Thursday, March 15, 2012

Meet the little Monsters (Pt 2 Fear Series)




LITTLE MONSTERS INSIDE OUR HEAD

 March weekly series topic deals with “Fear” and how it relates to independent artists careers.

As human beings we all want to be acknowledged for our efforts as well as our triumphs.
 Parental support of our artistic pursuits is not common. Rather than live with the fear of not being taken seriously, or not taking ourselves seriously, many retreat into the shadows, behind barricades built by criticism, when these barricades are  left unattended they harden like little cement walls. These little cement blockades limit our creative growth, when the creative muse is trying to stretch.

Imagine that you live on a great big farm, in a comfortable home surrounded all around by land filled with many trees, thick brush, and heavy foliage. 

You have one long bike path that leads to the main highway, all along the path are these “cement barriers” along the route, making the path difficult to navigate. The path to the highway is much too long to walk, and riding a bike will insure that you get to the main path where the other "riders" are peddling along  down the street.

Learning to let yourself create is like learning to ride a bike, you start with baby steps to gain your confidence,  you learn balance, and technique, you pray that you avoid any obstacles along the way. You are learning, be patient and understand your initial efforts are not going to be masterpieces. Critics will unfairly judge your work against master artists, since that is what “they believe” to be the standard other artists are measured against.
Regardless, what level of success you achieve, the struggle continues.
Master artists struggle with pleasing their fan base, and satisfying their creative muse- Think about when  Bob Dylan went electric, or In this video clip where  Joni Mitchell shares some amazing insights on  Jimi Hendrix



NEGATIVE BELIEFS:

Our Immediate family, fearful friends, spiritual & social communities all weigh in on what notions they “believe” are acceptable.  Each of us has beliefs,  Acceptance of the notions in our mind that something is true or real. 
Beliefs reflect an individuals “notions” about what it means to be a artist, It does not reflect FACT.

Each of us has  a internal dialog that tells us
  • I’m not good enough
  • I will hurt or embarrass my family and friends
  • I will be awful and look foolish
  • I don’t deserve to be successful
  • Artists are not successful = I won’t be successful
  • What if I run out of Ideas

Negative beliefs (notions/ NOT FACTS) keep you scared and stuck, they make you retreat and hide in a safe place, and not develop your skills to prepare you to succeed.

MEET THE LITTLE MONSTERS

To create is part of who you are as a artist, your ability to adapt, and grow will be so much easier if you take the time to clear away the obstacles on your path.
 Each of us can work diligently to clear away the external blockades, and criticisms created by others, that can still leave quite a clutter behind,
Have you thought about the blockades and criticisms that you create?   The scary stuff that separates us from success is being brave enough to clean house INSIDE.

Want to test this out?   Get a blank sheet of paper, and a pen, on  the paper  write 5 times
My name is _______(write your name), I am a successful artist.
As you start writing, and re-writing the sentence, you’ll start to hear a internal dialog “no your not”  “Poser”   “Artist-Shmartist”, all kinds of nasty stuff comes up.
Remember you want to write 5 times “My name is _____(write your name), I am a successful artist”.  Also write down  all the negative stuff, the nasty little monsters that your head dreams up.  Don’t be shocked if there is really nasty things, your subconscious will attack everything, your sexuality, your spirituality, and anything in between

On a new sheet of paper list the negative beliefs that you noted in one column , in the next column, to the right of the “belief” note who said this in your life was it a parent, teacher, partner, friend? Then draw one more line to the write of the person, creating a 3rd column and next to the negative belief write a positive alternative.

Weed out the little monsters, from your victory garden.  Like a garden, from time to time the little monsters will still need  a little weeding out as part of ongoing garden time.
How does your garden grow? Do you have Little Monster you hear from a lot?


 Artist Master Class: Special Invitation:   
More info HERE:  http://www.squidoo.com/guitartam-master-classes

In today's indie market there is TONS of competition. In today's economic market everyone is working harder for even less money. How do you capture the attention of hard working fans that may not even know you exist?

There are lots of ways to invest in your career that help you make meaningful progress toward growing your creative business.

Each month's Master-class topic is focused on helping you grow your creative business. You will be provided with a syllabus filled with exercises and strategies that are successfully used by top selling artists and businesses around the world, that you can apply directly to your creative business!

Visibility Master Class you will learn:

- Identify and Create multiple revenue streams
- How to increase your exposure
- Identify who your fans really are
- How to focus on WIIFTY (what is in it for them and you)
- Which Business partnerships pay off
- How you can use analytics to measure your growth.
-              Apply exercises directly to your business
At the completion of each module you are issued a Master Class Certificate of completion.
 At the end of 12 months you will have achieved Master Class status and receive a  MCC- Master Class Certification

-       Written monthly exercises keep you focused on the area of development, with the guidance of your business development executive and guest experts to educate, prepare, and mentor creative leaders in a safe encouraging creative environment.



Tamra Engle is a independent music business strategist based in the S.F. bay area she is available to help you manage your next project, for private consultations to help you develop your independent music business, or to  produce your next musical demo. You can read more about her,  and join her mailing list at www.tamraengle.com  you can email her at guitartam@gmail.com


 More info HERE:  http://www.squidoo.com/guitartam-master-classes

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