In this piece, Annabelle Short looks at the importance of self-education in the music industry, and why it’s so important that musicians continue to work at their self-education, even if they’ve already achieved success.
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Guest post by Annabelle ShortÂ
As a musician, you do believe in self-education, don’t you? I know you do. It’s true that “formal education” can help us learn a LOT in life, but it may not last forever… until and unless we keep on learning and growing.
Yeah, that’s right, as long as you study (and learn), you will live and grow.
But sadly, many musicians (almost 90%) stop learning as soon as they’ve made one significant breakthrough in their career.
Don’t get me wrong.
I believe you are talented and well-informed musician. But, even if you are, I still want to advise you to keep on educating yourself about your industry. Why? Because if you don’t practice your musical talents, experience, and knowledge regularly and maintain it, you risk becoming complacent.
Most musicians tend to think that they know it all and know how to do things when it comes to music, especially if they’re part of the most popular music bands out there.
But, as you might already know, being complacent is like becoming comfortable with “who” and “where” you are.
Well, there’s nothing wrong being happy with who and where you are right now. But what if you want to achieve MORE in life? What if you have BIGGER dreams in life?
Staying up to date in the music industry might help you become creative and inspire you to write great songs. And, sometimes, watching a TV show or even watching sports might also help, if that’s what you love to do.
But, unless and until you expose yourself to a wide variety of information, your perspectives on things may go unquestioned, and thus, you may easily become stuck until it becomes too late to make any improvements.
The primary goal of self-education is to help you GROW and STRECH yourself, and not to live in a world of the same “old” ideas, thoughts, and beliefs that have been reinforced in you since you were a teenager.
You see, we are very good at looking for reasons that support our already held beliefs and ideas, but we tremble when faced with challenges that might push us doing something that are outside of our comfort zone.
But, learning can be easy and fun if you combine DISCIPLINE and TAKE ACTION.
But for many people, musicians including, taking action is difficult.
But let me tell you this straight: you might consume all the posts written about self-development on this site or anywhere else on the Internet, but if don’t go out there and apply what you’ve learn (or at least try) then you’re never going move to the next level in your career.
But I know that you don’t want to get stuck in your career. You want to realize all your dreams and goals and become a blazing star five years from now, don’t you? If you do, keep reading.
In this article, I’ll reveal you THREE benefits of ongoing self-education for musicians:
Key #1: Get inspired by other musicians to keep yourself motivated and on track
Spend time studying books (and listening to podcasts) to learn how other successful people in music industry think, how they deal with their problems, what have they accomplished, and how they overcome adversities. As you get inspired by all this information, you’ll start to motivate yourself.
Success stories and life’s crucial lessons are often hard-earned and have valuable lessons that can improve your music career to an unprecedented level.
Key #2: Stay informed about your industry to stay on top of your game.
Studying regularly and consuming new information helps you stay up to date about what’s happening in your industry. If you don’t, then you risk “missing out” on something important, or risk being irrelevant.
So stay informed of the changes happening within your industry – no matter how challenging it might be – so that you can also move forward with the ever-changing times.
Key #3: Keep challenging yourself and keep growing.
Lastly, and my favorite one, is that you must focus on personal growth as a musician. The right resource can push you to become better, help you adopt ‘proper’ mindsets (instead of relying on tricks and techniques), which in turn can help you become a better musician or a musician entrepreneur.
You see, we often achieve personal growth once we promise ourselves to keep learning and growing. And we only keep on learning and growing as long as we are motivated and inspired to take action. And, the motivation and inspiration to take action come from what we consume (such as the books we read, the videos we watch, and the things we listen).
Over to you: how well are you educating yourself to grow as a thriving musician? Tell us about it below.