazing insights into building a business and life you love.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Introductions

00:45 – What is Effective Hourly Rate (or EHR)?

09:31 – Overcoming mental blocks around building a team

18:03 – What holds business owners back from creating an offer that converts?

27:26 – How do you transition from hourly pricing to value pricing?

28:48 – Profit Formula Template

29:33 – Customer Lifetime Value

32:24 – How to generate referrals

35:29 – Ascension model vs. Chocolate wheel

44:11 – The recurring subscription business model

48:27 – What do you feel has contributed to the success of your book?

53:13 – How do you stay up to date in your industry?

54:05 – Closing remarks

Transcription:

David Andrew Wiebe: Today I'm chatting with the founder of SuperFastBusiness and author of Work Less, Make More: The Counter-Intuitive Approach to Building a Profitable Business, and a Life You Actually Love, James Schramko. How are you today James?

James Schramko: I'm doing spectacularly well. Thank you, David.

David: Thank you so much for joining me on my podcast. I'm really excited to talk to you.

James: Well, I'm just very excited to be here. It's the morning here so you've got my maximum energy.

David: Oh, fantastic. So, you're all fresh.

James: Yeah.

David: Well, I'm going to start right in with what I think is going to be a pretty straightforward question, but still an important one and something our audience may not really know about is what is effective hourly rate and why is it so important for business owners to understand?

James: Effective hourly rate is a benchmark or a measuring system that I like to use to help people to start to get an understanding as to how they spend their time. If you want to calculate your effective hourly rate you would take your revenue for a certain period, let's say in this case we're talking about a year.

Effective hourly rate is a benchmark you can use to get an understanding of how you spend your time.Share on X

You take your revenue for a year. You subtract all of your costs, which are generally made up of fixed and variable costs. That leaves you your profit. This is like a profit before tax. Now, you divide your profit by the number of hours that you worked to get that profit and that is your effective hourly rate.

So, if you had a job, let's say you worked in a music store and you had a salary, then that's pretty much your profit, because you don't have any real costs as an employee. Unfortunately, not that many deductible ones unless you work outside maybe you can deduct sun cream but that's about it.

You divide that by the number of hours you work. That's what we all know as your hourly wage. Whatever is on your pay slip is probably your effective hourly rate if you have a job.

But for entrepreneurs, most people have never actually sat down to work this out.

Where it becomes a very effective tool is when you start breaking it down by different product lines. Let's say you are a session guitarist and you are getting paid to do studio time, then you could work out how long do you spend in the studio and how much you get paid.

Then you might think, "Well, I might start a music business. I'll start a label." And then you might sink a lot of time into that trying to find artists and set up the label.

Then at the end of the year it might make a small profit, but you might have spent hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours to build that up, so your effective hourly rate would be quite low.

In this case, you'd want to be doing a fair bit of session time to bring up your income while you're buil...

Have you ever felt unworthy? Does it seem like others around you are accomplishing more than you are?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explore entrepreneurial insecurity and how to re-frame your perspective.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – You are where you are

00:43 – Insecurities

01:07 – Stop comparing

01:56 – Taking risks

02:20 – Reflect on the chances you’ve taken and where you could be

03:53 – The importance of staying in the moment

04:54 – Your journey is uniquely yours

Transcription:

Have you ever felt like you should be further along in your music or entrepreneurial career than you are?

Have people ever said to you something along the lines of, “why do I feel like you should be more recognized and better known than you are?”

On the one hand, it’s nice to know people think so highly of you. That can be a confidence booster. On the other hand, you might begin to feel discouraged, because you aren’t sure what you did wrong. You don’t know why you aren’t “further along” than you already are.

If these thoughts go unchecked, they can become a source of stress. You may start to feel depressed about your situation, because you wish you would have accomplished more by now.

Pretty soon, you’re looking at others who’ve achieved great things, and you begin to feel insecure about where you are. I know I’ve felt this way recently and know other entrepreneurs who’ve felt it too.

You may not feel as though what you’ve accomplished so far is significant. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t. It just means you’re comparing yourself to others.  So, I want to encourage you to…

Stop Comparing

I’ve written a post on the blog about comparison being the source of all unhappiness.

