5 lessons after 200 posts
This is my 200th post. I've been posting every Thursday since February 2021!
To mark this occasion, I want to reflect on 5 lessons I have learned in the process:
Consistency is key. After 200 posts, I still feel anxiety each time I hit send. It's never ready. I always want to think more, to research more, to draft more. I doubt whether anyone cares or is going to read it. The perfectionist in me wants to delay. And I've learned to show up even when I don't feel like it - to hit send because it is Thursday, not because it’s ready. I'm reminded of what Jon Acuff says, “You don’t binge progress. You build it.” Consistency helps me build progress, one step at a time, one week at a time. I've learned to choose consistency over feeling ready, and I've applied that to how I see my performances too.
Discipline makes me happier. I think we underestimate how much we need to prove to ourselves that we are going to do what we say we’re going to do (here's a video I made about this recently). Even something as little as posting a new blog a week counts. It has helped me gain confidence, and therefore feel better about myself. For most of my life, I've waited for things I can't control to give me confidence - winning a job, receiving an award, getting a gig. With those, confidence was in short supply. I've learned that being disciplined about something I can fully control (like writing a post) gives me a regular supply of confidence I can count on.
I can change my mind. I learned to give myself permission to not be the same person I was when I wrote my 10th post. I can disagree with myself. That is OK. What I thought 2 years ago could be wrong. And that is OK. When I change my mind, it doesn’t make me a liar, or an immoral person. This realization was so liberating. I learned that every post is an iteration. It's another opportunity to get deeper, to access a different perspective, to rethink. The more often I iterate, the more crystallized my thoughts become. And that is a great thing. Evolution is inevitable and when I resist it, I keep myself stuck. I'm reminded that “the scariest place to be is the same place as last year.” (here's Malcolm Gladwell speaking about a mistake he made in his best-selling book 25 years ago)
Authenticity makes a strong magnet. I'm convinced like-minded people attract each other. I'm like a magnet, attracting people who are for me and want what I have to give. This blog is simply a mechanism for that attraction. However, it's not as easy as it sounds. The truth is I gain as many people as I lose from this subscriber list. And losing people always makes me change the way I write, think, or present my ideas (because I must have done something wrong or bad to lose them). Catering to what I think people I lost wanted actually makes my magnet weaker, because I've violated my own authenticity in the process. I've learned that my authenticity also repels. And that is OK. Maintaining integrity in my authenticity has been a big lesson.
Purpose keeps me fulfilled. This blog gave me a platform to exercise my purpose, without having to wait for the time I get to stand on the podium. My purpose is to help musicians feel more valued, seen, and fulfilled - by advocating that taking care of them is the solution that will lead to better business and better finances for arts organizations. Every week, I get to do something to this end. These steps may be invisible in the short run, but I am confident in the long run, I am making an impact one idea at a time, one person at a time. Jay Shetty said, “When you protect your purpose, your purpose protects you.” I've experienced this first-hand. When I've stood up for my purpose consistently within all the noise, it's protected me by sending the right people and opportunities my way. It shielded me from distractions and naysayers. And it's kept me authentic, motivated, creative, and with integrity.
If you're still here and still reading, thank you!
Thank you for being a part of my journey. Thank you for witnessing my journey. And I hope it provides you value, growth, and camaraderie.
I'll leave you with 5 call-to-actions:
What is one thing you're consistently building?
How could you use discipline to give you a regular supply of confidence?
What could you change your mind about?
How are you being a strong magnet?
What is your purpose and how are you protecting it?
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