💡✍️ ADN #035: Expanding Our Time Horizon

ad#035 artist development artist development newsletter time time horizon time management Jul 23, 2023

Hey Friends -

Welcome to the Artist Development Newsletter.

Every Sunday, I send an email providing actionable tips for artists and industry on one area of the music business.

Last week we discussed identifying the missions, values, principles, and character traits you want for yourself and your career as an artist.

You can re-read last week’s newsletter here if you want to refresh.

Today we will walk about expanding your time horizon as an artist.

Let’s go :)

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In this 24/7 world of dopamine hits, overnight viral successes, and the never-ending feeling of needing to do more than ever to succeed as an artist, it can be hard to think long-term.

So hard that many artists quit before they ever really get started.

It’s easy to look at what we have accomplished over the last day, week, month, or year and feel underwhelmed.

The feeling of “I did x, but x didn’t solve all my problems.”

“I did x, but x didn’t help me accomplish all of my dreams.”

Here’s the thing…

It’s because almost all of us think too short-term about our careers and the time it takes to get where we want to go.

If your time horizon for your career is 1 year, then you need to set your goals and expectations within the boundaries of what you can accomplish in 365 days.

You CAN accomplish a shit ton in 365 days, but if you’re starting from scratch, there won’t be enough time in the year to do everything, so you’ll need to plan accordingly.

If you’ve decided that you have 5 years to chase your dreams before you re-evaluate, then you have more time to play with what you want to do and how you want to do it.

If you can’t imagine a day in the future when you aren’t going to want to write a song, play a show, or think about music, then your time horizon might be 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years.

With this kind of thinking, you suddenly have so much more room to accomplish than you ever imagined as an artist.

In many ways, extending your time horizon takes the pressure off.

It doesn’t mean to be lazy, but it does mean that your next song doesn’t have to be a #1 life-changing smash hit.

Why?

Because by expanding your time horizon, you’ve decided to play a different game with a different set of rules.

It’s not a short-term, quick fix that you’re after anymore.

It’s a long-term narrative that builds a slow story arc over many years, gigs, releases, successes, and failures.

Did you know Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers didn’t have a #1 record until their album “Hypnotic Eye” in 2014, almost 40 years after releasing their first music?

It was their final album.

Their finale.

A true testament to longevity.

If you want to see a beautiful career arc, I’d recommend watching the Leonard Cohen Documentary.

His career would be impossible to concoct without having the commitment to sticking around and doing the work because the work was what he loved doing.

Some stories aren’t meant to be finished, but some need time to age, grow, adapt, and become legendary.

By extending your time horizon, you can explore with the freedom of knowing that the only end is when you are finished, and when you are finished isn’t any time soon.

As you consider your next release, imagine that this is the next of what will be hundreds more.

It’ll take the pressure off needing instant success.

It also allows you the freedom to be as unique as possible.

Push your boundaries!

Why?

Because by expanding your time horizon, you have gifted yourself the space to create.

Permit yourself to live the life you want and then work wildly within it.

See you next Sunday!

Neil Mason

Artist Development

PS — I’ve added a couple of mini E-Books to the website.

They are free, so grab them!