Take that any way you want, but ultimately, comparison is unhealthy, because your journey is your journey. It won’t be the same as anyone else’s, even if you model your life after your heroes.

Your journey is your journey and it won't be like anyone else's.Share on X

When we compare, we are rarely fair with ourselves. We end up comparing our blunders with someone else’s highlight reel. And, a highlight reel is just that – a collection of someone’s best moments. Rest assured, they’ve made some mistakes along the way too, perhaps bigger mistakes than you’ve ever made.

I know, there are plenty of people out there who’ve accomplished amazing things, and you want to be one of those people. But it wasn’t necessarily more intelligence, more smarts, or more talent that got them to where they are. Oftentimes, it’s just that they’ve figured out a few things you haven’t.

Hard work doesn’t guarantee success. But all things being equal, someone who takes more chances will likely have a better chance at success than someone who takes fewer, wouldn’t you agree? So, let me ask – are you taking enough risks?

I know it’s tempting to compare yourself to others and what they’ve accomplished, but I would encourage you to stop thinking that way. Instead, focus on what you can do today to make progress towards your goals and dreams.

Focus on what you can do today to make progress towards your goals and dreams.Share on X

You should also take some time to…

Reflect On The Chances You’ve Taken & Think About Where You Could Be

If you’ve been a musician or entrepreneur for any length of time, you’ve probably tried your hand at a lot of things. You deserve credit for what you’ve done, regardless of what the outcome was.

If no one has ever recognized you for things you think they should have, here I am extending recognition to you right now – good job.

And, that’s the way I’ve convinced myself to look at things as well.

If everything had gone according to plan, I would probably be a millionaire by now. Who knows where I would be or what I would be doing. Maybe I would still be adding value to the world through this podcast.

Reading is an important part of personal growth. There is a lot of knowledge in books you can’t find anywhere else. So, are you prioritizing reading in your life?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share four books that made a difference in my life in 2017.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – My reading habits in 2017

00:52 – The four impacting books I read in 2017

00:59 – Do You Talk Funny? by David Nihill

01:58 – I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

03:17 – The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

04:27 – Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker

05:35 – Final thoughts

Transcription:

I didn’t get around to reading quite as much in 2017 as I had in the two years prior.

I’ve already shared about many of the events that sent me reeling last year and how that caused me to rethink my approach to life. My burnout and newfound social life both played a significant part in book reading taking a backseat in my life.

I don’t think I learned any less in 2017 compared to years prior. I believe I learned a lot of practical, real-life lessons that I could not have learned except through the experiences I lived.

In some ways, I felt like I was tossed right into the big leagues. My desire to grow as an individual has always been significant, but I had no idea I would be pushed this far this fast.

Anyway, there were still a few worthwhile books I read in 2017, and I wanted to share them with you. Here they are.

1. Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker by David Nihill

How important is humor?

David Nihill points out that humor is one of the nine key elements of successful TED Talks. He shows why funny people tend to have better relationships and get more opportunities.

You may not consider yourself a comedian, and I don’t think of myself as one either. But if we can learn to inject humor into everyday conversation, we will be more memorable and stand out from the crowd.

In Do You Talk Funny?, Nihill explains how you can adopt a number of comedic habits, not just to enhance your speeches, but your everyday relationships.

As with any book, taking what you learn and applying it is the hard part, but I took a few valuable ideas from this book, some of which have served me well, such as The Rule of 3.

Taking what you learn and applying it is the hard part about reading.Share on X

Pick up this book if you’re looking to take your public speeches beyond, or you just want to create a better rapport with people.

2. I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program That Works by Ramit Sethi

Managing your money isn’t easy. This is because there is a lot of misinformation out there, and in today’s instant gratification society, it is so easy to overspend and rack up a lot of debt.

Author Ramit Sethi brings it back to the basics and shows us how we can get our financial life on track. But he isn’t unrealistic either – he points out that you can’t have everything. You can drive an amazing car, you can live in a mansion, you can buy that bass boat you’ve always wanted. But you will likely need to pick and choose which of those things you truly want – it will prove difficult if not impossible to have it all.

When you hear the word “frugal”, you probably assume it means to spend cautiously. Sethi says it’s about choosing what to spend extravagantly on, and cutting back spending on what you don’t love.

