I have been focusing on songwriting for the past few weeks. Also general practicing as well. Sometimes as a working musician, I don’t always take the time to actually practice. That sounds ridiculous, especially as I look at those words I just typed, but it is the truth. How the heck have I been able to maintain a career as a musician for 27 years (and counting) without a regular regimen of practice. Well, I guess sometimes I get caught up in the gigs, in whatever I am doing at the moment.

But as I have gotten back to regular practice, it feels great. I do some practicing, then I start writing. I find that it somehow makes the writing a bit easier. As a songwriter, I sit down to write something, and there is always a fear that “maybe you can’t write another song”, “the last one you wrote was your last!”. But, you just sit down, start playing, start singing, write down a word or phrase, and it just starts happening. It’s the great big secret of success of just about anything, and here it is: Just START DOING IT.

One thing is for sure; if I don’t sit down and consciously make the effort to write, then I won’t write. I’ll just go about my day, the sun will rise and set, and no song. Gotta do the work. For me, it’s a labor of love. It’s not always easy, and sometimes it;s really frustrating. But it’s always rewarding at the end. And that is both for the practicing and the writing. They both have their rewards.

Okay, back to work……

Here’s to music and it’s healing power…

-Jamie

I have been writing a new song for the last couple of hours, and as usual, I am now pondering whether or not technology is a creative hindrance, or a helpful partner. I guess for me, it’s a little bit of both. Let me explain.

It goes like this: I feel the inspiration of a song coming on. So I rush into the studio, turn the computer on, turn my keyboard on. While I am waiting for everything to boot up, I grab a pen and paper. Ooops, forgot to turn my audio interface on, luckily that can be turned on while the computer is up. Okay, in business now. Well, wait, I have to boot up Cubase, my recording program. Okay, no big deal, I am almost ready to start writing…. Ahhh!!!! Forgot to turn on my external audio drive, Cubase is looking for it. Crap. Okay, reboot computer (with audio drive on this time). Okay, computer and drive back up, Cubase running…new project file…..name it……do I need a drum loop going for this?……hmmm….how about this sound?……..Wait, what’s the correct tempo?……Hmmm…maybe I need to make some coffee first. Inpiration…..GONE.

Any of you go through this as well? All of our computer programs are amazing, we can do just about anything with them, but it can slow down the creative process significantly. So what is the answer? For me, it is actually using another technological device, my phone. I fired up my recorder app on my droid, and started playing and singing. Done. Writing has commenced. Honestly, any little handheld, simple recorder would do the trick.

Everyone has there way of doing things, I think this works best for my creative process. Now, of course, once I have something concrete written, I will then fire up Cubase, and the drives, and everything else, and start producing. But that is a different creative process altogether.

So, what is your creative writing process? How does it work for you? Please comment, chime in…

Here’s to creativity and technology coexisting,

-Jamie

Any of you who have read my posts for the last couple of years have seen that I love to write about things like health and wellness, personal growth,  spirituality, etc. While I will continue to write about those things, this site is taking a bit of a new direction. You see, I have been making a living as a musician for my entire life, and I figured that I probably should write a little bit about that. How I got started, what my experiences have been, and how I have managed to somehow make a living in this crazy profession of music. Maybe my experiences will be helpful to others, I don’t know.

What is interesting will be how my other interests intertwine with my musical career. In other words much of the reasons for me being able to continue as a musician all of these years has nothing to do with music. It has to do with building relationships, having the right mindset, continuing to grow. You can connect with me via the social media links on the site here; let’s have some great conversations.

Peace,

Jamie

Those of you who know me know that I have been a musician for many years. I also love to write songs. While I have not been quite as committed to songwriting over the years as I would have liked to be, I still have composed quite a number of songs. (some of them are pretty good, if I do say so myself! )…but I digress….

Recently I have been writing more, and I have made an astonishing revelation. This may be true only for me, but I am thinking that it is true for everyone. What is my groundbreaking revelation? It is this: When we are creative, good things happen. Creativity is the source of positive energy, so when we create something, use our brains, come up with something new, whether that means writing a song or coming up with a new, never before tried recipe for dinner, we are putting forth an intention. This intention says, “I like to do this, so I am going to do it”. Simple, right?

See, it doesn’t matter what happens to that song that I write, or the new recipe or the new idea, that is not the point. In fact, I would recommend not even being attached to the result while you are creating your new masterpieces.

Honestly, I don’t really know what goes on here behind the scenes, behind that strange metaphysical curtain that we can’t see. But for me, I do know that good things happen when I am creative. I feel that one of the things I am supposed to do while here on earth is play music. I really don’t know why this is, but I know it in my soul. By creating, and using this “purpose” of mine, things start to happen in a positive way. And I have to point out that I am not talking about good things necessarily involving the songs, or music. Sometimes, yes, but not always. Sometimes it is just good things in completely other areas of my life.

