I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO: Musical Life Purpose.

[Realms of Wonder]

Hey all, fully recognizing that the choice and decision will be up to me, feedback would still be super valuable. 

 

Basic premise... I do not know what kind of job to transition into while I continue to build my musical career.

 

Back from an 8 day solo retreat, spurred into action by a health problem caused at my current vocation (Cook in a kitchen.) During the retreat, I began seriously strategizing what job/career I would transition into, main idea was... Get an internship at a music studio, work my way up to a producer, then work that job and gain the skills it would bring, till my music career takes off. 

Once back online, I began researching the viability of that plan, it took as little as 30 minutes of research to realize that it would not work, no way. Now I am at a loss. I am sitting in a large pool of uncertainty, not knowing what to do.

 

Context.

 

• Life Purpose: To play Awe-inspiring music, guiding people into states of loving-introspection, making them Authentic.
• Ideal Medium: Live performance.
• Domain of Mastery: Songwriting.

Top three values.

1. Authenticity/Truthfulness
2. Music
3. Wisdom

Signature strengths.

1. Authenticity/Genuineness
2. Wisdom/Perspective

 

My long term strategic Life-Purpose intent/Vision (5-30 years,) is to be a successful independent musical artist, to perform Live, spiritually connected Music, leading to mystical, breakthrough experience for the audience.

I am little over two years into the skill building stage, my music is getting pretty good, but not so good they cant ignore me, not to the point where I can quit my job and just start touring... There are so many developmental steps before that can happen, building a loyal fanbase, releasing a catalog of high quality, brand aligned music, marketing myself, a website, social media presence, and yes, eventually, live performance and touring. 

Ideally, this job would be creative, allowing me to increase relevant skills, anything from networking/social skills, to actual songwriting or playing music, marketing, website work, and so on. Also allowing me to work less than 45 hours a week, giving me enough free time to continue my training outside of work. 

 

WHAT DO I DO?

 

Do I continue to try and find a job in the Musical field?

Do I get a job that allows me a more healthy, stable platform to build my life purpose on?

Am I missing something obvious?

What questions am I not asking?

What blind spots am I not seeing?

 

I feel that I am missing something, I imagine there being TONS of opportunities, ways to make my life purpose work. I just dont know, I cant see what the future holds. 

 

Any feedback appreciated.

 

Regardless of what happens, I will continue on this path, not knowing is fine.

 

Much love,  

Edited July 9, 2022 by Realms of Wonder

[puporing]

Something I realized since getting into music training was that the road to making a good living from it would be difficult for most. Most musicians I know are relying on teaching as the main income and maybe performance and creating on the side. It's a very "winner take all" kind of field right now... This is not to discourage you but it's what I see around me. Lot of depressed musicians because their work is not rewarded financially. So it's good to be strategic about this (balance between your passion and what kind of material living you're also aiming for). Teaching can be a good way to dial down your working hours as it usually nets more per hour, giving you more time to create on your own. But I know not everyone is interested in that also.. so search your feelings. I'm personally not that invested in the idea music will earn me a steady/good income and it's something I'm just doing for the sake of it at this point. That's not to say it won't happen I just don't have the luxury to put all my eggs in this basket... 

And yeah we have different level of interest in it and different circumstances so don't just take my word. Just offering some insights. I think become good at assessing realistically where you are and can get to in the short term vs long term. It comes back to what I mentioned about "boundaries". Most music creation right now is a form of giving.. but it's good to also balance looking after yourself!

Edited July 9, 2022 by puporing

[Realms of Wonder]

@puporing Thank you for making the time to share your thoughts!

 

It can definitely seem like a 'winner take all' market, I dont know if it truly is or not, I dont have enough experience or enough research "under my belt" to say, but I appreciate you caring to keeping me grounded on this journey  

[Thought Art]

@Realms of Wonder You can make a living now with the internet. There’s. Woman I know who has like 12,000 true fans and she earns about half a million a year. You don’t need to be a massive artist you just need to build a good business model for the modern age. 
 

for me, this is why accounting and business administration was the career I’ve chosen because it’s the skeleton for everything else.

[John Paul]

Part of the LPC was the negative values, remember? “Success/Validation”, “Money”, “Recognition…” “Title…”

what are you willing to sacrifice for mastery? Living in a van, abstaining from starting a family, living off tips, eating/dressing simply..? I’m in your same boat bro, idk.

[Rob06]

@Realms of Wonder Cool life purpose!