In this book, you will also learn what to invest your money in. Many people are naïve, and assume they will never need investments to reach their desired goals. Even some business owners I know aren’t thinking about saving or investing in their future. This is a mistake.

Not thinking about saving or investing in your future is a mistake.Share on X

So, if you’re looking for a simple plan you can follow to get your money under control,

What should one be doing to advance their career? How should they be spending their time as a music entrepreneur?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I reflect back on 2017 and talk about 10 things I did to move my career forward.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – What does the life of a music entrepreneur look like?

00:37 – Is entrepreneurship about smarts?

01:18 – 10 things I did in 2017 as a music entrepreneur

01:38 – Songwriting

02:21 – Recording and releasing music

03:01 – Performing

03:22 – Blogging and writing

03:54 – Podcasting

04:14 – Making videos

04:36 – Organizing events

05:04 – Coaching

05:27 – Crowdfunding

05:49 – Miscellaneous

06:43 – How did you spend your time in 2017?

06:52 – The new eBook

Transcription:

What does the life of a music entrepreneur look like? Well, if you've listened to the stories of those that have been on my podcast, you're probably starting to get a bit of an idea.

Whether it's Bob Baker, James Moore, Ross Barber, Eddie Meehan, Christopher Sutton, John Petrocelli, DeCarlos Garrison, Ian Temple, or Melina Krumova, you should be starting to see the dedication and effort required to be in business.

It isn't necessarily about smarts because I've interviewed several people with successful businesses that weren't the sharpest people I've ever met. I'm not calling them out and I'm not referring to anyone I've had on my show, but it made me realize that simplicity is a good thing.

I tend to analyze and think things through a lot and I also get distracted by shiny objects easily, so I could probably learn a thing or two from the 100+ entrepreneurs I've interviewed over the years.

"But you're the music entrepreneur D.A.", you might be saying.

But the way I want you to look at it is that you are the music entrepreneur. I'm looking to empower you with the tools and mindset necessary to go and make your dreams happen.

I'm here to empower you with the tools and mindset necessary to go and make your dreams happen.Share on X

So, I wanted to share about 10 things I did in 2017. I don't share this to brag or even draw attention to myself.

Rather, I share this with you to give you a sense of what a music entrepreneur could be doing with their time. This may also shed some light on possible revenue streams for you. So, let's get into it.

1. I Wrote Songs

Each year I'm inspired to write new songs as events unfold in my life and I tap into inspiration. I have a lot of songs in my archives already, so I don't necessarily make it a point to write a certain number of songs in a year these days (I once wrote 365 songs in a year). My time is mostly taken up by other things, but I still enjoy the process.

Writing a song doesn't always lead to immediate income but when you think about it, a song has a lot of long-tail value.

You can record and sell the song. You can perform it at your shows. You may even be able to get other artists to cover it or find licensing opportunities for it. It's a good idea to research the individual revenue streams connected to writing a song because there might be more than you even realize

2. I Recorded and Released Music

I released two new singles as a solo artist in 2017 – one called "Waves", and another called "Your Eyes Give it Away." You may not know this, but I also released one new single under a pseudonym, Compuxor. The single is called "Christmas Surf."

This was created for the third installment of Wommy Saves Xmas, a series I've been part of for three years and have done some voice acting for.

I also demoed several other songs that I never released but I'm going to keep working on those until I'm satisfied and release them when they're ready.

3. I Performed

Performance is the reason I got into music and it remains one of the top reasons I stay in it. I performed with Long John Lev, Adrenalize and a Nigerian band.

Is social media just a distraction? What sort of advantages are there to marketing your music on social media? Is it worth exploring new platforms?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk to Melina Krumova of Drooble, who shares why she believes in the power of social media.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Introductions

00:22 – What is Drooble and how does it help musicians?

00:40 – What made you want to start a collaboration platform and what makes it unique?

01:24 – What kinds of tools are available to musicians looking to promote their music?

02:14 – What need are you looking to fill with Drooble?

03:32 – What is the value of social networking for musicians today?

03:54 – Can’t social media become a massive distraction for musicians?

04:55 – What is your musical background?

05:37 – What do you mean when you say music has the power to change the world for good?

07:34 – What is the best way to use Drooble?

08:08 – Do you see Drooble becoming more than it is today?

08:37 – How critical is it for musician to build up their social media presence?

