I don't believe in chasing dreams.(Warning this is just a convoluted, disorganized nite time rant Be advised that reading this could turn your brain to mush)
When I was a kid , the possibilities for the future seemed endless....A message not so subtly preached by the media and passed on to us at school, was that we could be anything that we wanted to be.....Closely related to that message, was an underlying feeling of entitlement....There was the unstated belief that everyone had a "true calling" and that we should all be able to dedicate ourselves fully to whatever that calling was.........that We should ALL "follow our dreams" because they just might come true.....If this dream following business were so easy, everyone would be millionaires with dynamic and nourishing love lives, flourishing and rewarding careers, warm social lives, and a brilliant spiritual connection....
First, I want to make clear that the last thing I want is to paint myself as someone who does not believe in having a calling or taking a career path that you're passionate about....I simply feel that not ENOUGH emphasis is placed on the great sacrifice that is necessary to excel in LIFE in general or more specifically, in a given field...We are not entitled to success,health, happiness, wealth, or respect....We must figure out what we want to achieve, and then go out and expect to TOIL smart and hard to get there ..BUT That to me is not "chasing one's dreams". That is being on a MISSION. It is masterminding a game plan and giving everything you have to achieving that goal.....The words SACRIFICE and FOCUS come to mind......
A dream is unfulfilled desire floating listlessly in the ether of our grey matter.......I have dreams but they are of little consequence....I'd love to have a ski boat on a beautiful mountain lake or buy a vacation home in Brazil....or spend 6 months at a Buddhist monastery in Japan....However,I've done nothing to make any of those dreams a reality and I probably never will....They are harmless topics of conversation...They are a pleasant fantasy land to visit while waiting in line at the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon or while enduring a couple hours of dental work.
We are all mounds of flesh endowed with a brain and a spirit....and thus I believe to a very large extent, our own creation...We mold ourselves out of the clay we are given at birth influenced to varying degrees by life circumstances and our reactions to things we cannot control...
We mold ourselves and chart our life's course...Dreams don't come true....Missions are often accomplished though....Expecting a dream to magically come true is like betting our life's fortune on the weather and being crushed when it rains. ...Dreams are for those languishing in the bone dry dessert of the infinitely unfulfilled and serially disappointed....Missions are something entirely different.They are for the hard working, focused, courageous types...Missions are possible. Dreams are for the weak minded and frail hearted.
Listen to McNary Music
Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Details for my Kickstarter Campaign ; )
I'm making my first Debut Record and utilizing the online web application Kickstarter to do so! My plan is to make a quality RECORD that portrays my deep passion for the human experience , that SHOWS what I'm capable as an artist, and that allows me to segway my business from being a favorite Atlanta artist to becoming an established regional act making a living from selling and performing my original music.
Without a quality recording this goal is impossible to reach.................
With your help, I'll have the resources to move forward much more quickly in the process of running a profitable music business. My goal is to be making $50,000 per year writing and performing my original music on a national and perhaps international stage by the spring of 2011. But first things first.....I have to get this album done and done RIGHT. You can help me do this by donating. I have saved $3000.00 of my own money to pay for recording. I must raise the additional $4,825.00 to cover my costs without going into too much debt. I'll be recording a total of 6 songs.
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*Please Review my Budget below if your interested in the Specific Monetary details ; )
**Budget Rundown
Total Budget = $7825
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Line Item Run Down
Studio Time/Production Costs/Sound Engineer = $2000
Mixing Time = $500
Misc Costs (Equipment, Meals for Musicians etc) = $500
Musicians Pay = $625.00
Mastering = $500
CD Replication in Jewel Cases with inserts = $1700
Marketing Campaign in 5 Key Markets = $2000
Without a quality recording this goal is impossible to reach.................
With your help, I'll have the resources to move forward much more quickly in the process of running a profitable music business. My goal is to be making $50,000 per year writing and performing my original music on a national and perhaps international stage by the spring of 2011. But first things first.....I have to get this album done and done RIGHT. You can help me do this by donating. I have saved $3000.00 of my own money to pay for recording. I must raise the additional $4,825.00 to cover my costs without going into too much debt. I'll be recording a total of 6 songs.
-
-
*Please Review my Budget below if your interested in the Specific Monetary details ; )
**Budget Rundown
Total Budget = $7825
-
Line Item Run Down
Studio Time/Production Costs/Sound Engineer = $2000
Mixing Time = $500
Misc Costs (Equipment, Meals for Musicians etc) = $500
Musicians Pay = $625.00
Mastering = $500
CD Replication in Jewel Cases with inserts = $1700
Marketing Campaign in 5 Key Markets = $2000
Monday, April 5, 2010
Speaking of Faith...... Random Ramblings on Faith
How important is faith in your life? When I say faith, I AM NOT categorically referring to organized religion. I am referring to a strong belief in something or someone. How important is it to have faith your special someone loves you, wants the best for you and can be trusted, or that your band mates and music business partners are as focused and committed to your success as you are? How important is it for you to have that feeling in the deepest part of your gut that the course you are taking in life is right for you? How important is it for you to place your faith in people even when you know there's a chance that those people will fail? How important is faith in your own instinct when all you have to guide your are your determination and gut?
Faith is important to me because without faith I would've missed out on some of the greatest experiences of my life. Without faith that ALOT of people care deeply for their fellow citizens and want to make the world a better place, I would never have co-founded a non profit in college. Without faith in my ability to adapt I would never have spent two years in South America after college becoming fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, conquering my lifelong fear of the ocean, and learning to play guitar. I've also been on the ugly side of the faith paradigm Because I lacked faith in my musical abilities I stood back for two years after returning from Brazil before I began playing in public....faith and fear and are enemies while fear and pride are close friends...seriously.....Because I allowed fear instead of faith to rule my decisions over those two years, I hampered my musical progress and my career.... Where there is faith, fear has little room to co-exist. When you believe, fear of failure loses its power.
I've also found through personal experience that faith is a MUST for healthy personal and business relationships. People need us to place our faith in them whether they ultimately end up failing or not. How many times have you heard successful people emotionally thank those who believed in them.....Having faith in people empowers them by planting the seed of self confidence and BELIEF in themselves they need to fully harness their potential..........
Faith is important to me because without faith I would've missed out on some of the greatest experiences of my life. Without faith that ALOT of people care deeply for their fellow citizens and want to make the world a better place, I would never have co-founded a non profit in college. Without faith in my ability to adapt I would never have spent two years in South America after college becoming fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, conquering my lifelong fear of the ocean, and learning to play guitar. I've also been on the ugly side of the faith paradigm Because I lacked faith in my musical abilities I stood back for two years after returning from Brazil before I began playing in public....faith and fear and are enemies while fear and pride are close friends...seriously.....Because I allowed fear instead of faith to rule my decisions over those two years, I hampered my musical progress and my career.... Where there is faith, fear has little room to co-exist. When you believe, fear of failure loses its power.
I've also found through personal experience that faith is a MUST for healthy personal and business relationships. People need us to place our faith in them whether they ultimately end up failing or not. How many times have you heard successful people emotionally thank those who believed in them.....Having faith in people empowers them by planting the seed of self confidence and BELIEF in themselves they need to fully harness their potential..........
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