176 – Closing the Chapter on 2019 - Music Entrepreneur HQ

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What happened in 2019? What breakthroughs did you have? Did you have any breakdowns?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I use Michael Hyatt’s framework for closing the chapter on another year. I share all the major wins and losses I experienced last year.

Table of Contents

Podcast Highlights:

00:34 – The importance of closing the chapter on the year passed
01:11 – Past reflection
01:28 – The seven-question framework
01:45 – If 2019 was a movie, what genre would it be?
03:13 – Recurring themes throughout 2019
03:37 – Accomplishments in 2019
04:34 – Unacknowledged in 2019
05:07 – Sponsor message
06:43 – Disappointments in 2019
08:11 – Missing from 2019
08:48 – Life lessons in 2019
09:56 – Start Your Year the Right Way

Transcription:

Author and speaker Michael Hyatt often shares about the importance of closing the chapter on the year just passed.

We can easily drag our mental and emotional baggage into another year if we don’t process everything that occurred. This can leave us feeling incomplete.

We often assume the future will be just like the past, when the two have nothing to do with each other. Every day, we make choices, and these choices determine our outcomes.

We often assume the future will be just like the past, when the two have nothing to do with each other. Click To Tweet

But if we make the same choices, we made in the past expecting different results, of course we’re just going to end up living the same year all over again.

So, in this episode of the podcast, I’m going to follow the framework Michael Hyatt outlined on his blog to closing the chapter on another year.

Past Reflections

I’ve been sharing these yearly reflections since 2014. If you’d like to catch up on these, you’ll find the links to each of the posts in the show notes at MusicEntrepreneurHQ.com/176 where you will also find a full transcription for this episode.

Closing the Chapter on 2014
Closing the Chapter on 2015
Closing the Chapter on 2016
Closing the Chapter on 2017
Closing the Chapter on 2018

The 7 Questions

What follows is my answers to the seven questions Hyatt suggests we answer.

If you’d like to follow along or take some time to answer these questions yourself, get your notebook and pen out and start writing.

Here are my answers to the seven questions:

1. If the last year were a movie in your life, what would the genre be?

As I shared in a blog post titled Restoring Integrity, 2019 was a bit of a bumpy year. While I was taking an intensive personal development program between January and May, I got sick twice and my car broke down multiple times. Shortly after, I endured breakup, and though I haven’t said much about it, it was the most challenging one I’ve ever gone through. Then, my roommate shared that she would be moving back to Vancouver in July. I had already been thinking about traveling the world at that point, which meant that I would be moving too. Shortly after, because of everything I’d been going through, I fell severely ill. My work continued to pile up during the summer, when I had planned to take it a little easier. I still took a weeklong vacation in St. Catharines, ON and later in Vancouver, BC and Austin, TX. But before I left Calgary, AB to move to Abbotsford, BC, we had to put our family dog, Kenji to rest. This was tough, though I honestly feel like it was a gift that I got to see him one last time before leaving. Still, the move wasn’t a walk in the park either. First, I simply couldn’t dedicate enough time to selling unneeded household items, though I guess in the end it worked out. Second, my car broke down in Hope, BC on the way to Abbotsford, and I ended up having to replace it. It’s not exactly easy looking back but these are exactly the things I know I need to air, because not doing so would mean holding onto the baggage that comes with these events and experiences.

2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?

Breakdowns and breakthroughs. Even though 2019 wasn’t a bed of roses, I would not have earned my location independence if not for the training I received and what I began to see about how I do life. After everything I’ve gone through, I now believe there are the seeds of breakthrough in every breakdown. Life doesn’t need to stagnate. It can change rapidly, and we can cause that.

3. What did you accomplish this year that you are most proud of?

Launching The Essential Guide to Creative Entrepreneurship book, which became an Amazon bestseller.
Launching the Your Music Matters community project.
Launching the Start Your Year the Right Way
Getting set up in a mastermind group.
Completing the Self-Expression and Leadership Program.
Participating in the Life Box project supporting children in Thailand.
Assisting with another season of The Indie YYC
Releasing the No Escape EP.
Attending the DIY Musician Conference in August.
Releasing the Nowhere Even Near EP.
Becoming a digital nomad and moving to Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
Attending a mastermind retreat in Colorado in December.
Recording and publishing 47 podcast episodes and interviewing Matt Starr, John Oszajca, Ariel Hyatt and Fabrice Sergent.
Publishing 23 blog posts on Music Entrepreneur HQ.

4. What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?

I get the occasional email and message from someone who’s read my books or someone who’s been impacted by my content. This is the fuel that keeps me going. But I would love to see more engagement on everything I do – comments from people who love what I’m doing, hate what I’m doing or otherwise. If not that, then I don’t feel like I’m making a difference, and I’m doing “just fine.” There’s no point in me hanging around in “just fine” territory. I don’t want to be doing “just fine”, I want to cause breakthrough for others.

I’ll be back to answer the final three questions after this quick message.

Record Label in a Box

Interested in setting up your own independent record label?

Based on all the questions I’ve gotten about this I have no doubt there are many of you that would like to get up and running – maybe even today.

The answer is simple.