09:40 – What are the most challenging aspects of building a music career in the digital age?

10:30 – Final thoughts

Transcription:

David Andrew Wiebe: Today I’m chatting with the founder and CEO of Drooble, Melina Krumova! How are you today Melina?

Melina Krumova: Hello! I’m good.

David: Thanks for joining me. For those who don’t know, what is Drooble and how does it help musicians?

Melina: Drooble is a platform where musicians from all over the world can collaborate with each other and use our tools to promote their music and reach a broader audience.

David: With more and more collaboration sites coming online these days, what made you want to start another platform — and what makes you unique?

Melina: When I decided to work on Drooble, I just felt the lack of space that unites all musicians, a space that gives them the appropriate tools to connect and advance their careers. What makes Drooble unique is actually how our community works! For example, you get on Drooble, you help the community and contribute to others' music. As a reward, you earn Karma points. Then, you can spend them on promoting your own music through our tools.

David: What sort of tools are available for promoting one’s music?

Melina: Okay. So, there are various things. We have an online radio. All songs on Drooble are automatically broadcast on the radio so people can purchase a guaranteed traditional place. basically. Many, many people will listen to them when they purchase this tool!

We also have various features like Artist of the Week, Tune of the Week, Video of the Week. We have an electronic press kit, which is very nice — I love it. We offer private song reviews. We publish album reviews and interviews on our blog as well. And right now, we are working on many other awesome tools.

David: Now, what need are you looking to fill with Drooble? What did you feel was lacking when you looked at other social networks out there?

Melina: Actually, what I felt lacking was a real community where musicians can actually help and support each other. The other thing missing for me was the engagement between people. In other social networks, it’s getting harder and harder for musicians to get their content to reach people and engage them. I mean, without them paying for it.

So we wanted to build a network where musicians can promote their music efficiently, without necessarily needing money to do this.

David: It’s true. With so many social networks beginning to throttle the newsfeeds and making it a pay-to-play platform, it is getting harder to get engagement. I mean, Instagram is one of the few places people still go to and find they can get quite a bit. I find that engagement’s gone down on that platform a little bit too, but I’m sure one element that musicians would certainly enjoy is seeing more interaction.

When you make huge leaps forward in your life, you feel exhilarated.

But if you end up looking back on those achievements and compare them to your present reality, you could feel discouraged depending on the amount of progress you feel you’ve made.

So, it’s important to celebrate every victory, no matter how big or small we feel it was.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share what I feel I accomplished in 2017.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Reflecting on 2016 and what I accomplished

00:56 – Reflecting on 2017 and what I accomplished

01:28 – How I enjoyed freedom in 2017

04:16 – How I achieved greater clarity last year

05:52 – How I became healthier last year

07:12 – Final thoughts on 2017 and why it was different for me

Transcription:

As I think back on 2016, I recognize that one of my biggest achievements was going from working several jobs at several locations to becoming a full-time work-from-home freelancer and entrepreneur.

Prior to that, I had been working as a guitar instructor, theatre technician, and freelance writer. By summer 2016, my ghostwriting and freelance writing work had taken off to the point where I didn’t feel I needed the other off-site work anymore.

As exciting as these changes were, it was a bit scary going from working in several capacities to narrowing my focus to one thing. But if that hadn’t worked out, I may not be sitting here sharing these insights with you on the podcast today.

So, recently I gave some thought as to what I had accomplished in 2017. At first, I didn’t feel like it was quite the standout year 2016 was. I encountered many challenges and went through a great deal of growth in 2017, especially in my personal life, but because of that, my revenue numbers suffered compared to 2016.

As I reflected, however, I realized that revenue figures aren’t everything. I still accomplished a great deal that I’m proud of last year.

Revenue figures aren't everything.Share on X

So, here are three things I accomplished in 2017.

1. Freedom

Many of us get into business because of the freedom it offers.

I love what Christopher Sutton of Musical U said in episode 68 of the podcast:

…as an entrepreneur, you have incredible freedom from day one and you can increase that over time as your business grows and becomes more successful.

When you think “freedom” as an entrepreneur, what comes to mind is probably the laptop lifestyle. The ability to go anywhere you want, and work from any beach you want across the world.

