How I Spent My Pandemic: The Best Ideas Come From Crisis

It’s early May 2020. I have not played a show since March 10. That was the day before the NBA cancelled their season, which triggered the dominos that shut everything down. At first it felt like a Snow Day. My life got real quiet, real simple, and I did not hate it. Like any Snow Day, there was this unexpected chunk of time, with few distractions. I started a new routine: more exercise, more sleep, more reading & more practicing. Upgraded some gear. Called & texted some friends. 

I started following and listening to the work of successful people outside of the music business. Certain themes kept coming up: 

Invest in yourself. 

Create something new. 

The best ideas come from crisis. 

Backstory: Over the last few years, people began to find me on Facebook or through the Nashville Musician’s Union. Or someone moves to town and their friend back home tells them they need to look me up. We go to lunch (preferably of the Martin’s BBQ variety) or we grab a drink. I give them some tips about how this town works and what their next move could be. Tell a few stories of how I connected a couple dots that created some opportunities for me. And because I love Nashville and what I do here, the passion and positivity comes through. Sixty to ninety minutes later, they are fired up, ready to take on the world! I would always think, “I should really figure out a way to bottle this somehow to help more folks.” 

A publisher friend of mine teaches a music industry class at a local college. He invited me in to speak. Never did that before. I brought my stick bag. Whenever I’d start to lose a student, I’d just start playing on their notebook while talking to them. Two hours later, I got an intern and a recommendation letter out of it! 

So I created Music City 101. For creatives: musicians, artists, writers, music industry students…anyone thinking about moving to Nashville or even considering visiting Nashville, I can give you a basic working knowledge of what goes on in this Crazy Town. And have fun doing it. 

More deats at www.musiccity101.net including free sessions if you want to try it out. 

BUT, back to the pandemic we are all dealing with. I do not want to waste this chunk of time. I want to look back and know that I used it well and created something new. 

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology. I heard a great quote of his, in a recent talk given by Jeffrey Gitomer, one of my favorite irreverent and politically incorrect authors. “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” Amen.

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