I’ve found the only thing that insulated me from the highs and lows of people’s criticism and positive feedback is to develop self awareness of both my strengths and weaknesses, so that I’m not surprised and so that my opinion of my work for better or for worse is based on thoughtful self examination not hinged on a need for outside validation.

If you're struggling with getting started the first and last step is to show up.

Instead of asking yourself "what do I want" ask "how can I help." The ways you can best serve the situation will define your most authentic self.

It’s a lesson I just keep relearning. And it helps me to always think long term. It mitigates small disappointments and makes the success feel better. It also means that there’s room for creative development and change. Committing to the long haul gives you control over your path and makes things feel less random and more earned.

That's all we have in the end: our opinions and our trust in them. Even trusting someone else's opinion is a kind of choice. In the end it all comes back to us, so the only question is do we acknowledge our role in creating our art, our lives and our world, or do we look away in hopes someone else will make the creative choices for us?

What I think this really means. ‘Trying hard’ is often confused with strain and stress. If I can cultivate a better state of mind the doing gets better and the trying gets less. Today I tried really hard and didn’t get much done. 🤪

We’ve demystified the mystical so we can package it and sell it as a tutorial or a course. Learning is good. Sharing knowledge is good. Conversations are good. I always watch my friends talk about what they’re good at I constantly bug other musicians for help. I’ve learned and been given so much amazing information and wisdom by my colleagues. I am grateful. But The cult of the expert is less good. Everyone’s path is different and we have more of the answers than we think. YouTube is great for learning hotkeys and not as good for learning an art or deeper skill. In the end my bet is that you’ll be your own best teacher. I could be completely wrong

Finding your sound is about following your own creative instincts over a period of time and being open to where ever that takes you, rather than picking a box that you fit all of your work into. 

It’s not only because it will make you feel bad (although it certainly might). It’s because it will lead you down the wrong path. You can only ever be an A-rate version of yourself and you will only ever B the B-rate copy of something or someone else. The only way to escape unfavorable comparison is to avoid comparison altogether....maybe????? I honestly don’t own what I’m talking about.

Always ask people for their opinion on your music out of a genuine curiosity and respect for them as a tastemaker or artist —- never out of a place of insecurity or a need for reassurance or a quick fix of validation. (I learned this the hard way). The positive feedback can be just as distracting and confusing as the negative feedback if you aren’t really grounded when you get it and if isn’t coming from the right source or at the right time in your process. Some people are so grounded in what they do that weird feedback doesn’t set them off course but for many of us we need to shield the creative process a little and give it space develop on its own time according to its own internal rhythm.