Starving artist? Tired of starving? Puff your chest out—don't hurt yourself—and demand order in your business. Save the freestyling for the cyphers and create a focused goal for your music career. You'll upgrade from Cup O Noodles in no time.
At a networking event, no one should be solely listening. At the December Social Sessions I was ill with beginnings of a sinus infection, so instead of engaging with the people in the room, I stood in corners and observed. (A normal no-no.) I perked my ears to hear some conversations and it inspired this re-cap. As I entered the building, two attendees were standing in front of me. They were talking about how they don't have social media accounts because "it was too much." Too much??? It immediately inspired a challenge for all IdOMusic® attendees (new & seasoned) to assess their level of commitment. This is the time—the new year—to step back, evaluate, and plan out what the upcoming year will look like. Seriously, look into the professional vision of your year. Remember those connections that you made, that got you excited but you maybe dropped the ball? Re-visit those. Remember that time when you said social media was too much? If you discipline yourself to a professional schedule, social media could take literally 5 minutes daily. Use the motivation of the new year to start anew. Just promise me that you'll be committed to taking your career aspirations by the reins instead of abandoning your goals before the 1st of February.
With that being said, What do you want your music career to look like in 2015?
Decide on a focal point
First, figure out what you want to focus on. There are countless aspects of your business that need attention, where will you start? What will you improve? What is missing? What will promote you to the next level of your career? Ask yourself these questions and check out the focus list that Ariel Hyatt of cyberprmusic.com created:
Branding – Your look and feel your image and health or your pitch and overall messaging.
Marketing – What will you do this year for your marketing plans.
Newsletter – It’s still the #1 way to make money! What will you do to create and send yours 12 – 24 times this year & how many people can you add to your e-mail list.
Website – Building a new one or diversifying your online presence?
Social Networking – How’s your Facebook Fan Page looking? How many tweets do you send each week?
PR – Getting covered on radio, print, or online.
Booking – Touring or local gigs this year or a combination?
New Music – How much will you release?
Money – How much money you would like to earn?
Film & TV Placements – Will you work towards them this year?
Expanding Your Fan Base – How will you do this?
Team – Will you be trying to get a manager or a booking agent?
Time – How will you manage to balance your time this year to make sure you can focus on your musical goals?
Songwriting – Recording an album or EP this year or just releasing singles as they come?
Instrument – Buying a new instrument or taking lessons?
Personal Health – So your performance is better – exercise, eating etc.
Choose focal areas that work for you—but more importantly goal achievement requires commitment and discipline, so choose to give attention to what gets you excited. If you're not kool-aid grinning at the idea of working on your chosen facet, revisit the list. You should be ready to werk off-gate.
Set Motivating & Realistic Goals
If you chose to center your attention on your website, but know diddly about building your own site versus hiring a website designer—then that's where you begin.
Your first goal could be "Research DIY Musician Websites" and set your goal achievement date for tonight. Start with small goals to strike out or check off your list so that you feel accomplished and gain the momentum to keep going.
Derek Sivers put goal motivation in perspective when he stated, "A bad goal makes you say, “Let me sleep on it.”
A great goal makes you say, 'I can't sleep! I was up until 2 doing this, then got up at 7 to do it some more.'"
Don't fall victim to the goal setting hype of the New Year and end up abandoning your goals before the end of the month. Instead of listing goals for the entire year, plan for the month. This way, each month you'll be able to revisit your goals and make sure you're staying on track. It's imperative that you track your progress!
Lastly, celebrate your success! Self criticism will destroy your hustle, so train yourself to be a positive thinker and write down your daily achievements and update them on a vision board.
When you attend the next IdOMusic® event on January 18—have an action plan. How will you utilize IdOMusic® to help you get closer to your focused goal?
Remember! Goals don't work unless you do!
Originally published on IdOMusic®'s blog: http://www.idomusiconline.com/blog/creating-focused-goals/
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