MusikTopics • September
Keep It Moving “Regardless”
When the support is missing, the numbers are slow, and everything around you seems to say stop, there is still another path forward.
It’s not easy to look at circumstances that stare you in the face and seem to show evidence that your music is not doing anything. When everything appears to be pointing in the direction of giving up, especially when you’re experiencing a lack of support, of course that can be discouraging.
But we also have to acknowledge that when everything is not working out the way we desire, that doesn’t mean giving up is the only path available.
There’s another path.
It’s called “Keep it moving.”
Keeping it moving doesn’t mean you’re unaware of the setbacks, obstacles, and rejections you’re experiencing. It means you’ve learned to stay focused on your destination regardless of what is happening around you, without allowing those circumstances to completely distract you from where you’re trying to go.
A lot of us have gone through life allowing outside noise to control or dictate what we do.
The Outside Noise
What keeps telling you to stop?
Someone kept going anyway.
Many successful people have said, it's easy to start questioning yourself when you face rejection.
There are countless stories from entertainers, athletes, musicians, and business people who experienced rejection, lack of support from family or friends, financial problems, and circumstances that could have convinced them to stop.
Someone kept going anyway.
Hearing those stories can be inspiring because they remind us that we’re not alone. Many successful people had moments when they probably wondered whether they should give up too. The difference is that they continued.
And think about what the world would have missed if they hadn’t.
For example, Johnny Depp originally went to Los Angeles pursuing music. Things didn’t work out according to plan, and at one point he was struggling and sleeping on other people’s floors. His path eventually changed, and he went on to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Jay-Z faced rejection from record labels that didn’t see what he saw in himself. He could have taken those rejections as proof that his music wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, he found another route, released music independently, built his own opportunity, and the rest became history.
There are countless stories like these.
People whose circumstances said stop, but something inside them said keep moving.
That doesn’t mean everybody who refuses to quit is guaranteed fame, millions of dollars, or some huge breakthrough. That’s not really the point.
What This Is Really About
The goal doesn’t have to be fame.
The point is that rejection doesn’t always mean you’re going in the wrong direction.
Those previous examples were not intended to get anyone focused on becoming rich or famous, because that isn’t everyone’s goal. The intention is to inspire you to keep moving regardless of the challenges you face while pursuing whatever musical goal or vision you may have.
Maybe your goal is learning to play a musical instrument, composing a score, mixing sound, writing and recording songs, releasing your own music, becoming an entertainment executive, performing as a full-time musician, or something completely different. Whatever the goal may be, the message is the same: don’t allow the challenges along the way to automatically convince you to stop.
Keep Moving, But Keep Learning
Persistence doesn’t mean repeating what isn’t working.
Lack of support doesn’t always mean your vision is wrong.
A slow season doesn’t automatically mean nothing is happening.
Sometimes the path simply doesn’t look the way you thought it would.
Keeping it moving also doesn’t mean doing the exact same thing over and over when it clearly isn’t working. Sometimes moving forward means learning something new, changing your approach, improving your sound, reaching a different audience, building new relationships, or taking a different route toward the same goal.
The destination may still matter to you even if the road you originally planned has to change.
And sometimes you have to keep creating, keep learning, keep adjusting, and keep moving long enough to discover where that path is actually taking you.
Because giving up makes the decision final.
Moving forward keeps possibilities alive.
So acknowledge the setbacks. Learn from the rejection. Be realistic about what is and isn’t working. Change direction when you need to.
But regardless of the noise around you, don’t automatically allow temporary circumstances to make a permanent decision for you.