It’s called Record Label in a Box.

I would love to say that I came up with the idea, but no, it was developed by the amazing folks over at Ditto Music. And, in case you haven’t heard of them, they’re also a digital music distributor.

So, Record Label in a Box comes in three packages depending on your needs – Basic, Premium and Professional.

I’ve talked about the Basic level before.

At the Professional level, you get label certification, unlimited distribution for up to five artists, record label contract wizard, opportunities database, label journal, one to one career building session, your own personalized ISRC codes, sole proprietor setup, online events calendar, label management suite, experts academy forum and chart breaker package.

Of course, if you don’t need all that yet, you can get set up more cheaply and simply with the Basic or Premium package.

Are you ready to get started and make your dreams of label ownership a reality in 2020?

Then get your Record Label in a Box at MusicEntrepreneurHQ.com/Label.

Full disclosure – Music Entrepreneur HQ is an affiliate of Ditto Music, and if you purchase anything through our link, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Thanks for your support.

5. What disappointments did you experience this past year?

Enduring breakup was a massive disappointment. I just wanted her to take responsibility for the way she pursued me and the mixed messages I kept getting from her. Ultimately, it’s not something I can demand of her and I wouldn’t know how to ask for it either. I have a choice to be complete with this if I want, and by airing it here, I’m choosing to be complete with it.
The way the move went was incredibly disappointing. I feel shocked and traumatized, and I even find myself avoiding reflecting on it. I won’t lie though. Part of it is that I find my new life as a nomad fun, exciting and peaceful. So, I’m more engaged in the now than in the past. Still, the move needs to be processed.
Not being able to live up to the expectations of others in 2019 was hugely disappointing for me and I still carry those feelings. Between fall 2014 and summer 2016 I was saying “yes” to every opportunity that came my way and somehow managed to fulfill on all those commitments. This was no longer working for me in 2019. I had to let people down. It took a while, but I finally saw something about myself, that I tend to engage in what I want and ignore what I don’t. I’ve been that way since kindergarten. This has not gotten better with time, and in fact, even at this moment I’m choosing to focus on what I want to do versus other projects that are hanging in the balance. Moving forward, I want to build a team around me so I can shine in my strengths instead of looking dumb and inept in my weaknesses.

6. What was missing from last year as you look back?

I’ve already hinted at this, but to be up to something at the scale that I’m up to, I simply can’t do it alone. I have a team of three as of this writing, but they are siloed in their individual tasks. They ease my burden for sure, but they aren’t necessarily involved in making my life easier. I realize this is a weakness of mine and I can’t fault anyone else for it. Now that I’ve gotten to see how I do life and how I tend to take everything on without asking for help, it’s time to discover a new way of being – being someone who enrolls others in what they’re up to and trusts them to assist in building the vision.

7. What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?

Before you can recognize opportunity, you can’t act on it as such. Thanks to the personal development program I was taking, I started to see an opportunity to be a digital nomad. I am now living that life and am daily navigating the challenges that come with it. Sure, it’s fun and I love living this way. But there are always logistical issues I’m dealing with too – when to work, how to get to the airport, the availability of Wi-Fi, how much stuff to bring in my suitcase and so on. I’m looking forward to finding a house to call home, but I’m not making that a priority for the next two to three years.
As noted earlier, I learned that I do things the way I want to do them, and I’ve always been that way. This may serve me and my intentions, but it certainly goes counter to other people’s expectations. I desire a life partner that complements my strengths and weaknesses, so that I can keep on shining even when I’m aware that I’m completely dropping the ball.
I’ve gotten better at enrolling others in what I’m up to. But I still tend to take on too much and try to do it all myself. I believe that leadership is a skill that can be developed.

Start Your Year the Right Way

Sick and tired of being underappreciated as a musician?

Is your genius going unrecognized?

Do you feel like you keep missing all your goals?

I’ve been there too.

Until I recognized the importance of all this “personal development crap”, I couldn’t find a way forward either.

Yeah, it might seem like a drag, but something the most successful people I know have in common is that they invest in themselves.

This may look a little differently depending on the individual, but the result is the same.

They invest in their discoveries and their discoveries lead to breakthroughs. Their breakthroughs lead to success.

You don’t even need to put all your time and money into learning. But it makes a lot of sense to address your pain points and start doing something about them.

After all, they’re not going to get better if you just sit there and ignore them.

It’s not your fault that you don’t know what you don’t know. They don’t teach this stuff in school!

So, if you’re ready to start your own journey towards growth, I’d like to prescribe my book, Start Your Year the Right Way.

I would argue that the time to act is now, but if you’re not ready yet, that’s okay. Take your time. Come back when you are.

You can learn more about the Start Your Year the Right Way workbook at MusicEntrepreneurHQ.com/Year.

Will you be buying a copy?

Thanks for your support.

This is David Andrew Wiebe and I’ll see you on the stages of the world.

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David Andrew Wiebe

Founder & CEO at Music Entrepreneur HQ

Award-winning composer, best-selling author, professional musician coach, and podcaster of over 10 years. Wiebe helps musicians like you unlock your full potential. If you'd like to be notified whenever the blog is updated, click here to subscribe.

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