Seasons change, the economy changes, society changes, and we change.

The day-to-day headlines reflect radical realignments and restructuring going on at all levels of society. So how do we make sense of what’s going on and how it effects our day-to-day life, art, and career?

From a practical perspective, the important question is not “How are things changing?” but rather “Am I changing in harmony and in pace with the changes around (and within) me, or am I resisting change and insisting on consistency?”

As a musician, you are built to feel your way into and embrace changes of many kinds: chord changes, tempo changes, key changes, meter changes, changes of groove, and changes of mood.

Still, many artists feel lost when it comes to handling big changes in their personal lives, careers, global industry, or local scene.

Tune into this SOS episode as JP explores four practical ways to apply your musical knowledge and craft to your career and your life.

 

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When you make your music, who do you do it for?

Is it for your audience–a selfless gift of sharing your art with others who can derive nourishment from the expression that springs forth from your soul?

Is it for yourself–an act of relief, giving form to the whims of your imagination and reveling in the fun of the creative process?

For many, the question of who the the music is being made for opens up what may seem like a competition between selfishness and generosity. The issue can grow even more complex when you factor in making a profit from your art.

On the one hand, we are taught that it is better to give than to receive. At the same time, there seems to be an undeniable part of our nature that is self-focused, self-centered, and self-interested.

So is it one or the other? Are we to chose between modeling Mother Theresa or Gene Simmons?

Listen to this podcast as several solutions are provided for achieving greater balance between selfishness and compassion in the life of the professional artist.

This part 5 of the 5-part “Prosperous Musician” series of SOS podcasts.

 

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Is it possible that the radical changes occurring in the global financial markets might be a sign that the global brain (the sum total of the billions of individual minds and orientations) is re-aligning itself, allowing in more creativity, as the left-brain-centered institutions adjust and restructure themselves?

If so, there has never been a better time to be an artist. Here are three reasons why:

* You can apply your creative instincts and visions to your business and career models and embrace market changes the way an improvisor embraces chord changes.

* There is an emerging economy in need of new ways of thinking about and expressing reality, not just new products and services.

* Since so much of the future is “up for grabs,” you can safely express (without apology or embarrassment) your unique point of view–your personal vision of what is going on and what you plan to do about it.

The list of creative, visionary artist-entrepreneurs is vast:

* Steve Jobs and his integration of design and function
* Paul McCartney and his songwriting and publishing empire
* Bob Dylan and his masterful use of mystery and masks
* Ani DiFranco and her fiercely independent stand as a recording artist and her creation of a rightous record label
* The Grateful Dead and their revolutionary rules of the road
* Levon Helm and his modern day Midnight Rambles
* Twyla Tharp and her bold reinvention of dance forms and premises
* (Your vision and artistry go here…)

If the world seems too much to handle, see if you can apply some of your musical and artistic creativity to what used to be considered strictly logical, left-brained territory…compose a new professional title for yourself, one that fits what you actually do…dream up a solution to a perennial problem such as a messy desk or an overextended schedule…and if you are feeling really imaginative, follow Leonard Cohen’s maxim: find a way to get paid for your work, rather than working for your pay.

Listen to this SOS podcast Part 4 in The Prosperous Musician series about tuning up your financial vibration and explore the artist’s path toward musical and professional fulfillment.

 

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