So, BE CREATIVE; use your purpose, passions, strengths.

-Jamie

I have a question for you. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test, it’s a simple question. What is it that you want MOST out of life? Don’t think for more than a few seconds on this, or you will begin to edit your answer. Your answer is for you, not me, not anyone else. Maybe it’s more money, maybe it’s a nurturing relationship, a new house, or a job that will pay the bills.

I am going to go out on a limb and disagree with you on all of those. Not that I know who you are or anything, and you actually may think that you want these things, but they aren’t what you want the MOST. Not even close. How can I say that with such conviction? Easy. It’s Peace.

We all really want peace in our lives. Here’s the catch: We think that things like money, relationships, a better job (whatever that means), we think these things will bring us peace. And maybe, to a certain degree they will. But a sense of real, lasting, inner peace is what we all really are after. A kind of peace that nothing and no one can ever take away or destroy. A comforting existence for sure. Think about it, if you are really at peace, then you probably have the rest of your life in order, or at the least there is nothing that is really bothering you about it; in other words there isn’t anything getting in between you and your peace. I like that. I’ll take more peace, please.

Create peace in your life, in your world. Good things will follow.

-Jamie

Stress. Everyone feels it sometimes, some feel it more often than not these days. People are stressed about money, about their relationships, about their health, about their friends, about their jobs, about not having a job….you get the point. But most people don’t realize just what that stress is doing to their bodies.

This article is not meant to stress you out any more than your already are, so don’t get stressed about the fact that all of the stress you are under is probably hurting you! What I am trying to do here is make you aware that if you are under stress much of the time, then it’s time to take a look at that and make some changes, and make them fast. Why?

Stress is often referred to as the “silent killer”. Stress doesn’t come out necessarily on a blood test, or ekg, or a routine physical. Nope. It kind of hides in the background, gaining strength, building its fortress, and then, BAMM, when you least expect it, it rears its ugly head and manifests itself as some chronic illness or symptom or disease. So stress can go undetected for a long time, unless you, yes in mean YOU, are paying attention.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? What happens when you are under stress? Well, let’s look at that for a minute. Here is some information from the American Massage Therapy Association on what stress does to you:

Your body reacts unconsciously to situations you find threatening, Its emergency stress response primes you for fight or flight by causing certain physiological changes to take place:

• your body produces additional adrenaline.
• your heart beats faster and more blood flows into your larger muscles
• your breathing becomes shallow and you start to perspire
• the functioning of your immune and digestive systems is inhibited
• the flow of blood to your extremities and internal organs is decreased

Frequent or unrelenting stress can damage your body, ultimately leading to discomfort or pain. It’s a contributing factor in most disease processes. The adverse effects of stress can manifest themselves as:

• changes in blood sugar
• colitis
• headaches
• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• hypertension
• ulcers

You can understand why accumulated stress and tension can spoil much of the pleasure and productivity you find in life.

Wow. If that isn’t enough for you, an article from the American Medical Association found that chronic stress was linked to more heart disease among police officers. The article states,

It’s no secret that police officers face a lot of stress on the job. After all, bringing in the bad guys is hazardous duty.

But surprisingly, it’s also the low-level, chronic stress of finishing up paperwork and juggling work and family — stressors faced by workers across occupations — that can take a toll on the health of police officers, according to recent research.

The risk for cardiovascular disease is higher among law enforcement officers than it is for the rest of the population, where it is already exceedingly high. Heart disease and strokes cause more deaths in Americans of both genders and all racial and ethnic groups than any other disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It appears that chronic stress in police officers may be a factor in heart disease’s elevated levels among these men and women. And, researchers say, there is likely a similar effect in other occupations.

Firefighters, nurses, teachers and even newspaper reporters are all vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress, said Warren Franke, PhD, a kinesiology professor and director of the exercise clinic at Iowa State University.

Read the entire article HERE

A WebMD article talks about the effects of stress on thoughts and emotions, stating:

You might notice signs of stress in the way you think, act, and feel. You may:

• Feel cranky and unable to deal with even small problems.
• Feel frustrated, lose your temper more often, and yell at others for no reason.
• Feel jumpy or tired all the time.
• Find it hard to focus on tasks.
• Worry too much about small things.
• Feel that you are missing out on things because you can’t act quickly.
• Imagine that bad things are happening or about to happen.

To read that entire article, click HERE

The bottom line here is that stress leads to chronic illness, and this is not speculation on my part. We need to do whatever is necessary to reduce the stress in our lives. Don’t just think about it, DO IT.

Peace,

Jamie

Your thoughts and actions have a far reaching effect. Watch this:

Never, ever think that you are a passive bystander.

