It’s time for another most excellent life update. And we’re doing a bit of catching up here, because it’s already February as I’m typing this up!
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down. – Mary Pickford
Here’s what I got up to in December.
Past Life Updates
Want to get caught up with what has happened to this point? Check out these life updates:
Life Update: November 2020
Life Update: October 2020
Life Update: September 2020
Life Update: August 2020
Life Update: July 2020
Life Update: June 2020
Life Update: July 2012
December 2020 in Brief
At the end of November, I returned fresh after a two-week break in Vernon. Though still very much in the process of recovery, I’d felt better than I had in quite a while. That much is certain.
I knew I would not be returning to “business as usual.” That is a promise I made to myself. I had spent two weeks escaping a cycle of deep frustration, and there’s no way I’d be returning to that.
And I had spent most of September through November working no more than four to six hours per day, as that is what I could tolerate. I couldn’t go back to that, either. The balance I needed, I knew, was somewhere in the middle of extreme hustle and minimum viable.
I had no idea whether I’d carry out the exact things I’d written down in my notebook – after much reflection in Vernon – in the way I had laid them out. But I was at least clear on a few high-level things I wanted to ensure were a part of my strategy going forward.
And so, a quiet December had arrived, and I engaged fully in the activities I had chosen for myself.
Focus on Growth
I spent time developing my Medium strategy in December, and I learned quite a bit from Tom Kuegler. I found more value in his emails than his webinar, though all that tells you is that I’m probably not the target market for his webinars. I still found value in his content.
I knew that if I was going to take Medium seriously in 2021, I’d need to refine my strategy. Publishing daily in 2020 only got me so far. And even when I saw a massive surge in traffic (see November update), it was low-quality traffic that didn’t lead to meaningful results.
Anyway, thanks to Kuegler, I was able to dig up several tactics I knew I’d be able to add to my daily checklist and start actioning right away.
And through this experience, I began to see that success actions can feel weird. They might be a tad uncomfortable. But they do lead to results. And you need to keep doing what leads to results.
Virtual Mastermind Retreat
As with last year, I would have much preferred to have met my mastermind group in Silverthone, CO. Of course, with the pandemic, I knew that there was no way this could happen.
We opted to meet online and do a virtual mastermind retreat over the course of a couple of days. We reflected on the year past and set goals for the year ahead.
Now, don’t misunderstand me – I’m glad we did this, and I got a ton of value out of it. I even got a stronger sense of purpose about my goals for 2021.
But the virtual mastermind paled in comparison to the impact and fun we’d had in person at last year’s retreat. Here’s hoping we get to go back to that in 2021.
As of this publishing, you are already starting to see some of my plans unfold. I’ve reworked the homepage as well as the products page to reflect relevant changes, and in many ways, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I’ll be sharing more in future life updates.
Holiday Celebrations
2020 was an unprecedented year. So, why should holiday celebrations look any different?
Returning to Calgary to my family would have meant getting on a plane (driving would be much too dangerous), and as far as I’m concerned, the implications are a little dubious. That’s just my opinion, but either way, it was proving much more practical to celebrate in Abbotsford and area.
And ultimately, I was able to spend Christmas with a friend who had “all the fixins”, but no one to share it with. We even spent the next day watching Christmas movies.
It still felt quite different than Christmases past, and I even ended up working through the holidays because I had already taken two weeks off in November. I felt mostly indifferent to the transition into the new year, but still found value in acknowledging and celebrating it.
New Music in December 2020
I sketched up a new video game inspired mini song called “In Another Paradise” in December!
I put this together using Hookpad, which is a cool piece of kit.
I plan to turn this sketch into something more in the future.
New Blog Posts in December 2020
December ended up being the perfect month for catching up on old content that still need to be written. Thus why I ended up writing both my October and November life updates in November.
New Podcast Episodes in December 2020
After a relatively quiet month in November, December ended up being a big month for the podcast with five new episodes.
From interview to rants, there’s a bit of everything, and something that might trigger your next breakthrough in music.
Have a listen:
- 214 – Engage Your Fans – with Sarah Beth Perry of With the Band
- 215 – From KISS Fan to Professional Marketing Consultant – with Michael Brandvold
- 216 – Stop Being so ButtHurt over Everything
- 217 – Why Talk About Music?
- 218 – Unfamiliar vs. Uncomfortable
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts >>
New Videos in December 2020
For all of those of you who keep requesting videos… Well, there might be more in the archives than you even realize. Either way, a couple of new videos did go up in November.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel >>
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Medium
Medium continues to be a strong focus for me, especially since I started publishing daily.
Traffic in December was a bit of a rollercoaster ride – there were good days, and not so good days. But most days I saw 25+ views on my articles.
But since I’d started establishing a strategy and routine, I began to see more traction than I had in November. And that was just a small indicator of what was to come next…
Final Thoughts
December was a good month overall. After a two-week break, it was nice to get back into the flow of things.
I’d started to find a bit of a rhythm with content and began to see a new way of approaching Music Entrepreneur HQ and the work I do here.
I hope your December was likewise productive. Keep on rockin’!
- 287 – You’re the CEO of Your Own Music Career – with Emily White - March 24, 2023
- Music Industry News for March 20, 2023 - March 20, 2023
- 286 – Don’t Panic - March 17, 2023
