Success Beyond The Score

Success Beyond the Score is a project born from Millicent's willingness to support men and women in their music journey. Through her podcast, mentoring, courses and resources, she has already helped people at different stages of their careers to achieve their goals.

Last month, she talked about the what, why, how, when and where of creating and achieving your vision in music. The only question left to answer is "with whom". We aren't born knowing! Having mentors or teachers is an essential part of taking our craft to where we want it to be. That's why Millicent is putting together a new way to guide and support singers and musicians in their journey. In order to assist with that, we are currently conducting a survey to assess the topics of greatest interest among our audience, and how you'd like to learn about them.

Click here to start the survey.

It will take you at most five minutes, and you will get a gift to thank you for your time at the end. Your contribution will help us unde...

First, we defined the what, then, the why. After that, we looked at the how, and that defined almost everything for us. Now, we just need to make the time and space to execute our plan, and we will achieve our vision.

This sounds easy, and it would be in a world less congested, noisy and stressful than the one we live in. We have responsibilities with our family, friend and community. We have jobs and maintain a home. The technology that's supposed to assist us more often than not becomes an addictive distraction, bombarding us with notifications that demand our attention 24/7. It's challenging to catch a breath and have time for ourselves. 

Despite all this, it's possible to make time and space for our vision by working smarter, not harder. Don't sacrifice sleep or overexert yourself, that will only lead to health issues and burnout. Instead, keep your priorities at the forefront of your mind, and use them to take decisions. You are the owner of your attention, your energy and your ...

In the first article of this series, we thought about what we want to achieve. Then, in the second entry, we reflected a little deeper to understand why we want what we want. So far, the most practical part of this exercise has been to write ideas down, you haven't had to stand up from the couch just yet.

Now, however, we have arrived to the point where the vast majority of people get stuck: the how. How can we get to where we want to get? What do we need? Where and how to start? The questions and the uncertainty can easily overwhelm you.

The first thing that we need to do is to step back, breathe, and focus on the elements of our vision. What is there that you need to acquire? What do you need to do in order to acquire those things? You'll be surprised by how frequently a daunting task becomes simple and easy just by paying no mind to anxiety, considering instead the logical steps needed to execute it.

Let's say that your goal is to play at open mics in the next year. What do you n...

Last time, I talked about my thought process when I decided to move on from being a hobbyist and become an established musician. I explained how I started cementing my vision by writing down what I wanted to achieve, condensing my beautiful dreams into describable goals. I also invited you to do the same, so you had your own material to follow along this series.

Now that you have the what, the next question is why. What is the reason behind your wish to reach something? What is the purpose that your goals serve to yourself? If you don't understand why you are doing what you do, or you lose sight of it with time, your motivation will dwindle. You need energy to overcome the challenges and obstacles that you will inevitably find on your way, and this energy, this drive that you need, can be fuelled by your reasons.

Just as we wrote down our whats to solidify them, we need to document our whys. Going back to them now and then to remind ourselves of our purpose keeps us focused and pushi...

I wasn’t born a full-time award-winning musician. In fact, I spent the first couple of decades of my adult life working in a completely different field. During those years, music was a hobby, a fulfilling one that I loved, but nothing more than that. Whilst I did catch the attention of a record label or two, it never came to anything.

At 42, I attended a concert by a friend. Seeing him shining on stage, being aware of his achievements and career, made me realise that I wanted that too. With my children in secondary and primary school, I was at a point when I finally had time for myself. The conditions were there, I could give professional music a shot! I hesitated for a long time, but finally, I decided to try.

I gave myself a timeframe, which was of five years, and sat to write down all the things I wanted to achieve during that period. At that point, I didn't know how to get there, but that didn't matter. The first step towards reaching a goal is to know what the goal is. Then, in ...