As creative entrepreneurs, we are blessed with many ideas. We have project ideas pop into our heads while we are in the shower or mowing the yard. This can be a beautiful thing. But it is also a double edged sword. Sometimes, we get “shiny object syndrome” and start chasing so many things that we don’t get anything accomplished. Or we at least don’t live up to our full potential in one area. Our blessing then becomes a curse. I still completely stand by my theory of trying to have multiple income streams and not putting all of my eggs in one basket. But I realize where I’ve gone wrong with this. While it is necessary to have a backup for my backup, i need to focus on one thing at a time and reach minimum viable income before moving on to the next thing. Minimum viable income is simply the amount of money one needs to make in order to support yourself.—emphasis on minimum. And it’s quite possible that I would be at my minimum viable income level with my music if one or both of the two publishing companies that I've signed with had gotten my songs placed. But that hasn’t happened. Not yet anyway. So let me tell you what I WAS going to announce in this season finale episode. I was planning on starting a podcast network. I was going to launch another podcast this summer that was to be a documentary on music that was birthed in and around my hometown. For those of you who are not familiar with all of the game changers that were spawned from this patch of land between Memphis and Nashville, the names would astound you. But this thing was going to be a money pit if I couldn’t secure funding for it. The music licensing alone was going to wear me out. I mean, Paul McCartney has the publishing on some of the music that I needed to use, for crying out loud. But for a couple of weeks, I had convinced myself that I could pull this thing off and still work on my music career. But then, one morning I woke up and asked myself, “What the hell am I doing?” This is the same damn thing that I did at the end of Season One. Why do I keep chasing all these things? And after a couple of days of real soul searching, it hit me: I don’t have enough faith. I still don’t think that I’m good enough to make music for a living. I mean, I say that I am but what else would explain me getting so close, then, jumping onto some new project. I think it’s fear of both failure and success. So I’m getting back to basics. I’m going back to 2014 before I even thought about doing a podcast. Hell, I’m even going back further than that to when I wasn’t even considering Nashville as a possibility. The writing is on the wall and it has been since I signed that first licensing deal last summer. My music is taylor made for sync licensing. That’s what I do naturally. Jonathan Singleton has even told me that. And I’ve got two legal documents with my signature on them that back him up. The writing has been on the wall for some time now and I've just refused to read it. With sync, I can write and record my stripped down songs myself. And I already have an open door to submit my music anytime I want. There was a time that I would KILL for that opportunity ALONE and I realize that I've been taking it for granted. I’m also going to reach out to music supervisors with my music. This is something that I should have been doing all along. And there is no that wonder that nothing is happening for me in Nashville. I mean, I’ve only set foot in that town once in a year’s time. I’ve half-assed it the whole way. And to be honest, I could’ve found a way to make more happen there, even as broke as I’ve been. But my heart’s just not in it. Where my heart lies is in creating these quirky acoustic based songs from scratch and having total control of how they sound. I love the limitations that I have because of the lack of help and money. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. i have learned so much with all the dabbling that I’ve done. The biggest takeaway that I’ve received from my flirtations with Nashville is to be able to write, whether the muse shows up or not. I believe that this is essential. And the song a week experiment was a test to take that Nashville model of writing songs on a schedule and apply it to my singer-songwriter tunes. And for the most part, it worked. This experiment helped push me to the point where I realized that I need to have a Music Row writer’s work ethic then write and produce as many songs as possible for sync licensing. So instead of trying to do both L.A. and Nashville, I am taking what I have learned from Nashville and going 100% in on sync. So, in one way, I’m glad that I was so scattered, because without doing this and spreading myself too thin, I wouldn’t have had this epiphany. And if something happens in the meantime with “The State I’m In” that causes doors to open in Nashville, you can bet I will walk through them. And I do eventually want to develop a podcast network. But first things first. I need to walk through the doors that have been opened for me in L.A. with my music and double down on that. So where does this leave Left Of Nashville? Well, there will be a Season 3. But we won’t be doing the season featuring LOLO as once planned. I have to put all my attention on my career at this point and season 3 will document what happens after attacking sync licensing with my full focus. I am not going to close the door behind me, I want to share everything that I learn that may help you guys. That was the promise I made when I started this thing to begin with. Somewhere along the way, this thing got flipped on its head. I found myself in a position where I was writing songs in order to put out an episode of the podcast instead of making an episode to document all the music I was making. And that may sound like I am splitting hairs here, I mean, at least I was writing songs, right? Who cares about the motivation? But I wasn’t being to true to who I really am. Look, I love making this podcast. This is so much fun. But I am a singer-songwriter first. Without the songs, I have no reason to make Left Of Nashville. We have to become what we are. So, I want to thank you guys for coming along with me for this season, I’ve had a blast. And I hope you come back for Season 3. There are a few thoughts that I want to leave you with: The path to doing what we are meant to do isn’t going to be a straight line. There are going to be some dead ends along the way. But the most important thing is to try things. Always be sending up trial balloons. But just as important as doing this, is being self-aware enough to realize what works and what doesn’t. The whole damn thing really is a learning experience and you will gain knowledge from these so called “failures” that will lead you to success. I truly believe this. So get out there and move things around. Then hone in and put a dent in the universe.
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