Limited Perspective?

As Trailblazers we make our own way, set our own standards. We understand who we are and remain true to our own selves (however we define it). but how do we get to that point in the first place? It takes a level of confidence and a willingness to experiment, to try and fail and learn and fail again, each time growing and improving until methods are refined and stability is reached. a narrow perspective of what constitutes meaningful achievement is limiting. It ignores the broader spectrum of success that includes learning, resilience, and the richness of lived experiences.

The difference? One with a limited perspective, despite some successes, can still feel unfulfilled and stressed, constantly chasing the next external marker of success. A broader scope of blazing one's own trail results in a greater fulfillment, reduced stress, and a deeper sense of achievement simply by re-valuing the spectrum of success. Perception is a major player in the outcome.

​​External Validation:

Are you striving to meet someone else's definition of... whatever? Is this a healthy way to look at your own accomplishments? I mean no one else has lived your life, who's standards should you REALLY live up to other than your own? Success is NOT measured by external standards, such as awards, recognition, or financial gain, rather than internal fulfillment. This requires some level of Self-Discipline and motivation, so where does your motivation come from, and how do you cultivate the habit to encourage it? There is no single right answer.

Seeking approval, recognition, or validation from others to feel successful or fulfilled leads to unsustainable standards for ones own achievements.  Relying heavily on others' opinions and standards can lead to a fluctuating sense of self-worth and motivation. If the objective of the game is to keep playing the game, stability is a key factor. Achievements based on external validation provide only temporary satisfaction. The joy from external rewards fades quickly, leading to a perpetual chase for the next validation. External validation is subject to the changing opinions and standards of others, making it an unstable source of fulfillment.

With this in mind, Its important here to consider your own values and passions first, set your own standards. There are ways to understand the markers along the way since we really only have a sense of direction and can not determine the exact outcome as life often produces outcomes that, while often satisfactory, are not exactly the ones that were intended. In these types of explorations, it's not necessarily about the specific destination anyway. Remember the part about specific achievements from a few months ago? It's not wrong to have a specific goal, and the better your sense of clarity (planning) the closer you will get to this, so ask yourself is moving towards this in alignment with my values? am i feeling good about doing this today? if not, why? Do I need to re-evaluate, do I need to change course?

Fixed Mindset

Imagine a River, a single point of consciousness as a droplet of water in an endless current, Now imagine a fixed mindset where you had to fight the flow and swim back upstream. how much energy would that take?  When success is seen as a fixed point rather than a continuous process, growth can become rigid and restricted. However, by expanding our ways of thinking to remain flexible, we can approach life as a game with a direction rather than a destination. Think of it as using a compass instead of coordinates on a GPS. This allows for creativity, flexibility, and enjoyment of the experience over the enjoyment from the achievement of the end result alone.

Imagine you're a trailblazer charting a course into uncharted territory. You know the general direction you want to move in and start heading that way. Along the journey, you might encounter an animal trail, a paved highway, or a dense jungle. Regardless of the path you find, you continue moving in your chosen direction, adapting as necessary. The journey's challenges and unpredictability make it unique and rewarding—if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Creative Cafe Podcast- 001 

I like the idea of consistency. How long does it take to form a habit? My goal in hosting a recorded space was not popularity, clicks, or likes, it was connection and conversation. A podcast is a great tool for developing a certain skill set. In the past weeks. I hosted a public forum for ideas, mostly for creatives who have a goal of navigating a landscape of changing trends.

This episode is a conversation with Rainer Eschen (AKA DJ Groophz), a very intelligent thinker, artist, content creator, and tribe-builder. You can find his website at groophz.com or x.com/groophz

I’m hosting these Podcasts on X spaces because I
like the public forum where anyone can join the conversation. it’s a great way to meet new people and learn about people, their needs, ambitions, and whathaveyou. Please let me know what you think about this conversation, if you have an opinion on the subject matter X.com/codgenemedia

Does the belief hold that success is defined strictly by reaching specific, externally validated milestones or achievements? 
Is Success determined by concrete markers, else one's efforts are not valuable or meaningful?
Lets dig into it...

What are the implications of measuring success by specific achievement alone? Is it an end-point or is it a journey? 

Short-Term Focus 

In 2024, social media culture often defines success by 30-second viral clips and instant gratification. This environment makes it tempting to prioritize immediate wins and quick results over long-term growth and development. While it's true that every journey begins with a single step, what happens when you stumble on that first step? Do you simply fall and give up, or do you get back up and keep moving forward?

