The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.
(Author: Jonathan Fields)
I’m always blindly pursuing opportunity. I do it because it’s exciting, it’s unpredictable, and I’m never sure where it will take me. Most of the opportunities that come my way unravel at some point, so in a way I try to increase the odds by taking on as much as possible. Yes, this quickly becomes distracting. But for some reason it makes me happy to remain open to the unknown.
Over Memorial Day weekend I went through some old files from college and discovered a resume from 2002. The objective was pretty much the same as it is now – to work in music and new media. And as a new media producer, we need to be open to the unknown because it’s hard to predict where technology will be five years, or even two years, from now.
I take this approach in my music programming tasks too. I’m always on the hunt for new styles, quickly dismissing anything too “buzzy” or from a few seasons ago. It excites me to be on the cutting edge.
The alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths may be in the rich history that I’ve so quickly chosen to dismiss. Maybe, if I look back on traditional ways of successfully producing media or tried-and-true trends in music, I’ll come across something applicable to pursue my dreams today with focus.
I want to break narratives, not mimic old ones. Trying to mimic other styles has only presented me with roadblocks and a total detachment from my own voice. But perhaps there’s something in it along the way, maybe it’s a workflow, maybe it’s a train of thought – that can get me on the fast track in the right direction.
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