Everyone was born with the inherent ability to be happy. So why aren’t we happy all the time? Personally, I think it’s because we’ve taught ourselves to be unhappy.
Here’s my explanation:
We all have our own personal thoughts and mottos about our happiness. Many people say, “If I had money/good heath/a family, I’d be happy.” But does that mean if you don’t have money, you can’t be happy? Of course it doesn’t. But it does mean that if you think money is the only way to be happy, and you don’t have it yet, you’re going to get yourself into the mindset that you won’t be happy until you have it. And the result of that way of thinking is that you won’t be happy–but it has nothing to do with the money! Failure is also a mindset. You can spend a lot of time telling yourself you’re not good enough, and sometimes that will make you stop trying. The trick is to be aware of this way of thinking, and blame it for the failure–not yourself. You can’t predict the outcome of your actions no matter how hard you try.
How is this related to success in the music industry?
Musicians like you and I are masters at self-criticism, which can make the journey through a music career difficult to enjoy. Many musicians don’t realize that the results aren’t controlled by us! You can’t predict whether your next single will be a Billboard Top 10 hit, if it will get played on the radio, or even if it will only manage 25 plays on Myspace. You can only do the best you can and enjoy the process as much as possible. You should ask yourself: Did I do everything I could to reach my goal (producing an album, record distribution, shopping to record labels, etc.)? If you did the best you could, the results aren’t important!
Failure doesn’t even really exist.
Yet it’s something you fear so much, you avoid doing things just because of the grim possibility of failure. But the funny thing about failure is that it’s all in your head. There’s nothing objective about it and because of this, it means that none of us really has to fail at all. Most people simply stop trying.
Giving up on yourself is the only true form of failure.
The most successful people on Earth “failed” multiple times before they made their mark on the world, with almost no exceptions. This is especially true with musicians. The music business is an extremely difficult industry to break into, and a tough one in which to stay successful. Musicians are constantly faced with the prospect of rejection and failure–sending demos to record labels, trying to get radio airplay, auditioning for bands and talent shows, trying to win over new fans–the list goes on. Successful musicians have gotten used to constant “failures” along the way.
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