I’ve probably been able to live that type of lifestyle since 2016, since my work was no longer tied to a physical location. I probably had enough freelancing income to do it even a year prior to that.

There are reasons why I didn’t do that. For one, I had – and still have – several collaborative projects I work on with people I respect and admire in Calgary. For another, I had lost sight of anything outside of work between 2014 and the first half of 2017. My life was work, as I’ve shared in earlier podcast episodes. That meant it didn’t matter a whole lot where I was in the world, because I hardly interacted with anyone.

I had some vague notion of visiting Japan in 2017, and I knew I couldn’t delay that trip any longer because I had been thinking about it for a couple of years, but I had no idea just how vital that experience would be for me. Most of the year appeared to be going along smoothly, at least until June. More on that in a second.

Prior to leaving for Japan, I was sick and burnt out, and barely able to function. I was beat up in virtually every capacity – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I’ll talk more about burnout in a future podcast episode.

So, going back to what I was saying about June. I was already nearing burnout at that stage. I would catch myself working straight through the day, getting up only to go to the washroom, make meals,

We all tend to consume a lot of information. But how much of that information sticks with you? Are you applying what you learn?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk to Ian Temple of Soundfly, who’s an expert on the topic of how people learn, and how we can learn more efficiently and retain more of the information we take in.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Introduction

00:28 – What is Soundfly, and how does it help musicians?

01:45 – What types of courses can you find on Soundfly?

03:50 – What are musicians missing about setting goals and achieving what they desire?

06:39 – Customized or personalized curriculums for music students

07:47 – Different styles of learning

10:27 – Self-directed learning

12:48 – Mentorship and accountability

15:35 – Why build a business serving artists?

18:29 – The opportunities music offers

20:43 – What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about leadership?

24:57 – With knowledge being as commoditized as it is, how do you build interest in your business?

28:26 – Learning through repetition

30:10 – How do you market your business, and what’s working for you right now?

34:13 – Content marketing

35:42 – What have you learned from your recording and performance career?

39:19 – What are some of the biggest struggles you’ve encountered as an entrepreneur?

40:30 – What are some of the biggest victories you’ve experienced as an entrepreneur?

43:14 – Are there any books that have helped you on your journey?

47:10 – Providing value for your customers

49:21 – What tools and apps are you using to run your business?

50:36 – Is there anything else I should have asked?

Transcription:

David Andrew Weibe: Today I am chatting with CEO and founder of Soundfly, Ian Temple. How are you today Ian?

Ian Temple: Good. Thanks. How are you?

David: I'm fantastic. Thank you for asking.

Ian: Thank you for having me.

David: Oh yeah. No, it's an honor. So, what is Soundfly and how does it help musicians?

Ian: Yeah. Soundfly is basically a different kind of online music school. We exist to help musicians meet their goals. That can be many sorts of musical goals whether producing a professional sounding track from scratch or composing your first-string quartet or booking your next big tour. That's what drives us to do what we do.

And the way we do that is we have free daily articles that are of interest to musicians. We have free mini courses that take you through a kind of single musical topic in a sitting. And then, we provide mentor services to musicians either paired with content or not in which we help musicians by pairing them with a personal trainer. Basically, someone who has knowledge and expertise in their field who works with them for a month or more to help them meet their goals. So, multiple levels of helping musicians achieve things and learn new things.

David: It's fascinating and there's a couple things you touched on that I definitely want to dig deeper into. I think the first thing is what types of courses can musicians expect to find on your website? You just mentioned a few different subjects, but it sounds like you offer a lot and most topics are covered in a sense.

Ian: Yes. It's funny because when we started out we started... I'm a pianist myself so we started just by kind of messing around with like some beginner piano content to try and learn about the market. One thing we discovered pretty quickly early on was number one, there was already a glut of bigger piano content out there.

David: Of course.

Ian: And number two, you know I like to say going from zero to one as a musician if you know nothing about music it's really hard because it's not that much fun to practice when you don't know anything. Right? And yet that's kind of the area that so many people are chasing. I mean there are some amazing resources out there like [Usician 00:02:53] or Playgroun...

