It’s a new year and an exciting time to really get focused and get your musical career goals set and accomplished! When I first started out, my goals were a little unclear and not planned very well so because of that, it took me 8 years to be able to create a music career where I could support myself entirely off of music.And just so you know, we are going to get it out of the way that posting on social media and trying to make it look like you are doing more, “faking it til you make it”, is NOT a good way to try to accomplish your goals. 

You must hold yourself accountable

   Create a PLAN that you know you can achieve, and start focusing on what actually creates results.Why setting “Goals” are way better than just focusing on your “dream”.Let’s quickly discuss the difference between your goals and your dreams. Dreams were important. Hopefully, you had a lot of dreams when you were younger. Dreams motivated you to make life choices that brought you to where you are now, pursuing your passions and earning a living in the arts.Now I want you to let go of your dreams and seize upon your goals, with every ounce of strength and will that you have.

 Dreams got you this far, but they won’t get you any further; in fact, they will likely hinder you, impoverish you, and create such a distance between what you think you want and what you have, that the sheer impossibility of bridging that gap will make your dreams unattainable. Goals are things that we can achieve with the tools we already have. They provide the kinetic energy that allow our dreams to happen.Dream: Get famous on Instagram.Goal: Use sponsored posts to increase follower count by 10,000 by the end of this year. 

Dream:

  Get rich.Goal: Book 5 more shows a month by making phone calls every day to venues which would mean an extra $1500 a month and $18K a year. Build up to performing 5 nights a week so I can be making a full time living performing and doing what I love.Dream: Travel the world.Goal: Book shows on Cruise ships so I can be making money, while performing and doing what I love. 

 Create a vision board

  It’s important to honor your creative spirit and imagination. In order to do that, create a vision board to give life and color to your big picture goals. Your vision board should be physical, tangible, something that you can put your hands on and engage with in the real world. This technique is crucial for creating a living, breathing representation of what you seek to achieve.Get a piece of large poster board or recycle some cardboard you’re not using. Print out some photos, tear apart an old magazine, cut and paste and make it messy. Put stickers and glitter on it if you want. Create something that inspires and creates accountability each day, but remember that you’ve already written out your goals elsewhere, so feel free to play around and have fun with this. 

   A good vision board might incorporate things like:A photo of your favorite band performing in-front of a large crowd.A $100,000 check with your name on it.Newspaper quotes from a business person you admire.Cover art of the Spotify playlists you want to land.Pictures of the places you want to visit this year.A picture of what you want your album cover to look likeThese things are unique to each individual, just make sure your vision board relates back to your big picture goals. 

 3. Practice both patience and impatience. 

  Patience is a virtue but good things do not come to those who wait. Be patient in the macro, be impatient in the micro. Big picture goals take time and patience to achieve, yes, so go after your daily goals aggressively and unapologetically. 

Don’t wait, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today

  I know I personally get way overwhelmed if I look too much at the BIG goals like “go on a national tour this summer”. Instead, I’ll focus on my goal of “Call 30 venues today and book one show in a city you love”. So that way, I can feel productive and excited about my accomplishment, but also know that it is working towards my BIG GOAL of achieving my tour as well.4. Get yourself an accountability partner or mentor.We’ve all heard this a thousand times. It’s not hard, yet most of us have probably never done it. 

  Call a friend, 

 A cousin or your mom, and get yourself a mentor. Touch base once a week and talk about what you worked on, how it’s helping you achieve your big picture goals. Ask your partner for a friendly reminder to rise and grind every couple of days.These things take minutes, and they go a long way!! 

 Good luck to everyone in 2020 

                                                                                                             Written By  Kristine Mirelle