208 – How to Stop Thinking & Make Things Happen in Your Music Career

Trying to make things happen in your music career? Do you often find, at the end of the day, you’ve basically accomplished nothing of substance? Do you find yourself overthinking every decision you need to make? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – Mindset 01:01 – Tip #1: Stop relying on new training resources 02:32 – Tip #2: Recognize DIY stands for Do it YOURSELF 04:29 – Tip #3: Identify what game you’re playing 06:14 – Tip #4: Get a copy of The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship 07:11 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. I know there wasn’t an episode last week. I needed a little bit of time with my family. But I’m back, at least until I go on break towards the end of October. Maybe I’ll be able to stockpile a couple of episodes for you before then. Today, we’re basically talking about mindset. Mindset is an expansive topic. More so than you may even realize. Mindset is an expansive topic. More so than you may even realize.Share on X But in this episode, I’m going to try to keep it tight and tackle what’s most relevant as applied to this issue of getting into action versus getting caught in analysis paralysis. Let’s get moving. Tip #1 – Maybe Another Book or Course isn’t What You Need Right Now to Make Things Happen *Gasp* What did he just say…? Don’t get too excited. I said “maybe”, not “definitely.” CD Baby founder Derek Sivers always held to the notion that you already know what your next steps are, you’ve just got to stop procrastinating, get up an hour earlier and do them. You already know what your next steps are.Share on X I shared a little bit about that in my interview on The Unstarving Musician as well. And, today I was reflecting on the fact that as human beings we feel most alive when we’re outside our comfort zone. It doesn’t matter to what degree we’re outside of our comfort zone, a lot or a little. What matters is we put ourselves in uncomfortable territory because that’s how we know we’re growing. That’s how we know we’re taking actions that are going to get results. This doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to win just by getting uncomfortable. That’s not how life works. You have been turned down for a date before, haven’t you? But when we procrastinate, there’s usually something uncomfortable about what we need to do next. Yet, we have a good intuitive sense that the thing that makes us nervous is exactly what we need to do next. When we procrastinate, there’s usually something uncomfortable about what we need to do next.Share on X If that is the case, then spending time in books and courses is not what you need right now. You’ve already identified what needs to be done. It keeps gnawing at you every single day and I don’t need to tell you what that is. So, take a deep breath, take advantage of your peak hours where you feel the most lit and energetic, and make that phone call, send that email, have that conversation, hit “publish”, whatever you’ve got to do… Tip #2 – Don’t Wait for Your Savior There’s literally no one coming to save you, no matter how much you want it. Society has done a pretty good job of conditioning us to believe that there must be a savior. When you were born, you had parents. When you went to school, you had teachers and professors. At a job, you’ve got a boss. Now, just so we’re clear, don’t take this from the religious or spiritual context. That’s a different story. But in your music career, there’s only you. You’ve got to be the ambassador for your brand. As an aside, I would argue that there’s probably already someone in your life who’s incredibly supportive and even has the skills necessary to help you on your path. The problem is we completely disregard these people because they don’t have experience. Again, they are not your savior.