- MYFI Monthly
- Posts
- MY⚡️FI MONTHLY
MY⚡️Feature
featured piece of advice for creatives and creative leaders
It’s coming for you…
2025 is literally less than 4 weeks away. For some of you that puts excitement in your heart, but for some of us it’s a reminder that 2024 wasn’t what we hoped. Maybe that massive project you dreamed about didn’t come to fruition and again, you said, “maybe next year.”
The first thing I want to tell is… THAT’S OKAY… I had several goals in 2024 that I didn’t hit. Things I hoped to do that got sidelined, put on the back burner, or went up in flames. We all have to adjust. But I want to encourage you to take on the new year with renewed hope and vision for that massive project that you’ve always wanted to accomplish, but always seems to elusively slip through the cracks of your busy life. I also want to give you some practical tips on how to make it happen this year.
1.) Decide what the project actually is
So many people go into a massive creative endeavor with a lot of excitement and inspiration, but very little clarity about what the final product will be and why they want to make it. Now I know that things change and evolve as we create and that’s ok if that happens because you’re actually pursuing something, but it’s not ok if things keep changing purpose and direction because your reacting to busyness, fear, lazyness, etc…
Decide what it is and chase it down. Whether it’s a book, an album, a website, a business. Get as much clarity on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it as you can. When you think it’s clear try to tell someone about it and ask if they understand the concept, idea, business plan, etc… when you think you have clarity, push for that extra 10% of clarity.
One great exercise is to write a one sentence pitch about the project.
2.) Tell someone about the project
Find a few trusted, encouraging, but honest friends or family that you can tell about the project and encourage them to ask you about it periodically. It’s good for accountability, but it’s also good for you to talk about it as it evolves. Great conversations often fan the flames of our creativity and re-ignite the fire for the project in front of us.
Don’t be discouraged when these close friends question things or ask for clarity or say they don’t understand. That is valuable. Listen to them and ask them to give you all the detail you can. Take the information you can use and put it to work.
Also, tell them your schedule, your deadlines, and all the details of releasing your project out into the world. Ask them to hold you accountable to it and ask how it’s going along the way.
3.) Create a plan to get there
Last email, I talked about achieving big things in small steps. That is how we make everything. Making an album, writing a book, building a website, developing a product, starting a business… it all sounds SUPER overwhelming, but you just have to take it one thing and one day at a time.
Create a punch list of things that you need to do. These are action items and you need to make the steps as small as possible. Then check off every achievement along the way and CELEBRATE it. Remember those people we talked about before? Go to coffee and look over your punch list with them and celebrate what you’ve done!!
Lastly, create a rhythm you can stick to. Something like 2 hours a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday… or 1 hour 5 days a week… or 3 hours every other weekend. The rhythm has to work with your lifestyle or you will give up and feel defeated. You’re not in a hurry. You just need to be CONSISTENT.
I hope you make THAT THING this year and that at the end of 2025 you’re setting goals for a new, massive dream.
In 2023, I set out to write some songs and learn how to mix and produce again after years away from that part of music. Those songs came together and at the end of 2023 I made a plan to make an album. That album (Stone Tiger) came out this past Friday!!! It was literally 2 years in the making.
I would love for you to check it out.
Listen to “Stone Tiger” on Apple Music
Listen to “Stone Tiger” on Spotify
Buy “Stone Tiger” on vinyl
MY⚡️Follows
Jonathan Maloney
(@jonathanmaloney) Jonathan is the man behind the incredible artwork of “Stone Tiger”. He is an incredible friend and one of the best designers in the world. Please go give him a follow.
Ronny Cates
(@ronnycates) Ronny is a musical hero to many. He mixed “Stone Tiger” and it sounds better than I dreamed. Ronny has won multiple Grammys and worked on albums for Stan Lynch, Sister Hazel, and Less Than Jake just to name a few.
Sam Moses
(@mosesmastering) Sam is the wonderful engineer and kind soul who mastered “Stone Tiger” and I can’t recommend his work enough. His credits are long and distinguished and you should give him a follow.
MY⚡️Finds
cool stuff I found this month
Workout Bands
Working out on the road has proven to be a challenge. Not sure if the hotel has a gym or if I will even have time to workout, I decided to take things into my own hands and buy some great workout bands that will allow me to workout on the bus, in a parking lot, or even in a venue. Click here to check them out
Charger Bricks
We are living in the world in between USB C and Lightning. We just upgraded phones as a family and finally at least all the phones are on USB C, but we have loads of other devices that still require other connections. I found a great charger brick for a great price that will charge up to 4 devices and has USB and USB C. Click here to check it out.