Working in a studio is nice, but those jobs are quite popular, and I'm not sure if they pay very well. The good news is, you don't necessarily need a professional studio anymore to make it in music. Great skills and a decent laptop work wonders. Skills can be acquired through the internet (yay!). 

Depending on where you live, you might be able to afford not to have a full time job. I worked a shit job as a customer service guy for about two years while building my freelance music business. After that I transitioned into a music teaching job, and am now a fulltime freelancer in music. I also found some people online along the way that I started working for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it would be awesome to get the kind of job you described, but it might not be realistic/practical, but that doesn't really matter, because you can still get a lot of stuff done life purpose wise in a 3-year time span, while paying the bills with something else.

Good luck!

Edited July 23, 2022 by Rob06
grammar

[Nilsi]

I used to be in the music business. It really is one of the most competitive and cutthroat fields if you really want commercial success. You will basically have to live from stage orange and drop all your lofty ideals for now. There is always a guy that wants it more than you, and you will have to keep that motherfucker in mind all day and night. But what I found is that if you're just trying to make a living and have artistic freedom, it's actually quite doable, almost inevitable if you put in enough work and create an authentic, niche product to grow an organic audience. So assuming you're not trying to reach the billboard top 100, you should be good as long as you focus on your craft and don't lose your motivation. Just make sure you grow an audience via social media and network with other smaller artists, and try to play as many little gigs and festivals and whatever you can, there you will create your first little core audience and make a name for yourself. It's a really tedious, slow growing process but I've seen it happen so many times, and all that these people had in common was that they used every opportunity to network and most importantly stayed in the game long enough for an audience to grow.

[Rob06]

36 minutes ago, Nilsi said:

I used to be in the music business. It really is one of the most competitive and cutthroat fields if you really want commercial success. You will basically have to live from stage orange and drop all your lofty ideals for now. There is always a guy that wants it more than you, and you will have to keep that motherfucker in mind all day and night. But what I found is that if you're just trying to make a living and have artistic freedom, it's actually quite doable, almost inevitable if you put in enough work and create an authentic, niche product to grow an organic audience. So assuming you're not trying to reach the billboard top 100, you should be good as long as you focus on your craft and don't lose your motivation. Just make sure you grow an audience via social media and network with other smaller artists, and try to play as many little gigs and festivals and whatever you can, there you will create your first little core audience and make a name for yourself. It's a really tedious, slow growing process but I've seen it happen so many times, and all that these people had in common was that they used every opportunity to network and most importantly stayed in the game long enough for an audience to grow.

Yeah definitely agree. My meditation and reading habits suffered severely over the last three years because of spending so much time building skills, networking, marketing, contacting people, etc. It's worth it if you can get material success doing what you love, and if you are then in a secure position to get back to "higher" pursuits like enlightenment work.

[Realms of Wonder]

On 7/20/2022 at 2:13 AM, John Paul said:

Part of the LPC was the negative values, remember? “Success/Validation”, “Money”, “Recognition…” “Title…”

what are you willing to sacrifice for mastery? Living in a van, abstaining from starting a family, living off tips, eating/dressing simply..? I’m in your same boat bro, idk.

Willing to sacrifice a lot, and do already, there is a balance there, a sustainable way to do it, or maybe not! I dont know, still figuring it out. Thanks for the comment  

20 hours ago, Rob06 said:

@Realms of Wonder Cool life purpose!

Working in a studio is nice, but those jobs are quite popular, and I'm not sure if they pay very well. The good news is, you don't necessarily need a professional studio anymore to make it in music. Great skills and a decent laptop work wonders. Skills can be acquired through the internet (yay!). 

Depending on where you live, you might be able to afford not to have a full time job. I worked a shit job as a customer service guy for about two years while building my freelance music business. After that I transitioned into a music teaching job, and am now a fulltime freelancer in music. I also found some people online along the way that I started working for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it would be awesome to get the kind of job you described, but it might not be realistic/practical, but that doesn't really matter, because you can still get a lot of stuff done life purpose wise in a 3-year time span, while paying the bills with something else.

Good luck!

It took all of 15-30 minutes of research to realize that working in a studio is very far from my life purpose. I want to write new music, create whole new genres and experiences for people, breakthroughs, emotionally, spiritually and mentally with music, studios dont really help make that happen.

 

The current job I have (Working as a cook) pays the bills well enough, however it is very stressful, and very hard  on my body, in the middle of a transition period.

