Hot or Cold

I recently had a conversation with my song plugger about my performance over the previous weeks. He said something to the effect of this:

"You've been really consistent, which is good (moving his hand left to right, as if a line on an X-Y graph). But we'd rather you actually do this (moving his hand left to right but including ups and downs). When you're consistent, we don't get the peaks (great songs)."

Deep down I knew he was right. It was easy to see that I'd been writing too much each week. When pursuing quantity over quality, it's easy to convince ourselves that "good" is good enough.

Along the "good" path I believe we will find that, while the road is clear and level, most of the fruit has been picked. Only on the road less taken will we experience the new and unknown. We will look out from unseen views, taste rare fruit (both sweet and sour), and most likely get cut by thorns along the way. But discovering greatness will always be worth that less-traveled journey.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Roots, Shoots and Fruits

One of the best metaphors for life and creativity is the plant. Specifically, I like to focus on three elements: the roots, the shoots and the fruits.

The roots anchor the plant and provide the life-giving nutrients required to sustain growth. In creativity, this involves understanding who we are (our identity) and why we create (our mission).

The shoots are the channels through which the nutrients travel. In creativity, this involves understanding how our identity and mission plays out in everyday life (our vision).

The fruits are the outcomes and end result of the growth caused by nutrients from the roots traveling through the shoots. In creativity, this is the song or painting or short film at the end of the day, directly influenced by our identity, mission and vision.

Are you at a place where you're enjoying the fruit?

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Fragile [fraj-uhl]

Let's face it: Songwriters are fragile.

There's a fine balance of pouring your creative soul into a song, but not taking it personally when criticism is given. Songs are fruit from the songwriter tree: some grow, offering shade and beauty to the world around them, while others amount to only a snack to the occasional passer-by.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!