Can I be real with you for a few minutes?
I mean, I try to be real each and every week here at The Recording Revolution; giving you tips, tricks, and mindsets that apply to real people in real home studios, and avoiding all the hype, myths, and silliness that pervades the audio world these days.
But today, if you’ll allow me I want to give you a brief look into the messiness that is my life.
Via Christina Xu Flickr
I Can Only Do But So Much
On my best days I’d like to believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. I’m somewhat of a go-getter, I like to work hard and accomplish much.
In the studio I like to take as many mixing or mastering clients as my schedule will allow. In my personal songwriting I like to pump out an EP or two a year. And in my business I like to deliver and improve upon the best audio training courses in the world, giving my students so much value for their hard earned money.
In my personal life I like to love and lead my wife well, with strength and wisdom. I like to be an involved, loving, and patient father to my two girls; teaching them to value the right things and helping them grow into young women. I like to serve my church community by committing time and energy to certain endeavors throughout the week.
Oh, and I like to read good books, exercise, listen to music, watch football, and catch a great movie every now and then.
The reality is – I have limitations. Limitations of time, energy, skill, competency, and will.
I simply can’t do it all – not well at least.
The Myth Of Work And Life Balance
I’m not sure what you think of me as a person, but almost without fail I get a handful of emails each month that ask some form of this question: “Graham, how do you balance everything in your life so well? Family, work, music, church?”
The simple answer is – I don’t.
What burdens me is that one would even think that somehow I “have it all together.” I suppose from simply reading my blog and following a Facebook status or two you might think that everything is picture perfect (or at least close) and that I am handling everything well.
This is sad – because it is a trap. It traps people into thinking that somehow I have escaped the frustrating reality of human limitations. That in some way I’m excluded from them.
I don’t believe in the idea of a perfect work/life “balance” – because it doesn’t exist.
So I don’t want you for a second to think that I have my life balanced.
But it’s funny – our culture doesn’t like the idea of limits. Anything is possible. Just buckle down and try harder. Set your mind to it. You can have perfect balance.
I can tell you from experience that this idea of no limitations doesn’t work. It only leads to heartache.
Sometimes You Have To Cancel Important Trips
Which brings me back to this weekend. After returning home from San Francisco where I taught a two day masterclass at Creative Live – I stepped back into the reality that is my home life right now.
My family just moved to a new house, my wife has traveled more than usual this fall, we took a trip to celebrate her birthday, I had this trip to California last week, I’m mixing an album this month plus trying to finish my own album, and I was about to leave for Nashville for a few days for a conference and some business meetings.
For some reason in my mind this all seemed manageable – that is until we had our first real day off in a while on Saturday and I just was frustrated, exhausted, and angry.
Something had to change.
Well – a lot needs to change, but you can’t do everything at once.
So I made one hard change – I cancelled my upcoming trip. Cancelled flights, hotels, rental cars, and conference tickets. Some money is returned, some is lost, either way it was a bummer. I’ve been looking forward to this trip.
But – that’s where limitations come into play. I simply can’t do it all. And if I try, something(s) will suffer.
My family will suffer, my health will suffer, my ability to think clearly and teach helpful content to you will suffer. I simply can’t do it all.
How Does This Relate To You?
I’m sorry if this seems like an out of place rambling or musing. I’m very intentional with the content I create for you on The Recording Revolution, and I admit this is a bit off topic.
But maybe it’s not.
Maybe you have been led to believe that you can do it all. You can be a great father/mother, husband/wife, employee/student, and get everything you want done in the studio at the pace you desire, with the results you desire, each and every time.
Maybe this post will shed some light on the frustrating (but true) reality that you and I are limited.
Maybe we can start to embrace these limitations. Maybe we can set more realistic expectations for our work in the studio. Ones in which ambition and honesty about our limits can coincide.
Maybe you will be set free from the trap that is trying to perfectly balance your work/school and life (and studio life).
I can’t do it. And I don’t expect you to do it either.
What I care about for you is that you go for the big wins in music. You do the things that make a real difference, that give you results, that fire you up, that spark your creativity. But you can’t do it all.
