Hey folks! Just coming home from an amazing time in Montreal, Quebec where I fed my body and soul with lots of amazing company, music and a ton of great food. My long bus ride back to NYC gives me lots of time to say hello to you all! Today’s topic is a topic that many books and articles and seminars have been about. Here is my simple take on success.

What is success?

I once read a very simple, yet amazing quote that has now become my personal mantra!

“Success is doing what you said you were going to do.”

When I first read this, it hit me. Success is not something that takes years and years and years to achieve. Success is something that you can have today. Success means doing what you said you are going to do. Everyday you can acquire success. Everyday you can be a successful person.

I am talking about follow-through. When you tell someone, “hey yeah, let’s get together tomorrow and finish editing that track”, or “yeah, rehearsal at 7pm sounds great!”, you would have then entered into an agreement and there is nothing more powerful than fulfilling that agreement. Showing up really IS half the battle. If you are a person who follows-through and shows up when you said you were going to, you will quickly gain a very positive reputation and people will generally be more inclined to wanna work with you.

Of course, life has unexpected downturns, and sidesteps, and emergencies (we have all had to cancel a couple meetings or rehearsals you just weren’t able to make), but what you don’t want is to become the person who doesn’t do when he said you were going to do.

All that sounds great, but it is easier said then done. So how can you make sure you indeed are the successful person who follows through and does what they said they were gonna do.

Be organized:

This is something I still struggle with, but am starting to get much better at. Being organized is something is something ythat can drastically improve your quality of life. A clean space to live and work out of is the first step. Getting rid of things we don’t need can be very challenging, but keeping a clean uncluttered space is of utmost important. Here is an awesome book they may help you on your quest to tidying up:

Write it down:

Once you are organized, you will find yourself being more productive and more able to find the things you are looking for. Next step, purchasing an agenda and writing everything down in it.

Write things down! If you commit to a meeting, write it down. Don’t depend on your memory, instead simply write it down. Make sure to check your agenda everyday to make sure you did not forget anything you have committed to that day.

Be realistic and honest with yourself:

Try not to cram too many meetings or commitments into a short period of time. I know you want to get as much done as possible, but it is better to do fewer things in a more focused, present kind of way then to rush everything and risk having to cancel a meeting and then, “not doing what you said you were gonna do!”

Showing up for Yourself:

It is obviously easier to show up to meetings when others are waiting and depending on us. But I think it is to equally show up for ourselves. As musicians, we often are creating our own schedules for the day, and it is important to still try and do what we said we going to do even if it was just a commitment we made to ourselves. If you made a schedule to practice your scales at least one hour a day, then try to keep that commitment! You will surely develop more confidence in yourself and your abilities if you show yourself and others that you are a person who follows through.

Don’t forget:

You can have success TODAY. You can be the successful person you want to be starting right now.

Now, go and do what you said you were gonna do! 🙂

Thank you for reading,

Cc Eve