Success Beyond The Score

As we have discussed before in the blog, New Year's Eve is not the only point in time where we can stop, look at what we have done, think about where we want to go, and make plans. In fact, to reach your goals, you should most definitely be tracking your progress and adjusting your actions way more frequently.

The beginning of September is a good checkpoint. Summer vacation is mostly over, kids go back to school. The demand for gigs decreases slightly, and the uninviting weather of early autumn is a great excuse to sit down inside and focus. Also, there is still enough time before Christmas to assess your situation at different levels of your life (family, music, finances, etc.) and make a solid plan to tweak what you need to tweak.

Dust off that list of new year's resolutions you made in January and evaluate. First, acknowledge any and all achievements and progress you have got so far. Good job! Then, in regard to the goals that are still pending, ask yourself why that is and answer...

It is already the second half of February. Hopefully, all the plans and goals you set at the beginning of the year are going well. If not, no problem! It is not too late, you have not failed, and most importantly, you don't have to wait until next December.

Here is a video by Dr. Jamie from The Productivity Psychologist, explaining some advantages that February has over January as a starting point for setting goals.  

Now, you may be wondering if this is still valid when half the month is already gone. The answer is yes. Time markers like new year, your birthday or the first day of any given month are just that, reference points that we gravitate towards, but that are not essential to start pursuing a new objective. If you definitely need a point of reference in time to motivate yourself to start something, you can learn about other ways of measuring time, like the lunar calendar, which this week marked the beginning of the lunar new year, Mardi Gras/Ash Wednesday, and the first d...

If you are like me, setting goals and targets is a great way to achieve musical progress. To help with this, in December, I purchased a Christmas present for me: a planner.

It might seem boring, but it's exactly what I need to get organised. I prefer paper and pen, so I can get in touch with the page and my thoughts more easily. Some prefer to use apps, and that is OK, too. 

One thing I like about planners is that many have motivational statements on different pages. They remind me to keep going. Another is how their design makes it intuitive, easy and efficient to organise your thoughts.

Mine has a To-Do page for the month, which is great for listing the title of my monthly targets (e.g. MOT the car. Songs to learn for X gig). Then, there is a month at a view page, which helps me to allocate the tasks of my targets in the month (e.g. the day I will call the mechanic, the day I will practise a particular song). A month at a view also helps me to be more aware of how cluttered my li...

We know how it goes: every new year is the same old story. After two weeks of full gyms, busy workshops and classrooms, freshly opened notebooks and brand-new gadgets for all sorts of resolutions, most things gravitate back to their former state. Our storage rooms get a little more full, giving us more work when it is time for spring-cleaning, and we are left with a vague feeling of defeat.

However, it does not have to be like this. With thoughtful planning and pertinent research, you can bring your hazy dreams into focus, turning them into a clear vision that includes both a feasible destination, and the path to reach it. This will allow you to advance consistently, manage frustration as well as your expectations, be better equipped to deal with setbacks, and carry on beyond January 15th.

If you are going to dedicate what is left of December to define your new year's resolutions for 2026, Millicent's advice about the what, why, how, when and where of creating and achieving your visi...

Recently, I’ve been binge watching ‘Race To The Center of the Earth’.  It has adventure, dizzy heights even from my sofa, a little drama, great scenery and of course teams competing for the prize of one million dollars. I love shows like these because  I find them inspiring, a little scary (when someone gets hurt or they have to climb up a super high cliff face) but also interesting.

How does this relate to music? Last time, I mentioned I would share with you one of the things I still do now to keep me moving and growing as a musician.  On reflection, there are 3 things, but today I’ll illustrate the first one through the Race.

Each of the racers in the Team have a goal.  A goal to win the million-dollar prize.  They are focused on that goal and all roads lead to that goal.  They train for that goal; they strategize towards that goal and at the end they will know if they achieve the goal.

This is something I do.  No, not extreme sports although I wish  – lol! But at 42, when I gave ...