The Finish More Music Podcast

2019 has been a massive year, not just for me on a personal level, but also for Finish More Music. From the transition out of Quantize Courses to focusing fully on FMM and building on this brand and vision, 2019 has gone above my expectations and has felt like one of the most productive years of my life!

In this final podcast of the decade, I share with you some of the biggest lessons that I've learned from this past year - The good, the bad, and the ugly.

To keep things interesting I have been joined again by the wonderful Mrs. M and she has taken over the show. She decided to interview me this time round so we can reflect on some of the biggest insights and breakthroughs we've had this year.

My hope is that sharing these insights with you around creativity, mindset and personal effectiveness will help you to grow in the same way that they've helped me.

Key Takeaways:

• Let yourself evolve and learn to let go.
• Take everything as a learning opportunity
• Surround yourself with a system of support and accountability
• "You're not a creative until you ship it."
• "Discipline equals freedom"

With a new decade approaching what better way to end this one by looking forward and talking about our goals.

And in this week's podcast we're joined by the most special guest ever, who's going to help us effectively set our goals and foster the right mindset to follow through with them. It's none other than my better half…ANA MILLSAna comes from a professional sporting background both as a tennis player and as a high performance coach. So if there's anyone who can get us dialed in on how to set and achieve our goals, she's the right person for the job!

Key Takeaways:

• Set your OWN goals
• Make goal setting a continuous habit
• Review your goals and realign yourself with your vision
• Divide your long term goals into manageable chunks
• Be intentional with your goals

With over a 150 releases and more than 600 tracks finished in just 2019, let's give it up for an FMM Legend...

James Dyer a.k.a. JIMMYZKINZ

With a family, coaching football, and running his own business, James achieved this incredible feat using a specific mindset that is backed by an incredible workflow that allows him to be able to finish and release tracks at an incredible rateIn this episode, James will be sharing with us his insights and how he has mastered the art of being prolific!

Key Takeaways:

• Suspend judgement - Focus on getting the sound finished
• "Create the idea, let it play its course"
• "You can't control other people's perception, so create the music you want."
• Find a balance in your music making - Take breaks.

We've all done it, we do it sometimes. We plan out our day, put some time away for music but then…*buzz*buzz* "Want to go out?" What now? Do you go out or do you stay in and finish that track?It seems like an easy choice, but more often than not, saying "No" seems easier said than done and because of this we can sometimes find ourselves saying yes to one thing say yes to one thing but instantly say no to everything else, which often includes the opportunities and activities that will see you reach your goals in musicSo in this episode, I'll be sharing with you the power of saying "No" and how it can help you accelerate towards your goals and free you up to say "Yes" to the things that matters most to you.

Key Takeaways:

• "Saying, "No" doesn't limit your opportunities. Instead, it opens you up to the right ones."
• Have a CLEAR vision of what you want.
• Make a big non negotiable commitment to your music early on, stick to it!
• Avoid delaying saying "No"
• "If you don't design your life, somebody else will"

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Building momentum in your music and building good creative habits can take a lot of effort but once we get there it becomes easier to maintain it and keep the ball rolling.But what happens when something external comes along and disrupts our momentum?From the holidays, to illnesses, to even just a new job, life's interruptions can grind our efforts into a hold and slow us down into achieving our goals.So what can we do?In this episode, I'll be sharing with you some strategies that I use to carry momentum through busy periods and ensure that I come out the other side full of energy and focus to pick up where I left.

Key Takeaways:

• Make time everyday to reflect on the important things
• Take care of your health and energy levels
• Hit the accelerator on your to-do list
• Plan ahead to do the things you want to do
• "Discipline creates freedom"

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

In my time in the music industry as a DJ, Producer and Mentor, people have always asked me what they need to do in order to be successful.

There is no simple answer to this question, but from my interactions and research of some of the most successful people on the planet, there is an attitude and a principle that is common amongst all of them….

….DISCIPLINE

My best advice for those of you who want to release music, make it as a pro, or be a touring DJ, is that being disciplined is an essential characteristic that you absolutely must have in order to reach your version of success.