Content consumption happens at a rapid pace that places an emphasis on instant gratification which can create pressure to achieve fast, noticeable results, often at the expense of deeper, long-term efforts. Social media platforms amplify the visibility of short, engaging content. This phenomenon can make it seem like success is about achieving quick, attention-grabbing moments over a meaningful connection. This approach alone doesn't equal stability. Focusing on short-term wins can lead to a shallow understanding of success, where achievements are fleeting and not necessarily meaningful or sustainable.​ It can leave one constantly chasing trends, seeking shock-factor over real resonance or meaningful connection. Prioritizing immediate results can divert attention away from a long-term vision and sustained growth, leading to a lack of depth and substance in one’s pursuits. Constantly chasing quick wins can be exhausting and unsustainable, potentially leading to burnout and a loss of motivation.​

In the life of a creative, what role does structure play? Can structure help to achieve a healthier work-life balance? Can too much structure be a bad thing?
In creative fields, while creativity often thrives in flexibility, a certain level of structure is necessary to achieve results. In this article, we'll explore some frameworks to help enhance your productivity, reduce stress, and maintain well-being.
Structured or Free Flowing?
I suppose as in all things there's a balance. While structure provides a clear framework and routine for predictability, creative Flow allows for spontaneity and openness to new ideas, but are these two forces in opposition? It depends on how you look at it.
Thinking about these concepts in the context of time and energy, I might imagine the idea of structure as a container in which blocks of free-flowing creativity are placed. Imagine you've blocked out some time. In this block of time, you have removed distractions and can focus solely on your creative process. In this way, Structure might provide you with some stability, as long as you can get the creative juices flowing. The creativity might take a moment to build, but once it starts to flow, you'll be glad you blocked out the structured time.
If Structure is ordered, how does it balance with the freedom of unrestricted exploration that is often necessary when doing creative work? What if the structure can serve as a tool to enhance the creative component and not a limitation, what might that look like?
Imagine you've blocked off your creative time, it has allowed you to focus on something else for the rest of the day right? But suddenly, as it always does, The Inspiration strikes. It's not exactly your blocked-off creative time, is it? what do you do? Here’s where the idea of structure comes into play.
There are a few elements to having an ordered approach to structure things in a way to works to your benefit, some of these are managing time, and others are actual tools to help you capture ideas. I've heard a saying that I use often. "if you can capture an idea on paper, you don't have to store it in your head." Now, you have that inspiration and you write it down, maybe you record a quick voice memo. now you have it ready for you during your creative block. It only took a second and now you can focus on the task at hand.

I always try to maintain an active focus on improvement. Not always successfully I'll admit, but I believe the consistent effort puts me in a good position to achieve my goals. By learning to enjoy the process of constant improvement whether it's through skill-set or mind-set it helps me stay competitive and stand out from the crowd. It demonstrates my dedication to the pursuit... something and shows outwardly through both my actions and the outcomes i achieve in the world. in other words, I don't just say it, I live it! By continuously seeking improvement, my work remains relevant, genuine, and high-quality, with new doors are regularly opened presenting new and exciting opportunities, that allow for new areas of exploration without fear, and that's a great motivator! This motivation is directly related to the passion and enthusiasm that is expressed outwardly, and people notice the difference. Imagine that person who's energy is electric, their presence fills the room and you're not sure why? it's the same idea. The desire for Self-improvement brings forth a sense of self-confidence.

There are several reasons to stay motivated towards continuous learning. Career advancement is a strong example, Competition is another. Seeking growth leads to better outcomes, promotions, higher pay, more prestigious projects, or simply bragging rights. Many creatives find personal fulfilment in picking up new skills or mastering old ones, achieving personal growth, some though the accomplishment of learning in itself and others through their completed works to a degree of higher quality than before. In this, there's a highly rewarding sense of accomplishment.

Continuous learning can enhance professional recognition and boost ones self confidence. it earns more respect from ones peers, clients, and onlookers. We can dig into the soft skills behind how to get the most out of it another day. The main idea here is to put yourself in a mind-space where actively working to become a better person becomes fun and rewarding at a deep level and it's results are real.

It raises a question about the importance of quality. Now, I understand this is hugely subjective and the answer is likely 'it depends', but should you take your time to focus on less output at higher quality, or more releases at a regular schedule? Both approaches have merit depending on what your goals are, but both also have their disadvantages.

I'll dig into the pros and cons of each another day... The purpose of this article is to air the ideas while they're fresh. I hope you find some value in it. Let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter.

The days of big-budget productions are less common these days where once upon a time time and care would be spent to perfect an act before it even enters the studio for production, we now see bedroom studio amateurs with big aspirations writing in-'studio' at the DAW, churning out track after track. I wonder if it would make sense to encourage these artists to slow down and really focus on the details that make a track stand the test of time, or is everyone simply playing the lottery hoping the inspiration of the moment gives them a song that is so wonderful that it can't be denied. 

Tough challenge. I enjoy a few artists that had a few good songs and a whole lot of bad ones, but i believe that artists would find their success easier if they simply slowed down and focused on quality over quantity... What is a timeless song anyway?

Let's explore some ideas around "what holds us back" where it relates to our pursuits as creatives. for example, let's say you're a recording artist and your mix has some issues leaving you telling yourself 'i suck, i'll never be good enough.' It's likely not a matter of the quality of your gear, which DAW, or which plugins you're using, a common misconception - 'if i just upgrade this or that, then i'll be better at ____ - but let's dig deeper, what's at the root to prevents success?

Let's talk about limiting beliefs.

