Do you have big plans and dreams but find that something always gets in the way? Do you find that fear of failure and lack of confidence tend to sabotage your progress? Improving your follow-through comes down to an equal mix of time-management strategy and overcoming the mindset blocks that can keep even the most well-intentioned musicians from doing what they say they’re going to do. Several people have come up lately asking “How do you say something and actually do it?” or “How do you do the things that you do?” Some people do not feel that they have the confidence to do the things that they want to do. It basically falls down to your ability to follow-through on things that you want to do, you say you’re gonna do and those things you know will get you closer to the dreams that you want to have. I believe that my success in being a musician and doing my business is about consistency and not giving up.  I’ve set up systems to make sure that I follow through. It’s not just about systems and strategies though, but also about mindset.

You’ve got to know your focus.

There will be ebbs and flows that you will be going through in your business. It’s hard to focus on many things at the same time so you have to decide on which thing to focus on first. That’s why I focus on 5 things in 90 days. You have to make sure to keep your consistency.

Determining what you want when you’re thinking clearly and not when you’re feeling negative.

You can use process goals vs project goals. You have bite-size chunks of the big goal. For example, in learning an instrument, you have a small goal of practicing 30 minutes a day. We need to know ourselves so we know our stumbling blocks. Your ability to succeed is how much you’re able to set forth a plan for yourself when you’re thinking realistically and rationally, and how much you are able to obey that plan. This is about determining what you want to do ahead of time when you’re thinking clearly. It’s about making the decision when you are outside of the emotion. When you are in the emotion, it’s about how you stick to the decision.

Usually, we avoid doing something because we have negative feelings about it. There are all kinds of feelings like fear, discomfort, and embarrassment. Feeling the feelings and digging into those is what will allow you to do the thing you are avoiding. The first part of that is recognizing the feelings. Then you have to allow yourself to feel the feelings. The avoidance is usually more painful than actually doing the thing and going through the discomfort of it. Some waste weeks or years going in that fear spiral. If you face it head-on, there is going to be some discomfort but it will eventually be gone. The only way you are going to develop that muscle of follow-through is to jump in with both feet and do it.

The confidence that you need does not come from winning but it comes from the ability to go in and do the thing that is really hard, come out on the other side, and take all your learnings.

Your attitude should be: you either win or you learn. If you’re not afraid of the consequences, the feelings, and the failings (learnings), you will be unstoppable. If you know that you have the balls to face anything, then you will have the best follow-through that you have in your life. You will take so much more action because you are not afraid of the consequences.

I want to challenge you. Can you really view failure as learning or testing? And every loss or failure gets you closer to your goal.

If you are not trying, you are not going to have the wins or the losses. You’re not going to learn anything and you’re going to be in the same place that you were.

You can always email me at bree@femusician.com for any feedback about this topic or any suggestions of what you want us to talk about on this podcast.

Links mentioned in this episode:
Bandzoogle – Use promo code WOS15 to get a free trial and 15% off.
Female Indie Musician Community