Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:37 — 19.7MB)
So much of my life has been found in the stories and mythologies of my favorite musicians. In my early days as a loner kid living in a remote area, I found solace and comfort in the music that transported me to new places. Today as a creative entrepreneur, my life and work continues to be inspired and shaped by new stories of what musicians are doing to thrive in the modern age. Inspired by a quote from David Fincher in the Nine Inch Nails Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Induction Ceremony, I’m going to share why I focus on building a body of work and not worrying about whether I’m producing the hits. It’s a way of looking at the creative world with a long-term gaze on productivity, growth, and awareness that one day it will be over.
Quote from David Fincher in the Nine Inch Nails Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Induction Ceremony: “There are best hits, you know, and then there’s a body of work. It’s a sense of a progression through the not knowing, and the finding… the vulnerability of that, and the triumph of it. And it’s rare.”
Five questions to ask yourself as you wonder whether you are working for the hits or building a body of work:
- Are you working for the hits or are you building a body of work?
- How does your desire to have hits impact your energy and production levels over time?
- How would a hit disrupt or expand your creative process?
- What stories and mythologies are fueling the work you do?
- Who are the new collaborators that could provide a needed change to your creative flow?
Show Links
- Metallica
- Neal Morse
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Induction Ceremony
- Nine Inch Nails
- David Fincher
- MasterClass
- St. Vincent
- Dream Theater
- Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash
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