Every year, I live my life by three guiding words. These words help me make decisions that are aligned with my vision and cause me to stretch beyond my comfort zone.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I reflect on my three theme words from 2017, and share my theme words for 2018.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Goal setting and resolution

00:49 – Where I got the idea to set theme words for the year

01:10 – What happened as result of setting my intentions for 2017

01:16 – #1: Adventure

03:03 – #2: Collaboration

04:47 – #3: Health

06:27 – My three theme words for 2018

06:53 – #1: War

07:33 – #2: Initiative

08:35 – #3: Connection

09:16 – Final thoughts

Transcription:

“What’s your New Year’s resolution?”

This is a common question to ask this time of year.

And yet, the thing that I’ve found the most value in over the last few years is setting three theme words for the year instead of setting goals or resolutions.

I’ve found that these words can set the intention for the year, and if you keep them out in front of you where you can look at them and contemplate them regularly, you’ll be reminded of what’s important to you and what you’re looking to achieve that year.

If you set your intentions for the year and keep them in front of you, you'll be reminded of what's important to you and what you're looking to achieve.Share on X

You’ll find that people, circumstances, and events line up in unexpected and beautiful ways. Fresh opportunities will come your way if you remain open to the possibilities.

Setting theme words for the year is an idea I got from Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group. Since 2015, it has become a yearly practice for me, though I admit I almost gave up on last year. I’m glad I didn’t.

If you’ve never done this before, I would suggest giving it a try. And, maybe the stories I’m about to share will inspire you to do just that.

So, here are my three theme words from 2017, and what happened as result of holding these intentions for a year.

1. Adventure

I admit there was a lack of adventure in my life from 2014 all the way to the first half of 2017. That’s probably why I wanted to set “adventure” as one of my theme words for the year.

This is what I said in last year’s blog post about adventure:

Life can be too much “business as usual”. I’ve got to do things that make me come alive, and that means doing some things that might scare me.

So, how did adventure manifest in 2017?

I already talked about how I made some new friends in 2017, and that played a significant role in bringing about fresh experiences.

I know that a lot of you follow me on social media, and often comment on what I’m sharing, usually in person, including photos of the trips I’ve been taking and the blog posts I’ve been writing.

I’ve already mentioned a few times on the podcast that I spent a week in Chase, BC in August. One friend commented how he thought it was interesting that I approached my experiences there as though they were entirely new, even though they weren’t.

That’s the approach I took the entire summer. Sure, I’ve been to BC before, but I think it’s one of the first trips I’ve ever taken alone. So, the difference was that I got to experience everything for myself.

Many of my other adventures during the summer, and even fall months were driven by a new friend I had made, but I was also intentional about getting out into nature alone.

The most significant adventure was that of returning to Japan after 14 years for two weeks in November. It’s almost as if that trip was tailor-made for me, as I could never have planned for everything that followed. It was incredible.

My desire for adventure was fulfilled in many ways in 2017, and I plan to continue exploring in 2018, even if I don’t go overseas.

2. Collaboration

I was just beginning to collaborate with more people at the end of 2016....

Dragging your last year into your New Year is a bad idea. You may have emotions, thoughts, and ideas that need to be processed, and if you leave those stones unturned, you’ll feel mentally and emotionally cluttered heading into the New Year.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I close the chapter on 2017, and share what happened through the year.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Reflecting on 2017

00:50 – Closing the chapter on 2017

00:58 – Michael Hyatt’s method for processing the year

01:58 – If the last year were a movie in my life, what would the genre be?

02:25 – What were the two or three themes that kept recurring in my life?

03:21 – What did I accomplish in 2017 that I’m proudest of?

04:09 – What do I feel I should have been acknowledged for that I wasn’t?

04:24 – What disappointments did I experience in 2017?

04:33 – What was missing from my life in 2017?

05:20 – What were the major life lessons I learned in 2017?

07:12 – Final Thoughts

Transcription:

2017 is over. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

In my life, there was quite a bit of push and pull. Not just at the gym, but also in terms of how I experienced time.

Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying:

Time is relative; its only worth depends on what we do as it’s passing.

I can’t even begin to unpack the depths of what that truly means. What I can share with you is that my life slowed to a crawl during the summer months, and quickly picked up afterwards. It was strange.

My summer was a life-defining one, and has had a huge impact on who and where I am today.

I made some excellent memories in 2017, but I’m still excited to close the chapter on it because I’m looking forward to what 2018 brings.