Never think that your existence is insignificant.

You are powerful beyond measure.

Peace,

Jamie

As I write this post, I am looking out my kitchen window, and there is snow on the trees, and on the ground. it is melting quickly, but just an hour ago there was at least an inch of the cold white stuff blanketing my yard. The odd thing about this is that I live in Las Vegas, in the desert. We don’t get snow here. It’s a rarity. But still, there it is.

It was…UNEXPECTED. Life can present us with unexpected circumstances from time to time, sometimes when we feel the least prepared for them. But maybe it is all in how we LOOK at things. What if we embrace the unexpected as a gift? Maybe this is something that will bring you UNEXPECTED joy? Maybe this is something that, as it unfolds, will turn out to be a wonderful experience, even if at the time, it feels bad, or it is difficult to get though. Remember, there is a larger picture that we can’t see, there is more to this than meets the eye. Have faith.

The UNEXPECTED might just be a miracle. It is not what happens to us, it is what we do with what happens to us.

Here’s to the unexpected!

-Jamie

Continuing on the theme of my last post, which can be viewed here , there are several additional things we can do in order to really move forward in 2011. Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, and these can keep us spinning in circles, or even knock us completely off track and move us in the wrong direction altogether. Let’s take a look:

1. GUILT – Guilt is such a dangerous feeling to have, it literally holds us hostage and freezes us in our tracks. Realize that feeling guilty is a choice. If you are feeling guilty about something, ask yourself why. Should you get something off your chest, should you fess us about something? Often times we carry around guilt needlessly, for no reason. Release it.

2. ANGER – Anger really has no usefulness here, it only seeks to destroy. Leave anger behind, or you will NEVER have peace in your life.

3. BOREDOM – Are you living your life without any passion, or zest? Are you bored? If so, then what’s to keep you moving forward, what’s to motivate you to keep getting better? Find something to arouse your passion and love for life, and find it quick!

4. BLAME – This is a biggie. It is so easy for us to blame others, blame the economy, blame our boss, blame our neighbor, blame our job, etc. But really we must take 100% responsibility for our lives and our current situation. Forget the blame game and focus on ourselves. That is the only way we will ever be free.

5. FEAR – This can be a killer. Fear can keep us from doing anything. Fear of the unknown, fear of abandonment, rejection, loss, etc. Maybe it’s fear of failure, but it could also be fear of success. Sometimes we fear what will happen if we become successful, wealthy, etc. Will people look at me the same, will it change me, will I lose the people I love? Here’s the thing guys. The ones who love you will love you no matter what. If they don’t, then they really didn’t love you in the first place. It’s okay to have fear, just don’t let that stop you from following your dreams.

Again, thanks to Mr. Brad Hager for this inspiring information.

Have a prosperous and joyous 2011.

Jamie

I was recently on an incredible mentoring call, where one of my mentors and business partners was giving a weekly mentoring call on how to build not only our businesses, but also how to improve ourselves. Let’s face it, if we want to accomplish great things in this lifetime, we need to improve ourselves first, then we can truly facilitate the change in others, as well as our world at large. There is a good reason why, when on a plane, they say “if the oxygen masks come down, please place yours on first BEFORE assisting small children”.

So there were 7 points on this call that I would like to highlight here, because when I heard these myself, it really caused me to reflect on what I need to do to improve as a person, as a business owner, a leader, a husband. My hope is that these will cause a bit of reflection on your part as well.

THE SEVEN “F”‘s

1. Forsake: There are some things we need to give up, to forsake if we are going to move to the next level. What is holding you back? What could you do without in order to move forward? Bad habits, wrongs thoughts, bad influences, etc.

2. Forget: We have all been hurt, we have all had failures, it’s time to move on, and not dwell in the past. “Are you reaching for the stars, or living on your scars?”

3. Focus: Now is the time to focus; Affirmations, goals, a plan. Hope is NOT a strategy. Focus on what you are looking to achieve.

4. Find: Find out what it is that excites you? What are your dreams? You should be THRIVING, not just SURVIVING. FIND out what it is that truly moves, inspires, and motivates you.

5. Follow: Follow those who will teach you. Find a mentor, someone who is where you strive to be, then follow them, and let them coach you.

6. Form: Form a plan to get to where who are going. You can’t jump in your car and aimlessly drive around town hoping to find your destination.  Same thing with your life. Your plan IS your google map, your directions.

7. Forge: Once you have your plan, FORGE ahead with passion and purpose. Wake up everyday with a positive attitude, and don’t allow anyone to steal your happiness or positivity. If you do, the one who loses is YOU

-Great thanks to Mr. Brad Hager for this awesome, inspiring information. I hope this is helpful for you. Happy New Year, let’s go 2011!

Peace,

Jamie