And that’s OK.
The sooner you and I embrace that fact, the sooner we can slow down and do the things that matter and actually live our lives instead of trying to “manage” them to perfection.
Here’s to a limited week!
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
This post is right on. I’ve been struggling with an issue of work/life/job/family/music balance. Ive been in many bands and am presently on the verge of deciding to join another. Performing is fun but I don’t get the kick out of it that I get when I create. Plus, joining a band is a commitment to other peoples time and energy. I also get asked to sub alot which leaves the option of saying no with no complaints from band members and no hurt feelings. Also playing with alot of different musicians constantly sparks new ideas. There is only so much time and energy to work with and to be honest my studio is becoming a storage room. I think I’m giving myself my own answer. Be a sub and have some time for writing/recording too. Thanks
this is a really good post, Graham. thank you.
I read this article.
I almost cried from the huge resonance and coherence I encountered.
Honestly, Graham, it is these articles of yours that make the difference of you being outstanding and excelling over others.
A sincere ‘thank you’.
Chris
I’m with Chris on this one. This is the kind of post that puts things into a right perspective, nobody else really cares to do that. This just makes it seem real and doable. Thanks Graham.
Been tracking with TRR for about a year and it’s my absolute favorite!
Hey Graham! Thanks for this post.. I’m facing the same situation and it helped see things clearly and set my mind in the right place.
I’m working for a record label arranging, producing and recording an album every 15 days, i mean, it’s nuts!!!
And I just can’t balance everything well and I felt I was missing so much time with my family, friends and even sleeping.
There’s really no perfect balance between working that hard and living a full life!
Thanks for leting me see this!
Man you work for a record label you have a perfect life =)
i Graham,
Thanks for your transparency , but I already know this all too well. Husband of 13 years to a beautiful girl whose love language is time…father of 4 boys (ages 10, 8, 6 & 3)…full time job (always working overtime) as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service…and passionate about music.
My reality looks like this…
For about an hour, usually 5 a.m. To 6 a.m., I knock out as much as I can with my headphones on in front of my computer.
Needless to say, my progress is slow, but I’ve set my priorities so that I don’t sacrifice my family on the altar of “Me”.
God bless you, bro. You’ve helped me so much.
He Reigns!
You rock, man! Keep on going and good luck to you!
I really appreciate your honesty. I pray God will bless us all and teach us how and when to say no.
As I heard said once, “You can have anything you want in life – you just can’t have everything”. And its true. There are so many things we can want – and they can all be good – but in the end it comes down to choices. Choosing what’s best for me, my family, and where I want to go in life. Keeping in mind what’s REALLY important in life (as in – my family) helps make the other choices easier but sometimes its still tough to pass up that new guitar…….
Hi Graham,
this is great post. I really thank for it. What I love on TRR is fact that You go much far than “How to tweak Eq” advices.
This is one of them.
I struggle wiht this every day and somethimes I see that we forget relax. What left is only bad feelings from of all You do.
Thank for this personal look on recording – I think that is highly relevatn lot of us.
Good article. Its good to know that your being transparent with us Graham. I`ve learned so much from you in one day about mixing than I have since I`ve been doing this.
Graham
I truly thank you for this kind of posts, im so glad to hear about this topics and I think is because everybody have to deal with this kind of “life management” issues. By the way I work as a Motion Graphics Designer (and play and record some music when i can) but I still don’t find anybody in my area to talk this important issues like you, this is why i keep cheking everything you post.
Keep it up!!
As for the last thing you said, I’m in a public high school with a thousand-or-so other students. Not very many of them care about music producing-so I can’t really talk to any of my friends about their opinions on DAWs, experience with equipment, ect. So having this blog available really means so much-and helps more than can be measured. Great philosophy-really the best blog out there.
Thanks Graham,
Your absolutely right. I have experiance the sacrificed health/family in the name of just trying to do it all. It’s terrible. Thanks for sharing the your reality too. I am going to slow down.
