Do you know what you want?

[Graham English]

Do you know what you want?

 

Make your goals S.M.A.R.T.

 

S- Specific. Define exactly what you want to accomplish in detail.

M- Measureable. Decide how you will measure your progress and how you will know that you have achieved your goal.

A- Accountability. Make a full commitment to be personally responsible for achieving your goal.

R- Realistic and Relevant. Set goals that are ambitious but achievable.

T- Timeline. Create a clear timeline for the achievement of your goals.

[Dan South]

Sounds like good advice, in general. However, I've noticed a couple of twists to the theory.

 

Sometimes when we try for one goal and fail (or succeed partially), we end up later with an even better goal. Ever tried to get a gig (or a girl) that you REALLY wanted, and then a year or two later said, "Wow! I'm SO glad that that fell through. What I've got now is SO much better!"

 

I'm not suggesting that goal setting is a flawed strategy. You probably got the "better" reward by doing the same things that you did to try to get the original goal. But life is unpredictable, and you have to be flexible. Not wishy-washy. Not whimsical. But flexible enough to recognize an opportunity that you might not have noticed initially. Goals should be an incentive to move forward rather than a prison to restrict you to a single path.

 

I once read a book by a guy who had a lot of success in the advertising business (I don't recall his name). He suggested that rather than setting "achievable" goals, you should set impossible goals, goals that are WAY beyond your current reach. That way, you'll be inspired to marshall the resources that you need to achieve these goals - training, people with the right skills, etc. Then break those huge goals down into smaller chunks that you CAN accomplish. This is great for motivation, because there are things that you can do right away that will lead to rewards that you can barely imagine accomplishing.

 

Thanks, Graham, for inspiring a worthwhile discussion.

[Graham English]

I hear ya,

Shoot for the stars, but if you only reach the moon, that's cool

[Bobro]

Originally posted by Graham English:

I hear ya,

Shoot for the stars, but if you only reach the moon, that's cool

Reaching the moon...that's lunacy.

[Graham English]

Originally posted by Bobro:

Reaching the moon...that's lunacy.

LOL

[Graham English]

Part II

 

"If you dont know where youre going, you wont know when you get there"

-Chinese Proverb

 

Studies show that only 4% of people write their goals down, yet that 4% achieve them almost 100% of the time!

 

Few people are clear about their priorities nor have they been taught how to set goals. Wishful thinking isnt goal setting. Most musicians say they want to make a lot of money, but that alone won't cut it. For instance, if you want to make $100,000/year then you need to make $8333.33/month and $277.77/day. That's being specific.

 

Here's an overview of the goal setting process:

1. Write out a 6 month goal

2. Write a 12 month goal, 24 month goal, 5 year goal, and 10 year goal

3. The 10 year goal is an ideal goal that you may never reach completely but is something youre striving toward. Example: to be the most loving person you can be

4. Follow this with very specific short term goals: 1, 3, to 6 months

5. Balance these goals throughout these 6 basic categories:

 

1. High sense of self-esteem

2. Create good health, energy and vitality

3. Develop and maintain healthy, happy and loving relationships

4. Career and financial goals

5. Mental goals to increase your brain power: memory, reading outside your specialty, developing creativity

6. Spiritual goals

 

Here's why I'm posting all of this information:

I'm dying to see good musicians succeed so we can bump Britney Spears and her contemporaries off the radio!

[coyote]

LOL!

 

The problem, of course, is that Britney and her ilk have many excellent musicians in their backing bands! Your drive to be the best you can be has little to do with all the other forces involved - the marketing, the taste of the public, etc. You never know though.... become a proficient player and you just might end up earning $100K in Britney's backing band one day ;-)

 

Originally posted by Graham English:

Part II

Here's why I'm posting all of this information:

I'm dying to see good musicians succeed so we can bump Britney Spears and her contemporaries off the radio!

[Peake]

Eliminate the fans of pablum and the stellar musicians will have the time to Create.

 

But will they have the budget?

 

Someone recently told me "Life is about 'Plan B' ".

[Graham English]

I've gotta be honest with you:

Sometimes I find myself enjoying listening to Britney...shhhhhhh!

 

I only use her as an example because I've seen the heated debate about the quality of her music. And I don't want to imply that ALL music on the radio sucks.

 

But when I listen to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony, I always end up asking myself, "how far have we progressed?"

 

Style and taste aside, ask yourself what the intention behind the music you're listening to is. Is it superficial or not? Music that makes money is important. I just hope there's some ethics involved.

 

Music with the intention of getting laid is very important But selling sex can take twisted turns. It doesn't have to be twisted.

 

I'm an advocate of an Integral Practice, or Integral Being. A non-fragmented life. Integral meaning the development of all lines and levels of being; Body, mind and Spirit.

 

I have another site dedicated to the number one spokesman for an Integral approach, Ken Wilber. The Atman Project

 

But the bottom line for this post is knowing exactly what you want. And that I can't judge. I've been auditioning guitar players A LOT lately and I ask them what they're looking for and what they want out of music. I get a lot of blank stares. And guess what they sound like!

 

If nothing more, this post will help you gain the competitive edge in an audition when Britney's manager asks you about yourself. You'll blow him away with your laser sharp focus!

 

Peace

[Dan South]

Originally posted by Graham English:

Here's why I'm posting all of this information:

I'm dying to see good musicians succeed so we can bump Britney Spears and her contemporaries off the radio!

Hey! How did you know that my goal is to "bump" Britney Spears?

[Graham English]

Awesome goal!

M- Measusrable: Pictures?

[henryrobinett]

I've done the same thing with phenomenal success. I write down my over all lifetime goals and smaller goals. I write down in minute detal how to achieve them, step by step. In some cases it require steps of getting myself together and prepared. Ever time I've done this it has worked. I haven't done it recently, but I'm still working off the fumes of this program I put together for myself a few years ago. A time line is crucial, though I've rarely followed it faithfully.

 

But what I've found that is the single most important element of this tool is that it makes it real and achievable. It is my belief that we ourselves are the only thing that gets in our way. This is true for me any way. When I mapped out a detailed plan I suddenly saw that this WAS achievable and it suddenly happened. I think it happened(s) because I'm no longer inventing reasons why it can't. All of that evaporates when I SEE it. Sometimes I don't even have to carry out the plan. But things go awry that way. Loose control of it.

[BassGuy]

Graham and Henry, thanks for the inspiration!

[MusicWorkz]

Thanks Graham. A new acronym to add to my list..

[steadyb]

I think Britney is the result of her mom's specific, clearly defined goal.

If you've ever seen "Mrs. Britney senior" interviewed, you'd know she has been planning this a long time. (probably since the day she woke up and realized she'd never be famous herself, but dammit, that little 4 year old of hers would make everything alright). Kind of sad and pathetic.

[meccajay]

Originally posted by steadyb:

I think Britney is the result of her mom's specific, clearly defined goal.

If you've ever seen "Mrs. Britney senior" interviewed, you'd know she has been planning this a long time. (probably since the day she woke up and realized she'd never be famous herself, but dammit, that little 4 year old of hers would make everything alright). Kind of sad and pathetic.

Sounds like Beyonce's mom(and dad), and Venus and Serena's dad, and so many others in today's entertainment/sports industry. It seems pushy softball parents are a thing of the past....get a great coach, a good agent and bam!! You too can live a great lifestyle through your kids!