Positive Mind of Dreams

After last week's extremely frustrating post, I spent a great deal of time thinking about how I should proceed with my music and getting my attitude back into a more positive place. It is difficult to always have a smile, speak positively, and see nothing but rainbows and unicorns. I try my best to not get down, but I think everyone has their moments. I think it's great to have a supportive group of people that are there to encourage you through the rough patches. While I don't have anyone that stands by to encourage me on with my music consistently, I am fortunate to have people that offer kind words upon hearing my material and those comments help me tremendously. I am also fortunate to know some very talented musicians, and their performances, recordings, and words of advice are worth more than I can even say.

I hesitate to discuss what my next step will be, because the details are not complete. However, this is how I'd like things to go. I will be recording a few songs under the guidance of an incredible musician/producer that has performed with some of the greatest bands/musicians in the world. He is such a positive and inspiring person. He also has his degree in music, like me. This is wonderful, because we can "speak the same language" and he also values the same level of detail that I crave. I'm certain that I will learn a great deal from this experience! If I like the direction that the songs go, I may end up recording a full album with him. The goal is to use this album to attract the right musicians for my music. It is difficult to accurately describe with words, what I want my music to be, and much more efficient to just play a recording. The recording will also be a great way to showcase what my voice can do these days, in the event that I should choose to audition for a band. Of course the ideal scenario is that my recording will get into the right hands and poof...I'll have a contract AND a band. I'm pushing for that. I am working my butt off to make this happen.

As I said before, I spent some time getting my attitude back into a more positive place. The following quotes really helped me to remember to focus on the positive, believe in my abilities, learn from my mistakes, stay passionate, and to never give up. Life loses meaning when you don't have dreams to work towards. Back to the drawing board...aka...the piano and MacBook. Thanks for reading!

“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”–Benjamin Mays

“Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses… on your powers, instead of your problems.”–Paul J. Meyer

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”–Calvin Coolidge

“An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.”–Thomas Fuller

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”–Norman Vincent Peale

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”–Winston Churchill

“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.”–John Maxwell

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”-- Thomas J. Watson