Cheers,
Craig
Your post is dead on. What (seemingly little) balance we have is not always achievable without sacrifice. Our time on this mudball is limited and we all feel the breath of the Reaper (N.B: This is a non-DAW reference – Reaper is a pretty good DAW while the Grim one just sucks) on our necks. We want more. But we are all finite, limited, fragile creatures. So we do our best, distract ourselves with fairy tales (like that we can have it all), do our best to live our lives and, in the end, most still feel that we wanted more than we got. So it goes…
Thanks for sharing Graham. You have such wisdom for someone your age. The younger folk will just be looking for more tips & trick, but someday, will think about this post and get it.
Again I say, I love what you do for us here, but go take some time and love on your family.
Graham thanks for this honest moment. You are correct that when we see or read of someone like yourself that is doing what we would love to do, we automatically think that they have it all together and we aspire to reach that. I was encouraged by this article and many other articles that you do and I appreciate you helping us. Continued blessings on you, your family, and your endeavors.
A very good post Graham. In the 11 years I’ve been self employed, I’ve felt like this often as well. I have big ideas, for bigger projects and people who hear them get excited and think they’re good ideas worthy of pursuing.
The problem is I can only do so much on my own, and there are only so many hours in a day. Often, I get stuck doing someone else’s job, and end up rushing through other things to compensate. This leaves me feeling as though I don’t do my best most of the time. And that’s a very bad feeling.
The only thing I can figure out on dealing with it is to prioritize based on what’s most important to me (taking care of my family is always first), and then take the other projects I’d like to do and break them into smaller, more manageable bites. I’d love my personal projects to move faster, but seeing some progress is better than seeing no progress.
This post has perfect timing! I can’t tell you how much I’ve struggled with this myself over the last month. I too am trying to finish a new album, mix one for my band, rehearse with a blues band, work my web design business, and take care of my wife and our aging parents. Where does the time go? Thank for the encouragement, and thanks for all you do for this community. Take a day off and go see a movie!
Hey Graham
This is a really great post. It is difficult to get everything done.
I wanted to say thank you though for your great tips and all the time you take to share that with us. Simply the best audio training website I’ve found.
Good little article there dude. I was a studio owner and musician in Nashville for 25 years. Went through 2 marriages and a drug dependency — of which I attributed the long long hours in the studio. I recently experienced a burn-out — because of the pressure to “make that money to support my new family”. I learned from years of mistakes to prioritize yourself, keeping family first. But one big lesson I didn’t quite “pass” was to take better care of myself, and that ‘working to live’ wasn’t the same a ‘living to work’. When you’re young and full of drive, the studio is a paradise. But that paradise becomes a prison before you know it. There is so much more to life than making good records (and I say ‘records’ because I came from the old school, when there was a thing called ‘tape’ :)) If there was something I would advise anyone to do in their career is to budget your time for yourself and your family. All those hours in the studio eventually add up, and I can promise you that it will take it’s toll on ya.
Amen! Very well said, and you are humble enough and trust God enough to set the right priorities in your life. That is very commendable. I too, want “do it all’… but i know i can’t and still hold on and nurture the things that really matter in this life. for me, that would be my relationship with Jesus, and raising my family to believe in and serve their creator. Thank you so much, Graham, for being painfully honest. you da man!
hi,
I’m from Poland – far away in distance but not so away in mental attitude, I think. as a husband and father, I know that limitations can make life intolerable. and the truth is they are part of our lives. in our blindness we’re so ignorant, doing much more we can manage. the knowledge about our limitations are necessary to make our workday easier and not so frustrating.
greetings from Poland
Arek
I am a wife, homeschooling mom to 4, child trainer to a 3 year old tornado, protector and sustainer to a 14 month old, and somewhere really far back in the rear view mirror I was a professional musician. Today, I got one accompaniment track recorded and loaded onto usb for my 13 year old violinist to practice with. Glamorous? No. Progress? Yes. And more progress than most days. This is a season. I never even have time to comment but today I am taking the time to say thank you. Not for blogging. We’ll all live if you stop. Thank you for focusing and prioritizing with a biblical worldview. Our society desperately needs men to lead and as one commenter said, “Not sacrifice my family on the altar of ‘me’.” Blessings.
Graham, you speak words of wisdom!
I commend you for your commitment to prioritizing your life. The Lord, wife, family, and work (yes, the order matters). I too have had to rearrange to keep things in perspective. My studio space is actually at one end of the living room so I can spend time working on music and be with my family. I would love to have the separate space for my home studio, but the truth is that if I did I would rarely be able to use it. Having the studio space in the living room allows me to be with my family and work on music. Yes, there are tons of distractions and it limits my recording times, but at least I have a space, and more importantly I’m using it!
Proverbs 3:13-14
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
Have a blessed day brother,
Dave
Hey Graham,
Thanks for this entry, it really hit home. I help to self-produce my own band while looking for work as a freelance mastering engineer and drummer, while writing songs for the band, music for a portfolio I’m creating to become a film and game composer, while writing a children’s book, etc. etc. on top of trying to have a real life.
Question: When you’re swamped with all of these challenges and commitments, are there any methods you have for prioritizing your day-to-day work? I know you talked about having to cancel things sometimes but is there anything else you can tell us about how you allocate and manage (or at least try to) all of these tasks and responsibilities?
– Jeff
P.S. Thanks for everything. Your site is a big, big part of why my band’s album that was recorded in a garage was able to make it onto commercial radio in my city.
Graham – This is very refreshing humility and great advice. From a former worship pastor and father/musician/dreamer/over-doer.
Thank you.
Love this post, and all the comments above. About to turn 50, and just finally getting some stuff recorded. Husband and father, and way too ambitious with my dreams. But, i don’t regret setting aside music many years ago, as hard as it was. Now, I am doing it with my wife and kids! Your tips and wisdom are a blessing! You are making a difference in my life, and i hope to pass it on.
Graham, thanks. I would just say that if you love God and your family and they love you back, you are already rich in all the ways that matter. You should really pat yourself on the back and be encouraged that you have that boundary where you reach a point that even sets off the alarm. Many folks don’t, and crash hard. Life is messy, for sure. And you are a real genuine guy for saying so and seeing the limits. Thanks for honesty. I failed at a lot of this before, too. It also in a way reminds me of Joe Gilder’s song “So Close”. Good stuff, bro. Thanks again.
Fulltime single dad here of two kids.
I tried to combine a fulltime job with the care of 2 five years old kids and to work on music projects.
A while ago a made the choice to look out for part time job.
I was feeling bad that I couldn’t keep the fulltime job.
By reading your story I feel a lot better and it motivates me.
Maybe you don’t think about it but you motivate people Graham,your tutorials are awesome and motivates me in my music projects.
And after reading this I feel like I’m back in reality and know that I have to keep on keeping on with the weapons I’ve got.
Thank you!
Glad it helped!
Wonderful post Graham, and far from being off-topic or irrelevant, it’s one of the most important things you could possibly talk about. A few thoughts: 1. You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. 2. There is no good alternative to a full life, which is all you are suffering from. 3. You might not be getting enough alone / silence time. Constant work and communication with others is completely exhausting. 4. Paul McCartney was once asked in an interview “Do you have enough room in your life for your life?” He said “No! Definitely not. But I’m glad to have a job; so many people don’t have one.” (You can see this interview on the “In The World Tonight” DVD) In my mind there is nothing so important as this topic, and the fact that the famous “Work / life balance” is a myth and everyone who is alive struggles with it in one form or another.
Great post, Graham.
I had to learn this a while back by getting ill. It was a minor illness but it was overwhelmingly due to trying to do it all. The thing that gave out was my health. Since then I’ve matured and realized that “keeping up with the Joneses”, or trying to do everything for everybody, or keeping “me” always on the back burner, or going here and there constantly, or buying this or that constantly just wasn’t going to pan out. Everything’s not that important in the end. Saying “no” or “later” is not a bad thing. Being an overachiever isn’t necessarily a good thing. Being at peace and knowing how to “Rest” is far more valuable.
That’s why I like your blog. You’ve learned how to get value out of little and how to be content. Keep it up. —ac
God bless you my brother! While echoing the sentiments of every single comment above mine, I want to add just how incredible our Lord is, in knowing where we are individually, and as a community!
I think it’s pretty obvious that you touched on a topic that resonates within all of your gang here, and personally, I needed this post more than anything you could possibly have posted to help me be a better mixer/musician. Today you helped me a better child of God, Husband, Father, and person, and that my friend is a critical hack!
I read every single post you write as quickly as you post it, and I am so, so very thankful for all that you have taught me. But to me, this is without question the one post I needed more than any other you have ever drafted. The fact is Graham, if I (we) don ‘t get this right, none of the other stuff matters anyway…
Praying for that mental “refresh” that can only come from the One who made us, for you, and everyone else who is a part of this awesome cast of characters…
YBIC,
Todd
Thanks Todd
Hey graham! You are right! I have to stop this week because a get sick and im sure its was my unstopable mind! I work an insane amount of hours in good shape but im dont take time for me and my girl and family… we need to fource ourself to take time for all the priorities we have and if we need to cancel some plans we must do it.
Tip: now in my schelude i also write down my personal activities as a job and leave o try to take my wekeend far away from the studio
Love!
You See! Do you know how much you have helped me and so many others~life is precious enjoy each moment~thanks so much…take it easy.
I think this article resonates with all of us Graham. Thank you for being transparent about your balance between personal life and recording / mixing. It’s sometimes very hard to juggle everything and it’s always a matter of simply prioritizing each and every day. It’s also forced me to make quick recording / mixing decisions because I have to in order to have a life!
Hey Graham,
thanks for that post. I have been reading your blog for some time now and I think that’s the most helpfull post I have red.
Big thanks for your work and for your honesty.
Graham thanks for sharing this – It made me realize that prioritizing is the answer “Take time to make time” – and there is a word or 2 that I must learn “NO” or “NOT NOW” .
I just decided that I need to get my lifestyle in order (get fit and eat right) to be able to concentrate better and sleep less.
Even Martin Luther had the same problem – his quote on this is
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Thanks for keeping it real. I’m experiencing the same kind of thing in my life with working 2 jobs and trying to keep the family happy, etc. Great post. Glad to see you’re human after all!
“Limit your options like your life depended on it!”
Graham Cochrane
The #1 Rule of Home Recording
Exactly!
Yep!
Hey Graham, this is a great post! Thank you for your inspiration!
Thanks for being real Graham… Also after reading some comments from single dads and moms, I feel ashamed of myself for making excuses all the time. It was a blessing to know that the “love of music” can bring all kinds of people together.
Im in that struggle now, I’m a Husband, Father, minister, musician , friend lol I continually find myself letting someone down, mainly myself. Thank you for sharing your struggles that helps more than any of your audio advice lol
Graham, thank you so much. It sometimes seems as though I was the only one trying to figure this life-work-music thing out. I sometimes felt as though I won a few battles but losing the war. Your words are so inspiring and are a reminder that I can’t do everything. Picking and choosing what’s most important is so vital to life, health, relationships, sanity and music! You have been an inspiration since the first day I stumbled upon this blog. I thank you for being one of the most humble, giving and real people on the internet.
Eldric
PS – The Creative Live training sessions were awesome. I learned so much from you. Not just about compression, dynamics and eq, but about the philosophy behind the way you make, mix and master music. God continue to bless you and expand your territory.
Thanks for joining us!
Right on bruv. Limiting is sometimes better than compression. 😉
Bahaha
Hey Graham,
Absolutely love this post. I so wish we lived closer to each other! We share so much in common buddy. Hope to speak to you soon. Would absolutely adore it!
best, Peter
I agree on all points. Let’s talk soon!
Thanks Graham, I think it is helpful to share these things with us as we live it every day, it is very difficult to balance work, study and family. live the same limitations, every day, and we must learn to accept.
Hey Graham,
don’t sweat it man, you’re not superman, nobody is, but I think you understand better than most what it’s like to be human!
keep your chin up dude! it’s something we understand
This post makes me fully realize that Graham and Co are on the very front edge of, well, a revolution. Or maybe an evolution. Not just in recording, but in Where Music Is Now and Where It Is Going. Music no longer comes from arena gods. It comes from us, and we are just people who do it for no other reason than the sheer joy of it. But there are more important things to worry about, like sons and daughters, husbands and wives, incomes and expenses.
I, like y’all reading this, love composing, writing, recording etc, but the needs of family are more important. It’s actually very simple. And frustrating. That frustration can provide a deep well of inspiration and drive to keep going. At least, it does for me.
Big heap respect to you all. M
I think you’re on to something!
As Dirty Harry once said, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” Kudos for knowing yours. That puts you ahead of many of us. I enjoy your work! Keep pushing.
Love the Dirty Harry reference!
Wow. This has seriously made me consider deleted my stupid Reddit account. That place is a fricking black hole of productive time.
Awesome post Graham! It’s really encouraging to be reminded that you are in fact, human, and are still able to accomplish so much despite being pulled in so many different directions. Thank you!
Very much human 🙂
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your post!!
As you can see, there’s many of us in the same place….. too many…….
Keep the wood work.
Regards from South Africa.
Sorry… GOOD
I’m horrible at wood work
Me too, lol
Very honest!!!
Facing that situation nobody active can escape, since two years I get up 30 minutes earlier each morning and have a cold shower (otherwise there would be no way to feel alive) to have at least some undisturbed time with fresh ears and start the day by being productive. The other bummer is that I really try to embrace every chance to sit down and work on the actual project- even for 10-15 minutes when my wife is taking a shower- and I always note ideas for lyrics or whistle ideas for melodies on my iPhone, because my experience proves that no matter how simple the phrase or melody seems to be in the moment of “inspiration”, if I don’t nail it- it’s gone…
Sunny greetings from Athens/ Greece
Hi Graham,
You are right on, so I won’t take up too much of your time with this because both of our times are limited. I just want to say that it is refreshing that someone like yourself who speaks from the heart and explains what we all could be experiencing in our daily lives, and I respect that.
Peace
Larry.
Graham,
I have so much much respect for those that know when to say ‘no’ and yet I have a hard time doing it myself… Great reminder to all of us. The fact that you take the time out of your already tight schedule to convey this and share it with the rest of us says a lot about you and the respect you have for your readers/followers/members. Close your laptop and spend time with your family, I’m gonna the same.
God bless you!
Thanks Randy 🙂
Hi there,
Its been a tough year, 12 months ago i had a heart bypass (i’m 46) a blood clot gave me double vision… (dam family genes) as i don’t smoke or drink etc. The album i had been working on was half done and a 5 year old daughter who wanted her dad back. 9Time to make some life changes)
I can now say at last the album i Produced, Mixed and Mastered is complete, 2 websites Band/Studio are just about to go live and just had a holiday with the family after 18 months. I also did Grahams Audio income project. If its one thing i have now learnt is to keep chipping away at it but stay focused, be kind to yourself and your health. Take time out , be healthy , love and laugh, .I look at things a lot differently now. So much people get so wound up over nothing in modern society, it can be taken away very quickly, i know. Good things take time and Life is great, Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing Chris!
thanks for that, i really mean it
Thanks… Realize and inspiring. Can we really learn to say NO?
Graham, you started on that ‘creativity switch’ for a new EP, bought a house (n sold one, I presume), moved, rebuilt your studio… all that on top of everything else you were doing (family, blog, seminars, mixing for clients, etc. etc.) –
I started thinking, hey what the hell is wrong with me !!! Well, I’m slow now, but your post reminded me of a time when I undertook way too much – it lasted for about 4 years, the worst within a 10-month period when it got pretty scary. Will never go back there again (if I can help it).
Rest in Peace while you’re still alive and healthy.
Phil
Yep – learning a lot during this season of life.
Amen to that, Graham!
