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.

​How does one Practice Wholeness in a world divided? What does it mean to be a "whole" self, of healthy mind and capable of making healthy decisions? As children in the developmental stages of life, the world is a place full of new things to discover, and as the child may seek to discover the nature of this world,  seeks to become a part of it, one might note the abundance of questions asked by the child. Questions like why. As the child grows into 'adulthood' however, the inquisitive nature of life is forgotten. Why?

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“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. ”

― Albert Einstein

Diving deeper

After you've got three niche areas, start thinking of some subcategories within that, these might mean individual post topics, pictures, or videos. 

1- Music Mindset & Methodology

• Productivity advice
• getting things done
• understanding the big picture
• encouragement
• overcoming fear
• etc.

2- Songwriting

• practice videos
• songwriting tips and tricks
• pictures
  • songbooks
  • instruments
  • writing desks
  • creative workspaces
  • selfies

​3-Recording + production

• Audio gear
• mix videos
• tutorials
• Mix sessions

Capturing ideas on the fly... hope you have a pen and paper

Remember that great idea you had while you were out on the town? Neither did I until I started carrying around a notebook for scratching down ideas. 
Start collecting and stockpiling these ideas and before you know it, you'll have a deep pool of resources to draw from next time you sit down to focus on creating some new content, and the beauty part is, you'll never have to worry about running out of ideas again...

I'm Here to try.
To try and to fail
Repeatedly, Unapologetically.
To push boundaries, To open doors, To expand horizons
Face fears, and to seek perfection...
But not to expect it.

I'm Here to have compassion
to listen with empathy
To stay humble
To always strive for the best path
​Moving forward

Making failure your main objective - 

What happens when you're afraid you're going to be wrong? Speaking from experience with this one here because it's something I struggle with regularly. Constantly seeking perfection instead of jumping to it and figuring out the minutae later, one can end up seeking what may never come ending up in an endless spiral of preparation with no activity to back it up...

The cure for imposter syndrome

So what do you do? well, do something! Do anything! It's not like those people out there waiting to hear your music or hear your message are out to judge you, Sure some might be, but who spends their life worrying about trolls on the internet? If they do it should be like water rolling off a wax surface. Thick skin. Having such skin, you know, those nay-sayers were not the right people for your art anyways, so who cares what they say. If your message resonates, you WILL recieve confirmation that what you're doing is on the right track. 

Such is the nature of perfection

It doesn't have to be all perfect all the time, Welcome to the realization of being human. We're here to experience, to grow, to try, to fail, to learn, and eventually achieve  mastery over our pursuits.  

afraid to lose

So do the costs outweigh the rewards? You've heard people say that you have to spend money to make money right? Well this is partly true for musicians also. Every step of the way from songwriting, to recording, to production, to launch. The same can be said for energy. How you spend it, the value it brings to other, and the return on the investment of it...

 Want to write a guitar song but don't own a guitar? would getting your hands on one help you achieve the goal?

Want to record an album but don't have gear? would getting some help you achieve the goal? or would it be a more productive use of your time to go find someone to help you who is already set up? 

want to release that album to more people than friends and family? There are people who love your music,  Would it be worth reaching out? would the effort be worth it to you? Or would you try learn the tools of E-commerce to try to do it yourself?

worried about what others think of you

If you're scared, why? If the fear is holding you back, face it head on. Many times you'll realize 'hey if this experiment goes absolutely sideways, I'll still be able to make ends meet. It won't be the end of the world if I do fail, and I'll have gained some valuable experience from the whole process.'

Action is the catalyst for opportunities. Take action, screw fear. Sit down for a moment and ask yourself, what is the worst thing that could happen if I attempt this thing I want to do? count backwards

5-4-3-2-1 go... 

Please don't complain that your gear isn't good enough, or that you're not good enough. Seriously, Stop complaining. Recording is one part artform and one part physics. You as an artist should be learning to trust yourself. That's right, not every project is going to be perfect. Get over it, It doesn't actually matter as much as you might think. 

1: quality on the input

This comes down to your performance, and your overall sound. It's like this, if you practice your song. You will get better results.

It also ties into the quality of your gear. Is your guitar set up properly? does it stay in tune? do you need fresh strings? do you have clean pre-amps for your microphones?

2: Put things in balance

When you have your tracks, lets say you took 3 guitar takes, put them together in a way that blends smoothly. Lets say you've added some soft-synths? and some midi drums. Do they blend? did you put on your engineering hat and use your mixing tricks to make space so that everything sounds good? 

3 Finishing touches.

Adding embelleshments, automation, Final adjustments for dynamics, keeping the song interesting from start to finish. 

