Don't Let the Sex Way Lay You
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 01:07PM The surprise passing of Davy Jones really got me thinking about mortality, the temporary state of our existence and what my legacy might be. What have I do with my life? What do we do with our lives. How we spend our time is what defines us.
As chance would have it, the other day I ran into an old friend. As we began to reminisce they brought up how easily distracted I was in my youth…
A phone call from a lovely woman and I would drop what I was doing and race off. A party? I’m there. Any damned distraction at all? Sounds good to me, …I’m there.
And that’s what I want to talk about today.
Distractions are wonderful and I believe necessary, but they have to be kept in the distraction department and not become your raison d’etre.
The easiest way to avoid the common distraction is to create a schedule, a regimen for yourself and then adhere to it like elephant glue.
Of course, once in a while it is valuable, freeing and probably healthy to disregard the schedule and just follow that distraction. But you cannot do it all the time.
In my earlier days, I found that an intriguing woman could lead me away from whatever commitment I had going on. I don’t mean I ever missed a gig, or preparation for a gig, but writing, practicing, booking, anything that wasn’t actually performing and I was Ripe For Distraction (hence the title of my 1990 CD).
You have to decide what you want to be known for and known as. I decided years ago, I wanted to be a professional musician, a composer, a performer and a completely reliable person. Everything I do now, has those criterion attached to it.
If you are like me, you are doing it all practically by yourself and it’s easy for something to slip between the cracks. It’s the “Too many hats, not enough head” routine though I did make beer mugs with that logo on it-- http://www.cafepress.com/beachwood.3165031 just in case you suffer from the same malady.
I just lost a gig because I didn’t follow up. In the craziness that’s my life, I forgot that particular post, as it was on Facebook and I don’t use that site when I am doing booking. There’s only one thing to do if you are on your own.
Make your schedule. Keep a To Do list in your computer desktop that you can access with a click. Use it every day and lay out the next day’s work the night before.
And leave each entry, so that when you open it up you can see what you thought you were going to get done yesterday.
I’m just doing this now, I’ll let you know how it works out. But I am very optimistic.
Reader Comments (2)
The volatile mix of creative chaos that gives you the vision but can block you from getting anything done
Everybody has a legacy, though we don't always think of it that way. The things we do, the way we treat others, the way we do our jobs all help build us a legacy. And you never know how far reaching it may be or how many people it may touch.