This year I have said “No” a lot.
Allow me to explain.
First off, early in the year, I sort kinda put out a piano album, meaning I put up a webpage intended to sell digital copies, and went so far as getting some pretty awesome reviews on the album. I put out a few emails, got a few sales… and soon shelved the whole thing, at least temporarily.
That was over six months ago.
Similarly,I had been working with a music marketing expert early in the year. When I felt that this experience was leading no where because I simply did not feel a match with it, I dropped out of that program.
Then there’s this little matter of the marathon training I embarked on back in July. I thought I intended to run the California International Marathon on December 4th, and on the way to that goal I had many great experiences, which I often chronicled here. In fact, a mere two weeks ago, I still fancied that I was running it! Ultimately, however, I decided not to run the marathon, which on the surface was because I injured myself last month during my 27.5 miler. On a deeper level, I believe I had deep ambivalence about running CIM this time around. The way things worked was probably a blessing in disguise: not only is it a much-appreciated chance to rest and heal from years of intense running, it’s also a chance to re-center myself and find a new equilibrium.
So call me Naysayer! Each of these “No”s was a bridge to a bigger yes. Saying “No” to marketing the album and the marketing course were ways to say yes to my creativity, which has been flourishing in the form of composition and this blog, which were also helped by that that little Charlie Chaplin video that went viral and currently has 4 million views.
Meanwhile, saying no to CIM wasn’t an easy decision.
But no one said the best decisions are easy.