Without discipline, quite simply, you will FAIL!

In this episode we'll take a closer look at exactly what being disciplined means and how you can build it to the level you need in order to achieve the goals that are most important to you.

Key Takeaways:

• "Do the things you want to do, not the things you feel like doing"
• Find CLARITY on what it is that you want to do
• REINFORCE your Discipline
• "Discipline, builds, discipline."
• "If you want to succeed with your music, then you must be a disciplined person"

Resources Mentioned

• Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker
• Episode 18 - Blindly Going Round In Circles
• Episode 7 - Do the Thing, Have the Power
• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

In the last episode of this podcast series I focussed on the powerful benefits of listening more to your inner coach and ignoring the negative inner bully in your life.

Now you have found your inner coach and started focusing on the positive vibes they bring to the table, your aim is to powerfully enhance your Inner coach's voice so they can have a big impact on your music and your life.

In this episode, I share with you a fantastic technique that will foster and enhance your inner coach so that you experience less negative self talk, less downtime in the studio, and receive more self-belief, energy, and momentum.

• Increase the number of positive perspectives that you have available.
• Challenge yourself using a mental model
• "If you always think in the way you always thought, you'll always get what you always got."
• "The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask."

• Episode 30 - 30% More Energy For Your Music
• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Do you sometimes wish you had more energy and mental bandwidth in your life that you can apply towards your life goals and musical passions?

Finding this extra energy can often be a challenge, even when we improve our diets, exercise more and get better sleep!

So what is it that is draining your spare energy and making you feel deflated in your studio sessions?

Simple…...It's YOU!

Your Inner bully is telling you that "You suck! You need to do better! You're not good enough!" slowly knocking away at your energy reserves.

What you need to find and listen to is your Inner Coach. They will always drive and motivate you to reaching your goals

In this episode, I'll share with you my methods for finding that extra energy while keeping your confidence sky high in the studio. These methods are incredibly powerful, but also very unexpected and something you wouldn't have thought of…

Key Takeaways:

• Your Inner Coach Vs Your Inner Bully
• Are you a good companion to yourself?
• Listen to the positive voice in your head.
• Treat yourself like you would treat the one person you would always support

Resources Mentioned

• Building Your Inner Coach - Brett Ledbetter
• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

When it comes to music, we all want to enjoy our creative time and we all want to enjoy being in the studio as much as possible.

However, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's amazing and sometimes it just pain sucks!

We've all experienced the downsides at some point and one of the common reasons I find for this is because we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves.

We compare our music to people far ahead of us on our journey, and then feel disappointed and down heartened when our music fall short of our expectations

In my opinion, creating more realistic expectations of ourselves lead to improved momentum with our music and a whole lot more enjoyment in the studio!In this episode, I'm going to propose an approach for taking that kind of pressure completely off our shoulders and instead, positively influence our chances of enjoying our time in the studio.

Key Takeaways:

• Be honest about where you are in your production journey
• Set your expectations based on your current experience
• Set yourself challenges based on your current skill set
• "You've got killer taste and you're measuring the gap between that and where you actually are now" - Ira Glass

Resources Mentioned

• Episode 28 - Being Crushed By Overwhelm
• On Storytelling - Ira Glass
• Episode 14 - Quantity Versus Quality Debate
• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Have you ever been in that magical flow when you are writing music, where you're completely in the zone and somehow it feels like your music is writing itself?

It's an amazing state to be in!But then suddenly you begin to feel overwhelmed at the task in hand. Anxiety, stress, and frustration kick in and you end up spiraling down an endless cycle of procrastination to avoid confronting the task at hand

You search for Youtube tutorials, download sample packs and take on new bits of gear to solve your problem. But in the majority of cases, this just leads to more overwhelm and even more frustration.I have been faced with this challenge many times before, so in this episode, I share with you some of my best techniques for quickly reducing overwhelm so you can get back your productivity and get back in your creative flow.

Key Takeaways:

• Find a challenge that JUST exceeds your skillset
• Be realistic about where you are in your production journey
• Match your gear to your current skill level
• Get organised
• Get around the right people

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook