MYSCENE:
THE YOGI-ROCKER
I’d like to to share with you how I’ve been able to maintain an independent, professional music career that is integrated into my yoga, health education, sound healing and stress management career.
Life had thrown me several roadblocks earlier on in my twenties when I was actively pursuing music full time as a career. Those roadblocks, were actually a blessing in disguise as they put me on a crash course education of the mind, body and health processes in the body.
By going through a near death adversity, it got me off track from music only to allow me to heal, step back and reassess what’s most important in life. From my own struggle I was able to reinvent a new life by taking everything I’ve ever learned to do and merge it into a career.
From a spiritual point of view, it’s believed that when you make a decision to initiate a plan or an idea, then assistance to help you always shows up in the form of people, opportunities.
Everything you have done in your life up until this point will be used in some way. When I started my business about 5 years ago, I made a list of everything I knew how to do, have done and hope to do. Once I had a list of all my skill sets in front of me, then I started to see more ways to create additional services within the company model… And yes, music became a part of that process. I found by organizing my ideas, thoughts and plans no paper, it's like you’ve made a contract with yourself. Make your commitment and follow through!
Talk to any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you how tough and rewarding it is to own your life and make your own way in the world. For some personality types, freedom is why an entrepreneur sets out on their own. I am no different - just with the added inspiration of having your “arse” kicked all over in order to get a second chance at life.
The trick about entrepreneurship is managing yourself: staying disciplined, developing humility, and keeping healthy while not succumbing to the trappings of doing a career in order to solely receive accolades, praise and stature… as that is an illusion of what we have been programmed “fame” and being successful means.
Applause, gold records, etc… will not make you happy, awards will not either. One of the greatest things you can believe in is that you have a purpose to do what your heart calls you to do.
The best insights I can give to an independent artist, entrepreneur or any creative person is:
- 1. Watch your ego
- 2. Know why you’re an artist
- 3. Understand what drives your need to express yourself creatively
- 4. Spend some time with yourself to try and figure out what you might be trying to compensate for emotionally (childhood issues and other unresolved issues)
- 5. Make a commitment to your emotional and physical health. You need your body
- 6. Be sure to question your intentions and motivations behind everything that you do. Observe if anything set out to do creatively is coming from an unhealthy and needy place in your ego as if you’re trying to prove something or feel entitled to fame and success.
This inquiry, if you choose to do it, will not only benefit your artistic endeavors, but your professional ones, especially in how you relate to others, family, friends, band mates and any business people you will work with during the course of your artistic “businessness” endeavors….you are a business, a creative business,.. but a business nonetheless.
Many indie artists, struggle with making money or are not sure how to make money from their art. MAKING MONEY FOR YOUR ART IS NOT A BAD THING. Too many creative types have issues when it comes to seeking compensation for their art.
Just make you sure you sit down and have an honest conversation with yourself about what success means to you. The things that get in your way from achieving your goals, dreams and building a successful, happy life are fear, insecurity, your mind, your belief systems and health issues.. (and they all are interrelated – trust me)…
Another thing I recommend is take some basic business classes to improve the managing and marketing of your little enterprise… because let's face it, you are the CEO of your own mini music corporation! Learn about the pros and cons of touring, managing money, marketing via the internet and how to use your time most efficiently as you have to be creative to keep your operating costs as low as possible and also find other fulfilling ways to make money as you continue building your creative and musical aspirations.
After five years in my “shar, 13 HANDS / NOMADYOGA, I’ve taken on a new endeavor to move aspects of my business forward. It’s definitely been one of the biggest tests of my mental and physical stamina as the process to take on more work while keeping in place the current work load is not always easy.
So here I am, a Grammy nominated, Yoga Professor, lecturer, author, speaker, sound therapist, shaman and president of my own health, music and education enterprise ready to release a new EP…. How do I market this? How do I weave a thread between all the things I do that allow me to continue building a music career alongside and integrated into a health education one?
I play over 20 different world instruments which allow my world music and healing music to be facilitated in the yoga classroom, spiritual music concerts and Kirtan, the use of sound in therapeutic yoga programs in nursing homes, hospitals, autism and in school programs.
The effects of ambient, meditative music has quite the profound effect on the nervous system and contributes to assisting in stress management, better sleeping habits and improved immune function.
And by also being a contemporary singer-songwriter, it allows me to not only perform concerts as well, but to take a mini acoustic guitar wherever I go in order to play one or two songs after a health lecture, in-staff training and other speaking related programs I provide. For example at one fitness conference one year… I gave 2 lectures and sold over 150 CD’s in less than two hours!!!
One of the long term goals of the company is to create a mind/body training that involves sound, yoga, mind/body theory and sound therapeutics so musicians can find job opportunities in these fields and make a respectable wage as opposed to always struggling with uninspiring, minimum wage jobs or just jobs that may pay the bills but are emotionally draining while trying to keep a music career alive.
This fall I am releasing a new EP and initiative called, YOU ARE WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND… because you truly are. I’ve come up with a new song called, The Messenger (part 1) . It is the centerpiece song of the campaign and the initiative.
I realized that I know and have met a lot of great people that share a lot of the same values I do:…… Organic living, commitment to a sustainable world, embracing ethical, fair trade business practices and health and conscious yoga/fitness companies who are passionate about health education.
These people are leaving something important in the world with the work they do… , as we all are, so the plan laid itself out for me as my intentions were in the right place. It made perfect sense to alliance with many businesses and create partner/sponsor opportunities because it made sense for me to take the initiative to further alliance, feature and strengthen my relationships by creating a “family affair” around this new release.
At this point the music will be a digital downloading tool to bring extra revenue into the company so I can continue to expanding the public school stress programs, nursing home and sound therapy/autism work and to create trainings for teachers and musicians that will allow them to find honorable work that is financially viable and makes a huge impact in our social service system.
The song THE MESSENGER will be part of a 15 million plus viral campaign with very unique, opted in lists in the fields of music, yoga, spirituality and other conscious, outside the box strategies. If you’re reading this and want to support or be involved, be sure to stop by the site and drop a line.
With several of the major corporate sponsorships in place, performance opportunities are being developed that allow for various exposure in all the mediums available to my specific project. For example, some are music related shows in conjunction with specific products, some are health education forums or lectures and some are yoga related events. The key is to find ways to maximize all the relationships as efficiently, ethically and effectively as possible while creating ways to inspire a win-win situation and mutual exposure for everyone involved.
I could go on an on and bore you with all my marketing plans. The bottom line is you can truly do anything you set your mind to…you just have to be patient, plan, think things through and have the right intentions outside of just having it be about your personal gain.
I honestly could careless about being a 40 year old rock star… I’m a health educator, Rock N Roll, Yoga Professor and known in my hometown and community for inspiring others and making a difference in people’s health. At the end of the day, that’s what its’ all about and most important. If this initiative builds, then it’s because people truly want to see it succeed and grow into something. Of course it would be nice if you like the music and download it to support the ongoing work of 13 HANDS / NOMADYOGA.
My music is a gift that will be used toward building the education initiatives, yoga teaching and helping others while celebrating innovative companies and individuals who are committed to doing their part to propel the world forward to a new level awareness, of living in accordance with the earth, conducting business ethically and transforming health education and social services.
13 HANDS / NOMADYOGA functions with the intentions of non-profit but believes it can create ongoing revenues through music, yoga, health related products and videos that will contribute and expand the social and health programs already in place.
For more information: www.myspace.com/13hands