 

That is AWESOME that you have been able to transition into working full time playing/teaching/freelancing in music. proud of you! must have taken a lot  

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

18 hours ago, Nilsi said:

I used to be in the music business. It really is one of the most competitive and cutthroat fields if you really want commercial success. You will basically have to live from stage orange and drop all your lofty ideals for now. There is always a guy that wants it more than you, and you will have to keep that motherfucker in mind all day and night. But what I found is that if you're just trying to make a living and have artistic freedom, it's actually quite doable, almost inevitable if you put in enough work and create an authentic, niche product to grow an organic audience. So assuming you're not trying to reach the billboard top 100, you should be good as long as you focus on your craft and don't lose your motivation. Just make sure you grow an audience via social media and network with other smaller artists, and try to play as many little gigs and festivals and whatever you can, there you will create your first little core audience and make a name for yourself. It's a really tedious, slow growing process but I've seen it happen so many times, and all that these people had in common was that they used every opportunity to network and most importantly stayed in the game long enough for an audience to grow.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom! Not attracted to being a pop-star, or even being mainstream, instead to, like you said above, build a core, loyal fanbase that loves my work, is impacted by it deeply, akin to how Leo has impacted my life, I would pay to fly to see him at an event, I have bought his course, and book course, that person has created SO MUCH VALUE, its a no brainer. That's how I want it to be with the content I create. 

7 hours ago, Something Funny said:

@Realms of Wonder first of all, I have to say that I love how determined you are and the fact that you are already clear about what your life purpose is, and are actually working on it.

That's  the most important  part, if as uou said, you continue on this path and willnot break and give up, you will surely figure it out eventually.

Personally I dont think it will bring a lot of value for you to find another job to transition into before going into life purpose full time. 

Have you thought about just staying where you are or getting some other similar, not very demanding job while taking small steps to monetize your life purpose?

You don't  need to gather crowds of people just know. 

You can just start with publishing whatever music you already cana make on youtube and see where it goes. 

I am not sure if you want to be doing something similar or not but check out this woman's  channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnrfpKiOa3gwPZ89wobkuQ

She is also making spiritual kind of music for people who are into spirituality and personal development. And she is able to make a living from it. 

If I were you I would study the way her business model works. She has patreon + wbesite with paid tracks + sells sort of mini courses build around her tracks, combining music and meditation exercises, for healing and things like that.

This could be a starting point for you before moving into life performances.

Basically  my point is that starting online allows you to start right now and already start building audience / earn some money with your craft.

Also be aware that creating conscious  music is a pretty niche thing so once again it will be much easier to find such niche audience online.

Thank you! You touched on a lot, thank you for sharing that channel! great to see others succeed doing something similar to what I desire to.

[Nilsi]

4 hours ago, Realms of Wonder said:

Thank you for sharing your wisdom! Not attracted to being a pop-star, or even being mainstream, instead to, like you said above, build a core, loyal fanbase that loves my work, is impacted by it deeply, akin to how Leo has impacted my life, I would pay to fly to see him at an event, I have bought his course, and book course, that person has created SO MUCH VALUE, its a no brainer. That's how I want it to be with the content I create. 

Ya, focus on networking. Seriously, this is the most important part in this industry. I've seen extremely talented musicians not go anywhere because they neglected that part, while mediocre musicians that were networking and growing their brand got to work with major labels and artists. Play at wedding parties and shitty festivals and talk to all the musicians and managers there. The Rolling Stones were playing their first gig for 5$ or something like that. Just treat this like a good character arc in a movie. 

As much as I can't stand the guy, Gary Vee would probably be your best bet to learn about the kind of marketing and networking that you need as a musician.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Nilsi

[Rob06]

10 hours ago, Nilsi said:

Ya, focus on networking. Seriously, this is the most important part in this industry. I've seen extremely talented musicians not go anywhere because they neglected that part, while mediocre musicians that were networking and growing their brand got to work with major labels and artists. Play at wedding parties and shitty festivals and talk to all the musicians and managers there. The Rolling Stones were playing their first gig for 5$ or something like that. Just treat this like a good character arc in a movie. 

Agreed, although I do think a focus on quality and skill is still the most important aspect to focus on if you care about long-term sustainable success, in any career path really. I heard several anecdotes about artists that had their major hit early on as a lucky shot. Then they went on tour and were forgotten about soon after, because even though they were talented, after their big success, they didn't have the time to really dive in and become a master of their craft. They didn't have the momentum that regular practice brings. But yes, networking is extremely important, and you don't have to practice in the shed for 5 years before going out there. It can be combined.  

