Last Thursday night I was broadcasting a men’s college lacrosse game. Had the home team – dare I say, the favorite – won that night, they would’ve advanced to the conference championship game. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case, as they lost by two goals.
Two nights later I watched as my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning went head-to-head with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the sixth straight game in their opening round matchup of the National Hockey League playoffs. The score was tied at one at the end of regulation. A goal in overtime by our team would send the series back to Canada for game seven tonight. I won’t be watching this evening, though, because the wrong team scored in overtime and now the Lightning’s season is over.
Oh well, spring has sprung and the Major League Baseball season is well underway, so at least there’s the Tampa Bay Rays to turn my attention to now. I tried to do that yesterday afternoon, only to see them blow a lead and lose on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Chicago White Sox.
Wow, what a rough go, huh?
| Related posts: |
| Making a Good First Impression, Even via Telephone |
| Tips and Tricks to Give Yourself a Better Chance at Success |
| Create the Content You Are Intended to Make |
The good news is, yesterday (pictured above) I did the broadcast of the college women’s lacrosse conference championship game and the right team DID win, at home, in overtime, in dramatic and exciting fashion. And so this morning there are smiles all around. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that, as I write this, it’s 74 degrees, the sun is shining, and there’s a forecast high temperature of 83 degrees today.
The music business, being a creator, doing what you do, is not easy, you probably view it as competitive, and it can get you down – wait for it – if you let it.
Today begins Mental Health Awareness Month. Dominick Pages, the guest way back on Episode 56 of my weekly "Now Hear This Entertainment" podcast once told me that we (each) have fifty thousand thoughts a day. His point was, let the bad ones go. You have a choice. Choose happiness and positivity and put yourself in a better position to succeed instead of falling victim to what’s going to bring you down.
A lot goes into a recording artist hyping the next release they’re going to put out. “Pre-save my upcoming new song on Spotify,” I see them post regularly on social media. Others who are trying to raise money through a crowdfunding campaign will issue appeals along the lines of, “Please consider helping fund my upcoming recording project.” Then there are release days for a new music video. “Watch it on YouTube now and share it with all of your friends.”
All of the above are followed by checking and checking and checking some more, looking to see, “How many people HAVE pre-saved my song,” or “What’s the total raised so far on the crowdfunding campaign,” or, “Let’s see the number of views that the video has gotten up to this point.”
If the data isn’t coming in where you’d wanted it to be, (a) be grateful for the numbers that ARE there (wouldn’t the people who did pre-save or contribute or watch be left to feel unappreciated if you felt that what they did was insignificant?), and (b) choose a different thought. Instead of, “Well this sucks,” how about, “What other efforts can I make to get the word out further so that I reach a new audience”?
Just like the women’s lacrosse team winning and making it easier for me to forget about men’s lacrosse, the Lightning, and the Rays all losing, you’re going to find high points that will enable you to not dwell on negativity that’s going to affect your mental health. And guess what? While it might be, “I did actually just get booked at a really cool venue,” or, “Someone who worked on the video with me IS connecting me with someone amazing that I’m going to start doing a different project with,” it could also be something unrelated, like, “I just paid off my cell phone,” or, “My electric bill went down last month.”
What part of this blog are you going to focus on? Put your mental health first and prioritize positivity – this month and all year round.
Still need to work through something that’s challenging you, though? I have been helping indie music artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and more from around the U.S. for close to twenty years now. Let’s have a call and find solutions that will enable you to employ a strategy to keep moving in the right direction. Take advantage of all my years of experience so you can make progress in what you’re doing.