I’ve just spent the last few months doing what I URGE my vocal & business tribes to not do. Let your creative cup runneth out! So now, I’m on a mission to get back to the basics, get inspired & remind myself of what the heck I’m doing & why. I don’t want to sound like I’m moaning about my first world problems but more throw myself at your feet as a cautionary tale!
I’ve felt it before after launching my singing courses or finishing big shows. It’s inevitable that you need some down time to refuel yourself after a massive project or any life changes. I’m totally aware of it & the trick is to plan for it. Allow a few days off afterwards, pace yourself during & nurture yourself like crazy (sleep, good food etc).
Of course, this time I have failed MISERABLY. I’m in the middle of relaunching my Sing Smarter Starter to incorporate all that I’ve learnt the past year as well as give it a facelift. I also created ANOTHER mini course, moved house, wrangled kids (school holidays, sickness, teen ‘tude!) & completed a paper at Berklee Online! I need a nap after writing that. To add insult to injury, I have NOT been looking after myself as well as I should. I am a WRECK.
So, a change gonna come…
I’m very lucky to have a great support network of mentors in my online business & singing worlds & I’m taking this week to revisit their ‘teachings’ & get back on track to shake this creative exhaustion aka creative flow hangover!
These three tips are what I am focussing on & I highly recommend you do the same for yourself. If you are studying, working on extracurricular projects, taking on new gigs, writing music, promoting your music in new ways (creating a website or online presence i.e: YouTube) or juggling kids & work during term time – ANYTHING that can leave you feeling drained. Apply these, rinse & repeat.
1. Nobody is PERFECT. Perfect is damn boring. You don’t learn from perfect & it’s pursuit is too much damn hard work. The kicker is that YOUR kind of perfect is only applicable to YOU. Remind yourself of this as you pick yourself up, dust off the ‘funk’ (& not the good kind) & excuse my language but F%*K being #flawless! Show me all yo’ flaws & I’ll show you mine. I don’t want to see people fail in an America’s Funniest Videos kind of way, I just want to know that they are human. Like me. Perfectly IMPERFECT. They feel, struggle, battle & STILL get out of bed the next day to try it all again & maybe even succeed. It makes me feel like I can too. The really great success stories ALWAYS have these beginnings but you often only see the polished glow of awesomeness & not the hard roads to that point. Take heart in that knowledge.
2. The patented (not) ‘GnC’ Two out of Three rule. My husband & I (GnC = Godfrey ’n’ Cherie – gangster marketing genius I know!) came up with this idea to help us easily decide on which work/projects we work on. We have to have at least two out of three of these factors apply to go ahead.
• Is it financially rewarding – “ain’t nothing going on but the rent” (especially in AKL!) so you need to be ok with taking money for your services & be cool with what you are worth (another blog post topic for sure!)
• Is it creatively/professionally rewarding – is it going to challenge you at your craft & will there be amazing people to work with & learn from?
• Is it going to be FUN?! – “ain’t nobody got time” to work on projects that are painful & kill the joy of being a singer, musician or creative!
3. Remember the WHY! – write a manifesto (like mine below thanks to Melissa Cassera) or a few words that define who you are as an artist/creative, what moves you, why you want to share your talent with the world & what kind of legacy you want to leave behind. This is really helpful to get you back on the right path to feeling good & focussed in the everyday pursuit of your dreams.
My Manifesto:
My students, fellow singers & entrepreneurial MUMS are my source of inspiration & energy to be better, learn & do more.
More than anything else, I care about helping people to be the best version of themselves & find their unique signature sound/style/place in life.
Perfection is overrated and is a definite NO.
Fantasising about being Adele & Sam Smith’s backing vocalist is totally reasonable.
But at the end of the day, family & happiness on your terms is all that really matters.
Shout it from the rooftops – Big Notes Get Votes on stage & in life!
So after all that, I would usually offer my services up to you for vocal, performance or artist developmental guidance but I won’t today! I’m taking a month to put all of these tips into action before I open the doors again to my one-on-one coaching in July. If you want to get onto the waiting list for vocal lessons, performance coaching or artist development sessions jump on my mailing list & you’ll be the first to know when it opens up.
Let me know what your manifesto is, we learn from sharing our experiences with each other. Don’t take too long overthinking the exercise but give it a try!
Also, let me know below which of my three tips resonated with you or if you have your own checklist that you use to stay in check with or accountable to yourself.
Much power to you, get your creative cup to runneth over & please share with anyone who will listen to remind them to do the same.
