💡✍️ADN #159: Blinders
Nov 30, 2025The best version of all of us is the one that isn’t worried about what anyone thinks.
It’s the version that does the next thing that needs to be done.
The one that:
- Books the shows
- Hangs the flyers
- Posts to socials
- Writes the songs
- Blocks the studio time
- Calls the festival
- Tells their story
- Learns from others
- And repeats
There are a million people you could compare, contrast, and chase if you want to.
There are endless reasons you could come up with not to do whatever it is you are thinking you should.
Or…
You can just get up and do the next thing you think you need to do.
Put on your blinders and get to work.
I promise you’ll get twice as far, twice as fast making up your own path if you only focus on your “what’s next,” as you will trying to recreate someone else’s that will never be the same as yours anyway.
Study? Sure!
Learn from? Of course!
But remember…
Different circumstances lead to different results.
The band from Tyler, Tx. won’t grow to headline the arena in Nashville the same way the band from Atlanta, Ga. does.
Will there be similarities?
100% there will.
- Vans
- Fans
- Albums
- Late nights
- Early mornings
But the only thing that matters is connecting the next dot in front of YOU.
The fan that said they’d “LOVE to have a copy of that unreleased song you played at the gig last night”…
Send it to them.
You just made a fan for life.
The friend of your parents that swears they could “help with your career”…
Talk to them for a few minutes.
Show them how focused you are and even if they don’t become your manager, they may become the head of your fan club.
We all have so many options that it’s easy to overlook the opportunities that are right in front of us.
And focus is finite, so make it constant, instead of inconsistent.
With that, I have a few personal updates for you:
I am beginning to do some writing on Substack.
If you’re interested in reading more on a weekly basis, come give me a follow.
The Artist Development account will be an extension of this newsletter.
There will also be a paid channel where I will be writing the actual stories from my three bands (LLAMA, AMERICAN BANG, THE CADILLAC THREE).
I am doing this for 2 reasons:
1) My band (The Cadillac Three) has been off the road for the past year and the memories from all the years of traveling have started pouring through my head like mile markers on the highway, and I’d like to put them somewhere before they disappear.
2) Because writing is something I love and that I believe should have value, like music.
This will be a public diary of sorts, almost an autobiography in snapshot story form.
I’ve written about 25 “chapters” so far and its been a lot of fun to remember all of the crazy experiences from 3 bands, 7 band names, 3 record deals, playing over 2000 shows, and traveling a million or so miles around the world.
If you’d like, you can subscribe below.
Artist Development on Substack
I’ll be sending the first paid story next Sunday, December 7th (my 44th birthday).
—
I also have been working on a bigger project.
TLE sits above my work in the music business.
It is an equation, framework, and system for identifying where to put your time and energy in life.
Like all of my writing, it is born out of a desire to distill more effective paths and processes.
It is an equation written to myself, that I’ve decided to share in case it is helpful to you, too.
The equation is simple:
Output = (Focus x Time x Intention) Consistency
Consistency acts as the exponent.
Here is how it breaks down:
- Focus — Where your attention aims
- Time — How much life you allocate
- Intention — The quality of your effort
- Consistency — How often you repeat the pattern
The challenge is in taking something so simple and making it non-negotiable in the areas you want to get the most from.
The Life Equation is my way of identifying where to put focus, time, intention, and consistency in my own life.
My hypothesis is that we can only truly prioritize up to 5 pillars at a time if we hope to get the maximum out of them.
TLE is aiming to accomplish that.
If you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or deep down just know that you have more on your plate than is possible to prioritize, then The Life Equation may be perfect for you.
**Warning**
TLE is a whole different style of writing.
It isn’t directly music related, and it isn’t tips from the road.
It is my distillation of how to make the most out of time from years of self-induced multi-tasking to make a living for myself and my family.
It is a path I believe in for compounding your focus, time, intention, and consistency in life.
To recap:
- Subscribe to the Artist Development Newsletter on Substack
- Subscribe to the PAID ADN on Substack to hear all the behind-the-scenes stories from my 20+ years of being in bands
- Subscribe to The Life Equation on Substack (Free or Paid)
Or…
Do nothing and you’ll continue to get this email every Sunday like clockwork.
159 weeks in a row and counting.
See you next Sunday,
Neil