I used to not really be into New Years and all the “fresh start” type stuff.
I didn’t set goals, that felt too adult, or too serious, or too uncool or something.
Now I’m into New Years and fresh starts and setting goals.
I was an idiot all those years for not being into it. At this point it’s become a vital part of my life. Necessary for growth and action.
Goals are not what you had when you were a little kid. Goals are not the things you talk about late at night after the gig. Those are dreams and visions (both great things…but they aren’t goals).
Goals have more intentionality behind them. As it’s been stated by lots of other people before, goals have a handful of specific qualities.
Goals must be:
Specific- I want to play gigs vs. I want to play gigs in 300 cap rooms in the southeast.
Measurable- I want to play 20 gigs in 300 cap rooms in the southeast.
Yours- Who came up with this? You or your agent? You or your manager? All of you together? You have to be connected to it and the best connection comes with being a part of the creation of the goal.
Time Sensitive- I want to play 20 gigs in 300 cap rooms in the southeast by July 1st.
Written- If you do the previous four steps and start feeling good about yourself but you skip this one, you’re back to zero. Write it down. On real paper. With a real pen. And actually, believe it or not, the bigger your write it the better. Our brains are weird like that, bigger is better.
So now you’ll either follow these steps or you won’t. You’ll completely embrace it and dive in, or you’ll write it off as stupid and not worth it. (I can hear the voice in your head right now saying “yeah, that’s just not for me”…that used to be the dominant one in my head too)
The season you finally follow this guide, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t been doing it all along.
Will you designate a time and place over the course of the next 7 days to sit down with your band and team to set 3 goals for the year?
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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com