I was 21 years old and after years of struggling was convinced it was going to be my year to make it in the music industry. A few of my songs had been played on the radio and my band had a new manager.
My dream at the time was to get my band signed, that for me would be the mark of success, the point where I tell my friends I have “made it”.
Well guess what, we did get signed that year but I certainly didn’t feel like I’d made it. Getting signed just made the dream a reality, which promptly took away the magic I had built up in my mind. I was now dreaming about signing to a larger label and having a song in the charts.
Over the years, I have personally experienced what it’s like to be signed to a major label, write and produce songs for platinum selling artists, co-write a top 10 single, tour the world as a drummer playing the biggest venues and festivals and yet I still don’t feel like I’ve “made it”. How can this be?
The problem (as I found) is that the closer we come to our goals, the more we demystify them and subsequently shift our expectations. Over the years I have naturally updated and changed my own ideals about what it means to “make it”.
Musicians have no restrictions on how far they could go in their career and so each new triumph only opens the doors to potentially larger explorations. Reaching goals inch by inch means we naturally increase our sense of what is possible and our ‘reality’ expands, rendering most of us incapable of ever being satisfied!
Is this constant expansion of what’s possible a symptom of the modern, fast paced world in which we see the highest levels of fame and success on the web and TV constantly? We are taught to believe that anything is possible, but should we also be taught that it is possible to stop wanting?
For the first time in my life I am looking back at all my achievements and trying to accept where I am now. Most of my aspirations today are centred around Audio Rokit. I am obsessed about making it as good as it can be and there will always be things that I want to improve. There is no end. Realising and accepting this is the key to enjoying the journey for me.
Someone once said, “Everyone dies with stuff in their inbox”. In other words, get used to the feeling that there will always be more to get done!
There is one guy who certainly knew when he had enough. Derek Sivers , (who founded CD Baby) emailed me last week with some advice and encouragement for Audio Rokit which I am truly grateful for. He’s a great musician and entrepreneur and I recommend reading his Blog here.
Derek knew the value of being satisfied with what he had and decided to give away his company because he didn’t need tons of money. He realised he already had everything he needed. The Blog is called: Why I gave away my company to charity.
I hope I can learn from Derek’s words and take stock of what I really need in life to be happy. I will always strive to better my music and my business but I will think twice before I say things like, “this year I am going to make it!” I realise that I have already made it, over and over in many different ways!
Audio Rokit Blog 