We can address limiting beliefs through the shifting of mindset, sounds simple right? Easy in-Principle but Difficult in-Practice. How can one unlock his/her full potential? How does one overcome obstacles, to pursue dreams with confidence, with resilience, with passion? Results dont happen immediately but the development of this internal-skill through the training of ones mind can be key to breaking free of negative cycles and achieving better results faster.

Creativity, at it's core, drives the ability to think outside the box. another word that comes to mind is innovation, or the ability to come up with original ideas, and to execute them in novel and engaging ways. Creative thinking enables artists and promoters to break free from traditional approaches and experiment with new methods of connecting with audiences. This articl explores ideas around innovation and creativity in the context of promotion strategies to become more engaging and appealing to your target audience

Let's explore the idea of authenticity. Now this idea is very context-dependent. I might imagine a sliding scale between authenticity and mystique. on one-hand is genuine self expression, and on the other-hand is a fantasy-world-building aspect. at any point along this spectrum where your art fits, the concept of authenticity can be utilized to establish genuine connections with an audience. Who is your audience? well, That's a topic for another article. Authenticity involves staying true to the identity you're creating. Consider values, and artistic vision, and thematic elements if you're lean towards 'mystique', and characteristics of your personality, likes, and interests if you lean towards 'self-expression'. It's a 'you do you' type of situation here, nobody can tell you you're wrong, but if the concept is integrated into your promotion strategies, it can create a more cohesive experience while allowing you to express yourself in a way that feels authentic and natural.  You might find that you and your fans start to resonate on a deeper level and build trust faster and maintain loyalty over time.

Effective promotion focuses on connecting with a new audience in meaningful ways, and strengthening the relationship with an existing audience. This involves understanding the desires, interests, and preferences of the target audience and creating experiences that resonate with them. Before you do that, it'd be advised to do some soul-searching. Remember we're talking authentic self-expression here. If it feels unnatural or like you're faking it, pretending to be something you're not, your audience will pick up on it, don't ask me how but they will. You'll know when you start to have that genuine connection with your audience because it will start to feel effortless.

Innovation, when related to progress and differentiation means thinking creatively and finding unique ways to stand out from the crowd. Some examples might include an artist who builds a fantasy world by combining unique imagery and thematic elements, or a songwriter who authentically expresses their genuine self in everything they do. In current year, innovation might be heavily tied to technology, artists and promoters can stay ahead of the curve by adapt to changing trends and technologies, and explore new creative ways for reaching and engaging with audiences. Be open to experimentation, take calculated risks, and continuously seek new and creative solutions but remember, it WILL feel right if it's the right approach for you, don't stick with something just to grind through it if you try and it doesn't inspire you. When it's right it will feel natural, effortless, motivating, and exciting.

The music industry is ever-evolving, and successful approaches are mindful to be adaptable to changing circumstances. Being adaptable means staying flexible. It's the idea of trying new things, keeping what works, and discarding what doesn't work. To do this, the word responsive comes to mind. Do you have any metrics that you track to tell if something is working? it could be streaming analytics, follower count on a given social media network, email subscribers, responses, comments... any number of things. Adaptability, in the tech/business world might be called being 'agile'. in the face of unexpected challenges or opportunities, adjust strategies, tactics, and messages to meet the evolving needs of your life-situation and the preferences of your audience.

A value-Proposition in effective promotion communicates a clear and compelling ask to the audience. Some people feel this is too direct, but it is important. If you have something to give, how are your people going to know it exists if you don't a: tell them it's there, and b: ask them to take a look. Articulate what makes your product, valuable and worth investing time, attention, and resources into and the reasons why can be useful. Remember the idea of authenticity from before? It's important that authenticity comes first. If you've been building a genuine connection, the reasons for your audience to support your value-proposition may not be the product in itself, but instead as a means to show support for you based on the genuine connection itself, which was built on authentic self-expression. it's a circular thing. 

A strong value proposition resonates with the audience's needs and desires, addresses pain points, and offers tangible benefits or rewards for participating, but these are topics for another day...

Collaboration and community can play important roles in authentic self-expression. It can show a side of you that might not be otherwise expressed on your own. How you interact with others, how your influence affects the direction of a song, etc. Building partnerships with other artists, brands, influencers, or organizations can extend reach, amplify messages, and create mutually beneficial opportunities for promotion. Seek collaborations with others in a way that creates a win-win. What do you bring that others need, and what can others bring that you need? Emphasise that and seek harmony while carrying out the project together. 

Similarly, fostering a sense of community among fans can strengthen loyalty, advocacy, and support for the music and the artist. it works the same way, lets say for example you have a community channel or engage with your fans on social media. How can collaboration with your fans create a win-win? in this hypothetical, you might have a question about a direction you want to move with regards to your content as you shift from one batch of songs into the next. So you post a few samples to test the waters, you ask them if they like this direction for the next project and you reply to their comments to ask what they would like to see? Your audience, since you've built a genuine authentic connection, are happy to give you feedback and tell you that it works or that it doesn't work, giving you the feedback you need so you can continue giving them an experience that they can be excited about.

In summary, these principles of originality, authenticity, and self-expression can open up doors to effective strategies that can better help resonate with audiences, drive engagement, and ultimately contribute to the success and longevity of a music career.