Mike Monday

Inspiration On Demand

#4/ Think About Why Before What – 100 Things Every Music Producer Should Know

The Fear loves The Blank Canvas. They’re best buddies. Show them who’s boss by deciding “why” before “what”. It will save you hours of frustration.

Where do you want it to be heard? Which situations do you imagine it being played? Who will hear it? Is it a means of self-expression which only you’ll experience?

Be honest with yourself. You might think “I don’t care about playing it to anyone else”, but that sounds suspiciously like The Fear talking. If you have an inkling you might want to put it out there, acknowledge that and go for it. Don’t pretend you’re just doing it for fun. Because if you’re doing it right, often it won’t be fun.

By thinking about your purpose it’s easier to overcome the moments of creative “stuckness” that everyone experiences. And crucially, with a clear outcome in mind at the start you’ll know where the end is, when to ship and when you can move on.

One Simple Technique To Beat The Fear And Do Your Art

So now you know what you were born to do, how do you find the strength to face your fear and do your art?

The answer is simple: do it every day.

Without fail, put your time in. No exceptions. 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s writing, performing, running, playing poker or starting a business. Whatever it is, set aside a sacrosanct chunk of time each day for complete devotion to your art. Even ten minutes a day is enough at first. Just do your art every day and give it your all.

When you make a daily commitment like this you turn it into a habit. And habits are hard to break. The Fear doesn’t stand a chance.

Go right now, be your best; do your art.

If you’re inspired that’s brilliant. But if you’re going backwards and wonder why you’re doing this and think you’re not good enough…

…just do it anyway until your time is up. There’s always tomorrow.

How To Discover What You Were Born To Do

Cast your mind back to when you were a child.

What did you dream of doing? Think long and hard and write down every ambition you ever had as a kid.

Which still resonate with you? Cross out those that don’t.

Of what’s left on your list, which scares you the most?

This is what you were born to do. Now go and do it.

Goodbye Fear, Hello Muse – Why You Should Externalize Your Creative Struggle

To your left is The Fear. This is what The Fear tells you every day:

“You’re not good enough.”

“They’ll laugh at you.”

“You’ve already done your best work.”

“You haven’t got the right tools.”

“It’s not perfect, go back and change it.”

To your right is The Muse.

She gives you ideas. But she is flighty, unpredictable and often arrives at inopportune moments. She also startles easily and deserts you at the drop of a hat. But give her enough space and she will repay you with more ideas than you’ll ever need.

Thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED talk on the idea of an external genius and my current favourite book Steven Pressfield’s “The War Of Art” who names his fear “Resistance”, recently I’ve experimented with externalizing my daily creative struggle.

It’s been so helpful that I had to share it with you. It’ll take a lot of pressure off your shoulders. Here’s why.

By personifying your inspiration and fear and making yourself the battleground, you’re removing the link between your work and your self-worth.

Beating yourself up for not doing enough good work is the best way of playing into The Fear’s hands and the quickest way to make The Muse run for the hills.

It’s also FUN! Let’s face it, the daily grind of creating anything can be a mundane business, and viewing your work as a struggle between the forces of darkness and light makes it a deliciously exciting prospect.

It’s certainly got me coming back for more.