It's officially mid-summer here in Los Angeles - the end of July - and like clockwork this season always brings me back to the visions I had at the beginning of the year. While reflecting back on the last six months of good and bad choices I'm also thrusted forward to December, anticipating the end of the year and praying with clenched fists that I'll have something worthy to show for it.
It's a good time to re-up on the self-promises I may have forgotten: the album that stalled, writing regimen that wained (*this blog included, sorry*), the workout habit that somehow faded away...all in the whirlwind of what we call 'life shit.'
While stuck in the thick of reflection I came across the following words from GFDA:
It reminded me that restarting is inevitable, that everyday is day one, and sometimes life forces you to adapt. Evolution, however - now that is a conscious choice.
With the intention of growing and not repeating the same mistakes, I ask myself the following:
- What am I grateful for?
- What am I avoiding?
- What small step can I take, today?
I remember back when I was first starting out in music and Myspace was my only gateway. When Myspace began to fade out, I started recording cover songs on YouTube (when you could get away with webcam video quality and crap audio). When I got bored of the covers, I started uploading originals to Soundcloud. A year later we released on iTunes and Spotify. I tried it independently. I tried it with a small label. I tried it with an agent, two managers, and a handful of producers. And I'm still trying. The distribution platforms and processes have consistently changed from year to year, but my hustle is the same. And it's because of this experience of cyclical upstarts and downshifts in my career that I can say:
You've been here before. You did it then. You'll do it again.
Bonus Questions
A: What are you checking in on? What's changed since you began? Are you where you thought you'd be? Why or why not?
B: What does it mean to start over? Is it just a change of heart? A change of perspective? Or just part of the territory. How does it feel to start over?
C: What's causing you to start over? What inspires you to start over? Is there a project that you've scrapped for something else? Is there a relationship you've had to abandon to build anew? How are you dealing?
Leave a comment or email your response here.
Thumbnail Image via Tony Webster