As a single working mother, I relate to this post in ways beyond the music world and balancing it all. There was an article that came out several years ago from a woman who worked under the Obama administration and resigned because she said that being a mother and successful in her career-you couldn’t have it all. Which stands true in my opinion.
Once I began to hop back onto the wagon and create my band in this past year, writing originals, having studio time, performing, along with going to temple, seeing a therapist, having a second job to make ends meet and havin my full-time job… Life almost seems impossible when everyday stressors come to surface.
Not only did I learn to prioritize, I told my band members at the beginning that my son comes first. With that, if I need to not go to a band rehearsal every now and then because he is sick and there is no sitter or I can’t travel for a show because I don’t have the money–they are understanding.
Being honest with yourself and everyone around you about your limitations for me is key. I can’t conquer the world, but I can set realistic expectations of goals and my emotions daily. I don’t change my goals based on what is happening around me, especially if something does not work out as planned. What I do is change the steps towards my goals so that I don’t feel as though I am a failure.
This was a great article and my drummer just introduced me to your blog. You just gained a fan.
Best,
Tara trinity of the Tara trinity Project, Washington DC
Thanks for sharing Tara.
Thank you for your honesty, I absolutely related to this! It’s good to know I’m not alone in this.
So true! Glad you shared this.
Graham, as you know, I read at least one of your posts a day. You always come across as a real and caring person. There are a few people I follow that are important to the new indie movement and you are one of them. You’re right, sometimes we need to slow down to recharge our creative battery otherwise it burns out. If one enjoys the beauty in life, one can write about it. Thanks for all the great posts.
Obrigado.
Just thank you. From the bottom of my heart!
Graham: I’ve been following your blog for quite some time and picked up a few good tricks along the way. I must say that we’re blessed that people like you take their time and effort to pass along what you know. THANX A LOT!
This post is maybe the most important post of all – I (and many other I know of) have hit the wall when trying too hard to do it all. And I must say that it was a humbling (but not very nice) experience.
So, PLEASE, all you readers out there (and Graham!) – don’t forget to ease off every now and then and don’t fool yourselves into thinking that you have to be perfect.
Just be yourself (and think good thoughts about others AND yourself).
All the best to you all
/Nils (SWEDEN)
Very relevant, insightful and appreciated Graham.
You can have anything but you can’t have everything
Cheers mate, Andy
Why you don’t hire assistent for studio job?
Limitations are self imposed.
“As you believe, so shall it be done unto you.” -J. Christ
Hmm. So Gravity is self imposed? 🙂
Wow very true and very helpful! Thanks for the encouragement.
Hi Graham and thanks for this interesting article! Limitations consume the life out of things. I like to think about limitations as something that draws me deeply into the world of darkness, as soon as I let a ton of limitation into my life, out comes a different less inspired person and tons of pain, a person that is now more trapped, with less options. Of course I am exaggerating a little here, but in general I don’t like the feeling of limitation, I don’t like shortcuts to nowhere, but I love when it opens up, when I can see how I am left with more options left and how unnecessary self- or society created pains fade away. Mastering limitations is not my thing either, I’m more the type that want to identify them and bring an end to them and those limitations I cannot do so much about I mostly try to avoid. Now, of course in practice I’m forced to deal with a lot of limitations anyway, but at least it can be of help sometimes to detach from limitation. Happy New Year!! 🙂
I recognize myself a lot in this. I have a full time job, three young kids and a wife. Getting time to do everything I would like to do is really hard to balance.
One advice from you that I am taking to hearth is the one about planning your time. Lets say I plan 1 or 2 hours after the kids have gone to bed and then focus only on composing some music. I haven’t really thought that way before. Earlier I could just start up Live or Reason, just stare into the application and dabble around a bit, get unmotivated and maybe check Facebook or watch something on netflix…
So, yeah. Thanks! 😀 It actually helps reading these posts you make. Have a good day sir 😉
And also u take time to read comments xD Maybe I will never be read….
Haha. Yes – reading the comments here on the blog is one of the main things I still make time for. These are the most dedicated of my readers/viewers!