Give me 9 minutes and I'll give you 10 years

10 years ago I wanted to figure out how to do music fulltime after loving it so much growing up but I had no idea where to start I've learned so much that I wish I knew back then and if you give me 9 minutes I want to share with you nine of the most potent lessons I've learned over the last 10 years these insights aided me through album releases tens of millions of streams and building a career doing what I love I learned a lot of this the hard way so you don't have to let's

do it number one it's 100% possible the story I heard was that music is a risky career only the best and luckiest make it and you can't make good money otherwise I met people who wanted to do music but didn't because it was irresponsible and there was no money in it all the advice from responsible adults and careers advisers at school really stuck with me so much that I chose to do biomedical engineering at Uni I thought because it was more academic and responsible that I should do that and only do music on the site

in the end I spent 2 years and a lot of money forcing myself to do something I didn't really believe in with no time for anything else I just wanted to do what I'm doing now what I realized since then is this if you feel called to do music or anything creative lean into it it's not just possible it's important the world needs more people doing something that lights them up simultaneously inspiring others to do the same you're not just chasing a dream you're courageously building a meaningful life you genuinely love and sharing that love

and courage with others I can't think of anything more valuable there's an endless list of ways to make a really good living in music and you can mold the lifestyle that works for you it doesn't really matter what you do if you do it well enough you can earn good money doing it age money and location matter so much less now too with the internet and affordable gear you can do it the first step is to know that number two bet on you be the main character it's so powerful to believe in your own ability

and be able to make things happen on your own it also makes collaborations even better too learn the basics of everything even if you're a specialist so you're skilled across the board and you'll be so much more versatile valuable and irreplaceable especially in the developing world of AI strive for Mastery of one or two specific skills but don't limit yourself to just that I was always warned against being a jack of all trades master of none only to realize years later that that's not the full quote it continues jack of all trades master of none

but often times better than master of one which couldn't be more true especially today you don't need to wait for anyone to make things happen or for a lucky break make your own luck by building capability watch out for self-imposed limitations too I used to think I was just the Musical one and not the tentacle one which was just untrue rewrite your story it's not that you can't do a thing you just can't do it yet play into your natural strengths yes but don't create needless weaknesses either three 1 + 1 equals 3 it's important

to grow as an individual but the growth and joy you will see through working with good people is like no other we are social creatures and the musical Pursuit can become a very lonely or isolated one you may have heard the quote if you want to go fast go alone if you want to go far go together I think there's truth to that but honestly collaborating can be one of the fastest ways to grow every aspect of my music has improved because of all the amazing teachers artists and friends that I've work with when you

work together you motivate each other and you all upgrade by osmosis not to mention how much fun it is to share your journey and become friends with creative people speaking of sharing your journey number four show your work this one's huge document and share your journey with the world and it will open up to you finish songs and release them take risks post the thing don't worry about making things incredible from the word go worry about having incredible consistency creating and finishing ideas regularly the first few things you post are probably going to suck and

that is perfect you did the thing and now you have all of this feedback to improve with if you want to collaborate with really good people you need a portfolio of work so that they have a reason to want to work with you a crazy number of my collaborations all stemmed from Finn finding a cover I posted on YouTube through that one connection I ended up meeting and working with a huge web of people if I didn't post that video none of it would have happened you don't even have to do it for views or

networking either videos and songs will be valuable to you forever don't let let perfect be the enemy of action if you've been waiting for a sign to put yourself out there here it is don't overthink it just start putting yourself out there will also harness the power of community by connecting you with people who share your goals one of the best communities that I've been blown away by recently is on sonus Voss it's like a way more optimized version of soncloud but it's not just another streaming platform it's a complete ecosystem where you can upload

music discover new artists play in games and song contests and have your music featured in them you can be rewarded for it all with prizes and money plus it's free I'll drop the link in the description and thanks to sonas fos for supporting so many artists and for sponsoring this video number five health is non-negotiable here's the truth healthy people want a million things people without their health only want one you can't do any of this if you lose your health when I started I went at 100 m hour and quickly came to a dead

stop I was very unwell and I had to fight to regain my health don't take it for granted to this day I still have to work through health challenges find joy in building a supportive sustainable routine and habits get high quality food movement time with loved ones and rest every day you need to rest as hard as you work set boundaries with your work and limit the use of that damn phone try to keep it out of your bedroom and use a digital alarm clock I use app blockers and Screen Time widgets too and I've

basically turned my phone into a dummy phone push your limits to understand them then work within them long term basically treat your work like a professional athlete number six slow is fast the music world isn't a Sprint it's a marathon instead of rushing focus on building a career you can sustain forever most of the people who win do so because they keep playing there's no deadline for Success either we overestimate what we can do in a year and we underestimate what we can achieve in five just think a beautiful song isn't the one that's played

the fastest it's the one that's played with the most feeling and as Nisha said the end of a Melody is not its goal take your time enjoy the ride and trust that your path is unfolding as it should number seven lean in to the legal you have a choice you can be empowered by it or be intimidated and avoid it until it comes back to haunt you making music is fun and learning legal terms isn't as fun but being exploited and undervalued is the least fun music law and contracts can feel overwhelming but the right

knowledge is more accessible now than ever you don't need to be an expert just know enough to identify Fair terms and spot red flags you can even use tools like chat gbt to help of course it's important to get genuine legal support when you need it but you need to understand enough to know good advice from Bad learn what your rights are and how to read contracts own your work know your value and stand by it labels and managers need artists but you can achieve so much independently that it's only worth collaborating with them if

you're fully informed and have a clear purpose for doing so don't be afraid of discussing things aim for a win-win with everyone and trust your gut people with the wrong intentions will become apparent quickly it's either a hell yes or it's a no you may make some mistakes I certainly have but that's okay just grow from them legal agreements shouldn't stifle creativity they should Empower it number eight money there's really good money to be made in music a lot of people say don't do it for the money and I agree that it's not a good

number one reason to do music but you don't have to be a starving artist either I wish someone had told me not to rush and that it's important to support yourself for the parttime job to help you build a strong Foundation at a healthy Pace dream big and aim high yes but know that you need good fuel to actually get you there there's an unreal amount of great financial advice online now so use it to develop good money habits and skills a positive relationship with money will allow you to use it as a tool to

build something special number nine listen to the right people one of the biggest things that held me back was ignoring my own intuition and listening to advice from those who live a life that doesn't inspire me and we're not actually doing the thing now I've learned to avoid that I still make careful decisions but I try to base it on my true gut feeling and on advice from people who have built a creative life I admire and respect here's the truth every career carries risks what's even riskier than chasing your dreams is living a life

that leaves you unfulfilled wondering what if if you love something go for it not recklessly but with intention and boldness support yourself with work alongside that if you need to this journey is yours yours be brave enough to take that leap disciplined enough to see it through and open enough to enjoy The Melodies along the way I want to make the comment section of this video a resource for people if you're at the start of your journey ask any questions you want and if you've got experience what would you tell yourself 10 years ago also

I'm starting a monthly newsletter that will have a combo of my favorite songs videos and quotes from that month along with a Hot Topic discussion and a question I will answer from my audience the link is below it's also a great way for me to connect with you directly without relying on an algorithm you may be a regular viewer here or a new one and this is your first video maybe the algorithm will never suggest me to you again and this is the last video from me you'll ever see if it is then I wish

you the very best of luck but I hope you'll stick around to listen to some music and connect with me and the community which you can do by watching this