So, as with last year, I will be following Michael Hyatt’s process for closing the chapter on another year. It doesn’t make sense to drag your last year into the new one, so we must take adequate time to process our experiences.

Don't drag your last year into the new one.Share on X

Here are the seven questions he asks himself, the same ones I will be asking myself:

If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?

What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?

What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?

What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?

What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?

What was missing from last year as you look back?

What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?

Without further ado, here are my answers.

My Answers to the 7 Questions

1. If the last year were a movie in your life, what would the genre be?

Adventure and new experiences became the theme of the year, especially as summer approached. I spent some time away in British Columbia in August, and then two weeks in Japan in November. Both trips embodied a mix of familiar and new experiences I will value and treasure for a long time to come. I tried new foods, went new places, made new friends, and pursued new experiences.

2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?

The first half of the year was dominated by conversations about business and what it means to be an entrepreneur. It helps that my best friend is a business owner as well. These were valuable conversations that formed the basis for questions I’ve asked other people in real life and in podcast interviews.

Discussion and rumors about relationships grew significantly this year. I shared and listened to people talk about girlfriends and boyfriends, engagement, marriage, honeymoons, children, and so on.

Moving became a bit of a theme in August. I didn’t expect to be moving sooner, which I recently did, though I’m still in Calgary at this point. I’ve had a lot of conversations about California, and the word has randomly popped up in a lot of place...

Are you constantly getting distracted? Do you feel bombarded by options, and does that make it harder for you to make decisions?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk about why fewer options are better, and how to reclaim your focus.

Download the PDF Transcription

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Something I discovered about myself

01:40 – An important realization – the fewer the options you have, the better

02:14 – Prioritizing what’s important to you

02:47 – Our lives are more cluttered than ever before

03:06 – Imagine what it would be like if you had fewer distractions

04:55 – Think about what would be possible if you dedicated an hour per day to your highest priorities

05:25 – Work will always fill the space you’ve allotted for it

05:40 – Some questions to ask yourself

Transcription:

I recently moved into my new home.

Upon arrival, the internet was supposed to work. It didn’t.

I called the cable company, but to no avail. They couldn’t help me get my internet up and running from their support center either. They said a technician would have to come by the following week to get it connected.

But life goes on in spite of your problems. Deadlines don’t adapt to your circumstances. When you have work to do, you must find a way to get it done.

When you have work to do, you must find a way to get it done.Share on X

Where I live, WiFi connections are available everywhere, and I own a couple of laptops, so finding a place to do my work wasn’t exactly an issue.

But there are some slight inconveniences to working on one of my laptops versus my desktop computer. For one, I don’t have as much screen retail space to work with. For another, many of my most important files are stored on my desktop computer, which has more hard drive space.

But sometimes you must make do with what you’ve got, which is what I did.

As I took my laptop with me around town to do work, I had an important realization about the limitations I was forced to work with.

I discovered I was able to concentrate better on the tasks in front of me.

The problem with computers is that they are a gateway to a near infinite number of possibilities, especially if they are connected to the internet.

When working at coffee shops with limited connectivity, or working at home where I had no connection, I was better able to focus on what I was working on. While writing, I was fully in writing mode, not distracted by social media, Photoshop, email, an article that’s open in my browser window, and half a dozen other things.

This caused me to realize that the fewer options you have, the better, especially when you’re working on something that matters to you.

When you're working on something that matters to you, the fewer the options (distractions), the better.Share on X

I tend to spread my time between many things, such as graphic design, web development, email, songwriting, audio production, video editing, and writing. But one of the highest priority activities in my life is writing.

Wring is how I’ve built a popular music industry blog. It’s how I’ve earned two-thirds of my living for many years. It’s how I’ve built many valuable industry connections. It’s how I develop books, courses, and other resources that thousands of people consume and pay money for.

So, it would make sense for me to allot a larger portion of my time to writing compared to anything else. I derive some of the greatest value in my life from writing.

Spend the most time on whatever you derive the most value from.Share on X

The ability to focus on that discipline without being distracted has resulted in increased productivity, even though the lack of an internet connection at home has proven inconvenient at times.

I don’t know about you, but I can be easily distracted. It’s not a weakness to admit that. Rather, it’s something you should know about yourself,