How To Finally Keep Your New Years Resolutions… by Jim Bond

Happy New Year/Decade to everyone out there.  I hope you all had a great time last night.  Now that we are officially into 2010, I have officially been producing & beat making for a good ten years.  Over those years I have hear a lot of people, including many of my fellow producers & beat makers, make New Years resolutions that they just could not keep.  Making New Years resolutions that you will not keep is a fine tradition, but I think we need to rework how we think about New Years resolutions.  Now it’s time to get FOCUSED…

The #1 problem with keeping New Years resolutions is that we tend to make resolutions which are vague.  “I will get into better shape this year”,  “I will get my first major placement this year”, “I will become the greatest bullfighter of all time this year”, etc.  These are all important and admirable goals, but we need to focus on the steps to achieve these goals rather than the actual goals. For example…

“I Will Get Into Better Shape This Year”

The most common New Years resolution, at least for Americans.  Instead of looking at the big goal, focus on some day to day goals that work into your regular schedule.   If you are into fast food, instead of drinking those big ass 32 oz sodas (about 300 calories), go for diet soda or water.  If you drink one 32 oz regular soda a week, that’s about 15600 calories a year.  If you cut those calories out of your diet, even if you take no extra actions, you will be about 4.7 lbs lighter at the end of the year (3500 calories make up a lb of fat).  This year I am cutting out my 4pm snack run to 7-11 that I take when I am working, which adds up to about 50,000 calories a year.  When you focus on specifics, you can identify exactly what you can and cannot do.

If you are just hanging out at home or somewhere where you won’t look like a wierdo, just drop down and do a set of push ups a few times a day.  Push ups are quick and you can get them in without building up a sweat.  They are perfect for integrating into your day to day schedule and work a large group of muscles.  Even if you can only do a few, do a couple sets a day and in no time you will see improvement in the amount you can do and the physical results too.

“I Will Get My First Major Placement This Year”

I have heard this one a lot of times.  The crazy thing about this resolution is that you really have NO control over whether this happens or not.  This resolution hinges on the opinions of  artists, managers, A&R’s and various entourage members.  You should focus on the specific things which lead to success in the music industry.  First thing first, BUILD YOUR NETWORK!  A wise woman once said, “Your network is your net worth”.  This could not be more true, especially in the music industry.  Are you doing all you can to build your network?  Get some money together and attend a music conference or seminar.  If you are broke (or not), but a member of a performance rights organization (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC), they have FREE events all of the time.  The vibe is usually much more open at these events too (as opposed to most music conferences), so get out there and chop it up.  I guarantee you that every one of these events there is at least one person who would help strengthen your network.

Also remember that the quality of your product plays a huge factor in getting placements (Note: If you ask, “Then why do I hear so much garbage getting placed out there”, see the above paragraph about networking).  No matter what level your music is at, it can improve.  Remember there are specific steps you can take to improve your music.

• If you need to improve your mixes (ALL OF US), go out and buy some books on mixing.

• Upgrade your sound card/interface, it can definitely give your overall sound a boost.

• Upgrade your sound libraries.

• Spend some money and finally get those piano/guitar/tuba lessons you always wanted.  Even a few lessons from a good teacher can go a long way.

These are just a couple of examples, but I think you can get the general idea here.  Focus on the specifics steps of a major goal & success will follow.

Jim

PS Have you set any resolutions yet?  Leave a comment and let us know!