Success Beyond The Score

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...

What do you think about this word, ‘Plan’? What does it conjure in your mind?  Hard work that you don’t want to do, or glee because you relish identifying parts and their connections, and seeing if they work?

I’m a planner, but not everybody is.  Don’t get me wrong.  Some people are more holistic, top-down, see the bigger picture.  I’m the opposite. I see the big picture but I get down to the detail of how to make it happen. Actually, it doesn’t really matter too much which approach you prefer, as long as things are achieved.   

How does this relate to your music? 

Well, when you move forward, you are moving forward to something: your targets. How you move forward has to be decided. This is planning, deciding what, when, why, how, etc.  

Most of my music life, pre-42 years old, I just ambled along. I performed when invited. I had dreams of what I wanted to become, but no plans on how to get there. At 42, one of the significant things that made a difference and propelled me forward was maki...

I wrote an article for the Musicians Union in recognition of World Menopause Day, which is today because I struggled to find information on how it impacts women carrying out their music when my symptoms began a few years ago.  

I hope my views will help men to understand what the women in their life are going through, and for women to feel they are not alone.

You can view the article The Journey of a menopausal musician on the Musicians Union website or read it below.  I only ask that if you find it interesting...or not, I would love to hear your views.  Please leave them in the comments section below this post.

Kind regards

ms
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It was during an MU Committee meeting where we were informed that temperature checks would be part of COVID testing for musicians entering rehearsal rooms and Studios, that I laughingly said, “What about us women of a certain age? We do get a little hot from time to time. How will it tel...