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FOCUS!
Hey Friend,
Happy New Year!
Out with the old, in with the new, right?
I hope this email finds you enjoying a day off from work, hanging out with family and friends (and not nursing a hangover!). I trust you've got your eye on some good guitar goals for the year and want to grow past your current playing level.
Whether your 2015 was all you hoped it would be or not, all that's in the past now, so whatever happened, good or bad, is but a memory now. It's 2016 and time to move forward - get pushing for what you want today!
Don't quite know what that is? I know the feeling - I'm still trying to figure it all out.
There's all sorts of goal-setting advice out there on the inter-webs. A lot of it is pretty solid, too, but we're all different people. What works for you won't necessarily work for me.
But there is a common thread that runs through every self-help and goal-setting process, and that is the need to do something with it. There can be a grand plan laid out before you, but ultimately YOU have to get in and apply it by taking action.
That's always been my challenge - I'm always looking for and finding great ways to improve, but in all the time spent "researching," I end up not applying most of what I learn!
And it doesn't just apply to goal setting. It happens every day with my guitar playing and development.
The problem, as far as I see it, is we can get our hands on so much easy-access information that we end up bouncing from one technique or plan to another without giving the first one time to pan out. Let's call it a form of 'distractionitis.'
Distractionitis - being concurrently pulled in so many different directions that you accomplish nothing (hello email, Facebook, Twitter, etc...)
Okay, I totally made up that definition, but it certainly fits!
When you can't settle on one plan to implement and follow through with because, "there's another great plan over there. What if I combine these two with this other one over here, and add a piece from the program that worked for Jack and Jill..." That's distractionitis.
And that kills our ability to accomplish what we want, not to mention figuring out what we want!
Distracted in too many directions by good information. Pulled from one good idea to another, without ever testing the first idea out to make sure it's got some meat to it.
Distractionitis leads to paralysis (you've heard of paralysis of analysis?).
Paralysis kills our dreams.
I'll bet you've found yourself suffering with this problem in your guitar journey. Thousands of guitar courses out there, millions of song and guitar video lessons. Watch one video lesson on Youtube and there's 15 more suggestions for you in the sidebar. No wonder it's tough to figure out how to move forward...
We don't need more, we need less!
New Word for the Year
Let's change it up in 2016. Let's make the operative word for the year "FOCUS."
Set a musical goal you want and focus your attention and effort on that one goal every day for a set amount of time. How much time is going to depend on the size of the goal and the time you can devote to it.
It might be hard to know what time commitment you need to make initially, but the fact that you work at the goal every day for a specific amount of time consistently will bring you more results than if you stab at it once or twice a week. I've got some great things planned to help you do just that.
Chord Clinic will FOCUS your skills development and build (or strengthen) your guitar foundation. I can't give you all the details yet, but soon, Rockers, soon...
Guess what?
Focus is going to help you kick arse in anything you do. Don't take my word for it - just look around you. Every accomplished person you can observe reached their level of accomplishment by picking one goal and FOCUSING on it.
- The Beatles focused being the tightest band around and became the biggest in the process - they changed the world.
- Steve Jobs focused on creating technical works of art with the Mac and iPhone - and changed the world of technology.
- Lebron James focused on becoming the best basketball player in the world - and did so.
What
do you want to do? Do you want to be the next Eddie Van Halen or Steve
Vai? Or do you want to be able to sit down and play a song for the
simple enjoyment of just being able to play it? Focus your efforts and
you will get what you want.
We can't change the past... We can't predict the future...
All we have is now, so let's get some FOCUS and make it count in 2016!
Peace, love and Rock & Roll~~~
Dave |
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