Edited July 25, 2022 by Rob06

[Michael569]

On 09/07/2022 at 9:41 PM, Realms of Wonder said:

Do I get a job that allows me a more healthy, stable platform to build my life purpose on?

Hope this won't be a bubble bursting comment, but it may take you years, a decade, to get your life purpose to a stage where you will become fully financial independent. The market is huge, there is the most competitive there ever was, the marketing  is much harder than it used to be. Yes, you can reach 7 billion people...but so can all your competitors. 

It is important this does not discourage you but you keep focusing on your craft while figuring out how to market yourself to your niche audience. DO you know who your niche audience is? It can't be everyone. And yes, maybe during this transition you will need a stable 9-5 (or part-time) job to keep the money to pay bills, food, rent etc.

I've been on this journey for about 2 years since finishing school and going solo and trust me if I didn't have a stable 9-5 income I would never ever be able to pay all expenses. Going solo is the hardest decision of all because now, you no longer do what others tell you but you have to be the sales person, the marketer, the accountant, the HR person, the motivator, the CFO and the CEO at the same time. 

It takes time even if you are very good at what you do. Be okay with that, ebrace it. If the journey was easy, everybody would be an entrepreneur. But you chose to walk the thorny road.  Maybe the job you find should be something easy where you'll have a lot of time to focus on your thing while doing some mild admin work. You actually want some lame dead-end job where people don't constantly bother you so that you can get paid and focus on your craft too. Ideally something that you can work from home. 

Some sort of ticketing support bs work where you learn a few tasks and do that over and over is ideal. Gives you plenty of times to work on your own thing. It's ok to have a temporary 9-5 job to keep you going. It's just means to an end. I know a guy who works for a telecoms company as their support guy, works from home, makes 1800 euros a month and plays video games 7 out of his 8 hours. He has ben doing this for 5 years. Imagine where he could have been if he started a business but instead he is obese and depressed and escaping the suffering into a virtual world. What I'm trying to say, there are jobs out there that pay for literally doing very little work. Find a job like this and leverage the tools and the money to build up your musical business. 

Good luck! you got this 

[Realms of Wonder]

20 hours ago, Nilsi said:

Ya, focus on networking. Seriously, this is the most important part in this industry. I've seen extremely talented musicians not go anywhere because they neglected that part, while mediocre musicians that were networking and growing their brand got to work with major labels and artists. Play at wedding parties and shitty festivals and talk to all the musicians and managers there. The Rolling Stones were playing their first gig for 5$ or something like that. Just treat this like a good character arc in a movie. 

As much as I can't stand the guy, Gary Vee would probably be your best bet to learn about the kind of marketing and networking that you need as a musician.

That's a good point, that's another skill in the successful Independent artist's toolbelt  

[Realms of Wonder]

10 hours ago, Rob06 said:

Agreed, although I do think a focus on quality and skill is still the most important aspect to focus on if you care about long-term sustainable success, in any career path really. I heard several anecdotes about artists that had their major hit early on as a lucky shot. Then they went on tour and were forgotten about soon after, because even though they were talented, after their big success, they didn't have the time to really dive in and become a master of their craft. They didn't have the momentum that regular practice brings. But yes, networking is extremely important, and you don't have to practice in the shed for 5 years before going out there. It can be combined.  

Well said, that is the stage I am in now, practicing, refining/discovering my style, putting together a catalog of songs for when I begin releasing them, and marketing seriously. 

 

Not just writing beautiful music, building the skillset of songwriting.

 

I like that last bit, I often see things too black and white, one or the other, when they can be done simultaneously

[Realms of Wonder]

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Hope this won't be a bubble bursting comment, but it may take you years, a decade, to get your life purpose to a stage where you will become fully financial independent. The market is huge, there is the most competitive there ever was, the marketing  is much harder than it used to be. Yes, you can reach 7 billion people...but so can all your competitors. 

It is important this does not discourage you but you keep focusing on your craft while figuring out how to market yourself to your niche audience. DO you know who your niche audience is? It can't be everyone. And yes, maybe during this transition you will need a stable 9-5 (or part-time) job to keep the money to pay bills, food, rent etc.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. that bubble was burst a long time ago ?

