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 I Beat The Fear (Today)

Steven Pressfield calls it “Resistance”. It comes from what Seth Godin calls “The Lizard Brain”.

I call it The Fear.

Anyone who’s tried to create, build or do anything knows The Fear; it’s what lies between us and our art. It’s the source of all procrastination and failure to complete.

Recently I’ve read voraciously about The Fear and how to overcome it. It’s been a relief and joy to find that I’m not alone, it’s something we all face every day.

But The Fear is such an wily foe that it’s hijacked my investigations. The more I read, the more I succumb to it. Researching and reading isn’t doing.

So today I’m back on the attack. I’m playing it at its own game. I’m writing this post about The Fear in order to overcome it.

And I just won.

(For today anyway)