On New Year's day, I thought about the things I planned to accomplish in 2013 and felt pretty good about them. Right up until the moment I realized that they were exactly the same as the goals I'd failed to achieve in 2012.
To be fair to myself, I made a tiny bit of progress. I didn't spend the entire year standing still. But wow, I'm not nearly as far along as I thought I'd be.
The good news is that a few days ago, I remembered a song I'd started last year. One about New Year's resolutions unresolved. With fresh motivation, I dug it up and quickly fixed the lyrical issue I'd been stuck on, the one that prevented me from taking it any further. Now it's almost done.
Once I've finished it, I'd better get started on those other goals. I can make the same resolution twice, but I can't write a song about it twice.
Showing posts with label New Year's resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year's resolutions. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Friday, January 1, 2010
Targeting 2010
I never bothered with New Year's resolutions until the songwriting took off.
I'd finished "I've Been Waiting" in 2000 and considered it a one-off. Maybe I'd write another song if I stumbled across something else I felt like writing about. If not, that was fine too.
But by the end of 2001, I'd written 13 more—one with a friend and the rest by myself. Upon realizing that I'd averaged about a song per month, I thought, That's my goal for 2002. 12 more songs.
And I did it. I churned out one song every month until late 2003, when I started a job that sucked up a lot more of my time. These days I average around four songs a year. Which is all right under the circumstances, but it means I need to set different goals for myself and for Cinder Bridge.
I haven't been sure how to go about it.
The 12-songs goal worked because I already knew I could do it. I just needed the extra incentive to keep plugging away. I don't know how to sell more CDs, or get more bookings for Cinder Bridge, or do more effective advocacy for ME/CFS.
I don't know which of these things should get top priority, either. Advocacy is certainly the more lofty goal. On the other hand, if Cinder Bridge gained a huge following, a lot more people would care about what I had to say.
Yesterday, the last day of 2009, I finally settled on one goal: to find our target audience.
We need to know what kind of people like our music. We need to know what other artists those people like. We need to find out where they are, and how we can reach them.
That's where we need to put all our efforts. We can't reach any of the other goals until we do.
Readers: If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. And enjoy the first day of 2010!
I'd finished "I've Been Waiting" in 2000 and considered it a one-off. Maybe I'd write another song if I stumbled across something else I felt like writing about. If not, that was fine too.
But by the end of 2001, I'd written 13 more—one with a friend and the rest by myself. Upon realizing that I'd averaged about a song per month, I thought, That's my goal for 2002. 12 more songs.
And I did it. I churned out one song every month until late 2003, when I started a job that sucked up a lot more of my time. These days I average around four songs a year. Which is all right under the circumstances, but it means I need to set different goals for myself and for Cinder Bridge.
I haven't been sure how to go about it.
The 12-songs goal worked because I already knew I could do it. I just needed the extra incentive to keep plugging away. I don't know how to sell more CDs, or get more bookings for Cinder Bridge, or do more effective advocacy for ME/CFS.
I don't know which of these things should get top priority, either. Advocacy is certainly the more lofty goal. On the other hand, if Cinder Bridge gained a huge following, a lot more people would care about what I had to say.
Yesterday, the last day of 2009, I finally settled on one goal: to find our target audience.
We need to know what kind of people like our music. We need to know what other artists those people like. We need to find out where they are, and how we can reach them.
That's where we need to put all our efforts. We can't reach any of the other goals until we do.
Readers: If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. And enjoy the first day of 2010!
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