 

Have done a lot of work to understand the exact niche I am creating my music for, still more to understand, but that is a good point, a product build for everyone is a product built for no one!

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

I've been on this journey for about 2 years since finishing school and going solo and trust me if I didn't have a stable 9-5 income I would never ever be able to pay all expenses. Going solo is the hardest decision of all because now, you no longer do what others tell you but you have to be the sales person, the marketer, the accountant, the HR person, the motivator, the CFO and the CEO at the same time. 

Congrats! Respect, that's a lot of Hard Work! What have been some of the mental hurdles/barriers you have had to overcome to do that?

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

It takes time even if you are very good at what you do. Be okay with that, ebrace it. If the journey was easy, everybody would be an entrepreneur. But you chose to walk the thorny road.  Maybe the job you find should be something easy where you'll have a lot of time to focus on your thing while doing some mild admin work. You actually want some lame dead-end job where people don't constantly bother you so that you can get paid and focus on your craft too. Ideally something that you can work from home. 

Some sort of ticketing support bs work where you learn a few tasks and do that over and over is ideal. Gives you plenty of times to work on your own thing. It's ok to have a temporary 9-5 job to keep you going. It's just means to an end. I know a guy who works for a telecoms company as their support guy, works from home, makes 1800 euros a month and plays video games 7 out of his 8 hours. He has ben doing this for 5 years. Imagine where he could have been if he started a business but instead he is obese and depressed and escaping the suffering into a virtual world. What I'm trying to say, there are jobs out there that pay for literally doing very little work. Find a job like this and leverage the tools and the money to build up your musical business. 

Good luck! you got this 

Good points! Currently working a cooking job, it pays the bills well, but it is so hard on my body, and mind, its stressful, and I see the negative impact my work does. 

Currently enrolling in Massage therapy school, working as a Massage therapist will be a stable foundation to continue building my life purpose on top of, and will free up another 20 or so hours a week to devote to practice, skill building, marketing, social media content, and so on..

 

Thank you! @Michael569 very encouraging  

[Michael569]

15 hours ago, Realms of Wonder said:

What have been some of the mental hurdles/barriers you have had to overcome to do that?

Oh I'm sooo far from overcoming all barriers  My biggest obstacle which remains to this day is action planning and time management. Like what to focus on at a given day and prioritising tasks, not getting distracted and avoiding procrastination (such as the forum) . That remains the number one challenge. It's also sort of a fallout from being employed 9-5 where you are basically told what to do all the time and you do more of a reactive work rather than proactively seek it. 

15 hours ago, Realms of Wonder said:

Good points! Currently working a cooking job, it pays the bills well, but it is so hard on my body, and mind, its stressful, and I see the negative impact my work does. 

Currently enrolling in Massage therapy school, working as a Massage therapist will be a stable foundation to continue building my life purpose on top of, and will free up another 20 or so hours a week to devote to practice, skill building, marketing, social media content, and so on..

Excellent! Seems you got it all planned out so my best advice here is: be patient, it's a slow process, one step at a time. The journey is as beautiful as is the destination. One day you'll proudly look back and tell the story over and over, every time someone asks you "how did you do it?" 

[Juressic]

On 7/9/2022 at 10:41 PM, Realms of Wonder said:

Do I continue to try and find a job in the Musical field?

My advice is, before you move into music field job or doing music as your job for others, if you truly want to be an music artist, set a goal to write 50 songs that you'd like to produce in the future, record some demo by learning basic DAW tools. Let your soul do the songwriting, because often when you start working for others you might loose inspiration and feelings for music and could hurt your music artist inside you. By hurting him music designer will born, and that guy really sucks no matter how perfect he is ?

After you grow your music artist inside you enough, then it's time to become an great producer who will have many ace cards in his pocket... But the great chances are, music industry will then want to work for you if they find you interesting... you will get all that producers, instrumentalist, studios, managers as your own... that would be 'dream comes true' situation.

Personally I had that dreams, about being an music artist with infinitely inspiration, having that magical dreaming mindset, traveling around, socializing with fans, working for some record company.. And never really wanted to make any money,  just wanted to create my world and contain atmosphere with my music, share love and everything, because to be an truly authentic music artist requires to be in love with yourself. But many things and situations in our lifes tend to ruin it, mostly day job in my case, so I've started my own game development studio after all ?. But now after 10 years I'm feeling like a Fenix rising from the ashes that didn't fully risen yet, and might record some albums next year, woo hoo ?