I’ve been busy the past 3 weeks doing something I never usually make time for. And that’s making music! I’m participating in #The100DayProject that I discovered through Jen and Omar of These Are Things. You may remember them from my last podcast episode.
I chose music. You can follow my process on Instagram or visit MakerMistaker.com/100days to see what I’ve done so far.
[instagram-feed hashtag=100daysofmakingmusic]
I’m 23 days into it as of this post. So far 3 full songs have resulted and I’m really proud of them!
The whole point of The 100 Day Project is to give yourself permission to create without any excuses. I chose music because it’s what I secretly hoped I could do if the universe would just let me. I had several other ideas that I felt might help me earn more business like designing 100 book covers, or creating 100 album covers. Then I’d have a nice portfolio to attract new freelance clients. Smart, right?
But when I thought about doing it for 100 days, I just didn’t feel that inspired. What would I create for 100 days? I kept coming back to music, but a voice always chimed in with an excuse to not do it.
Here are reasons why I almost didn’t do it:
- Nobody cares about my music, I don’t get many “likes” when I do it
- There is no “demand” for me to make music, it feels self-serving
- It will take time away from what I need to do to earn money to survive
- I might lose followers because that’s not why people follow me
- I’ll embarrass myself because I’m not as good as other musicians I know
Even More Excuses and Fears
You see, I LOVE making music – playing drums, writing songs, music theory, playing with my band, learning piano and guitar, etc. But it’s always been something I did “on the side” because I never felt I was skilled enough to earn a living or be a professional musician. I’ve played in 3 bands, but none “made it” – nor did I even care about making it. It seemed the deck was stacked against me making a career out of being a musician. (I realize that viewing everything through the lens of “career” can be really discouraging). There are so many local bands and talented musicians. Most are broke and working 9-5 day jobs anyway. You can’t make money as a musician, unless you’ve been playing since you were 5, so why try?
But then I just said fuck it.
If I was “allowed” to make music for 100 days, I would LOVE It. I would be thrilled! I’d jump for joy if somehow I was able to play music without survival anxiety. Without the dread of knowing that this play time must eventually come to an end.
I gave myself permission. It wasn’t even that hard. I just had to decide!
It was now or never, right?
It’s been 23 days and I really look forward to it every day. Sure, some days I feel obligated to post something when perhaps I really sucked that day or had no good ideas. But that’s the beauty of the 100 day project. Each day isn’t meant to be a masterpiece. It’s about enjoying the process. I’ve had to confront the fear of posting something online that’s not perfect or only half done. Or showing myself embarrassingly learning guitar. I’d play for 15 minutes and feel like nothing is worth sharing because it’s not impressive enough.
But I am so sick and tired of being impressive. Aren’t you? That’s not what I want my life to be based on. I want to live my life because it’s fun and brings me joy. I’m posting music every day regardless of what people think. I may have lost followers, but all that is ego anyway. It’s pointless! It’s about finally deciding to do what we love. Not what we expect our followers to want from us.
If you want to follow me on my journey, feel free. But know that I don’t mind if you don’t! I do hope to inspire you to do your own 100 day project.
What are you going to do for 100 days?