​Here at Gene Media, we don't care how you get there. We recognize that everyone is unique in their own approach, or as a smart author once said, "we each have our own game." The whole point is putting trust in yourself, trust in your ears, trust in your process, and trust your ability.

Today's video is another sit-down and do it style practice. I didn't really have much of a plan going in - its nice to have a structure - so it ended up being a bit of Melodic Development over one of my favorite chord structures. - Daily Gratitude - When your reality isn’t what you imagined: In fact its so much better. Be open to the possibilities and receive your blessings of unlimited potential.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Music is an artform, Audio is a science. The two joined together create the magic that is a great record. Certain things are subjective, others are concrete. There are principles behind audio production that can help you to get a better sound on your recording, but the application of these principles will almost never be a 'one size fits all' approach.

So your song is structured out. You've got your go-to tone. that's great. You've imagined your ideal sound and that's probably the hardest part. Now we get into the tricky bit... Laying it down in such a way that the end product matches your initial vision.

I remember my first dozens of songs. I would set out with the intention to make a Punk song or a Dub song, but somehow it didn't turn out the way I planned it to. Why? was it lack of experience? Was it lack of the correct tools or my inability to use them? I may never know. Sometimes the unexpected can be a real treat, sometimes it's just a disappointment. 

In our modern digital age, we've got a nearly unlimited variety of tools to choose from. For example, what kind of microphone is best for a male vocal? answer, It depends on the singer, his pitch, his Timbre (the tone of voice,) the positioning, and the room. 

how do I get a thick-heavy tone from my guitar? it depends on a lot of things, what kind of pickups are in your guitar? what amplifier are you using? settings on a pedal-board? are you using a DI (direct signal?) are you prepared to re-amp your guitar later? do you have the ability to add thickening in the mix?

The same applies to EQ settings. A lot of time, there will be a range that you can approximate where an instrument falls, assuming you're mixing a rock band. Is it the same for classical music? jazz? the answer is it depends. 

Starting with the easy thing or the hard thing? that's up to you to decide. I'd recommend knocking back the easiest tasks first, the ones that would take the least time to accomplish. The more difficult tasks might require some incubation time, new skillsets, or a network of friends to help you out.

avoiding  procrastination

Something is better than nothing
It doesn't have to be perfect
You'll get better with time

See a door, open a door, you don't have to step through it right away. Check to see what's on the other side. If you see potential there, then start moving.

the decision to take action - It starts with a choice. Remember the words we use in our own minds carry weight.

The language we use in our internal dialoge affects our reality. No seriously. No more of this Someday i hope to ____. A better line of conversation is I am ____. These are called affirmations, and next time you catch yourself using language like hope, want, trying to, etc. Catch yourself and think about it for a moment. Are you trying to do something? or are you Doing it?  

​going through the motions - Consistency of effort

once you understand what you want, the next step is to follow through. How many artists I know don't do this. I was guilty of it myself. It's called Failure to launch syndrome. I get it, it's easier to just push your ambition aside and play some video games. Next thing you know it's 10 years later, and have to bust-ass to make up for lost time. If you're not doing something every day, start with 1 thing. If you're already doing something every-day, then start doing 3 things every day. It'll take dedication and preparation, but you can do it. Start Now.

If you have creative ideas but never actually pursue them, Can you ease the burden by capturing the ideas for later? This is the way I approach blogging and songwriting. When I have an idea, I'll add it to the list (i keep a notebook nearby so i can quickly captue the idea.) Productivity expert David Allen says "the head is for having ideas, not for holding them, so if the muse strikes you, but you don't have time to do it right now, save the idea for later by capturing it.

through a different lens (camera lens example (wide angle vs reg))
​through the lens of 6 thinking hats
through the lens of an outside perspective (ask someone)

With your list of ideas, you can sit down when it's your creative time, draw from the list, and begin to flesh them out. I do this with Blogging, social media, and songwriting. It works equally as well in all these areas. My sunday for example, is blog day. I make a point that no "real work" is done on sundays. They're for me to rest and re-charge. So I kick back with a cup of coffee, open my inbox, pick something and start writing. I'll get two or three articles done in short order because the ideas have been percolating for a while already, and before I know it, I'm already ahead of the game. No more stress thinking "oh shit, I still have to write my blog for the week, but i didn't have enough time."

All those mundane repeating tasks...

Some projects are too big to do all at once, some are slow burners that are going to take time to build momentum. So how do you handle projects like these. Don't panic. I have to constantly remind myself that It's okay, even if it feels like things are moving slowly and as long as I haven't lost hope or given up, I'm putting in the effert that further the project so as long as I continue to put the effort, it'll happen. There's no point rushing and getting stressed about it.