🤏 The TINIEST $35 Book That's Changing My Music Career!

Book #8 was one of the shortest reads so far this year! My latest addition to the 2024 Book Challenge was “Pocket Full of Do” by Chris Do!

For those who have been following along, or if you're just tuning in and want to join the book challenge, you can check out the ongoing list of books I've been exploring here.

Jumping right in, "Pocket Full of Do" caught my eye for a simple reason: every page is like a mini-masterclass in its own right. You could flip it open to any page and find a nugget of wisdom ready for you.

Now in all honesty, I went with the e-book version—partly because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend $35 on the physical copy given how short it is. BUT with that said, I do understand that we as the audience are getting years worth of pro advice from a highly skilled designer and content strategist. If applying even just one of these tips can transform your approach, it's money well spent.

I found that this takes some of the best career and creative strategies I’ve heard before and consolidates everything into one book which I really appreciated. So as always, here are some of the key takeaways from Do and how they can be applied for your music career.

🫂 Deepen Relationships

Chris Do emphasizes the importance of building genuine relationships when you’re trying to build up your career. For musicians, this can translate into two areas: client relationships and audience engagement!

• 🤝 Client Relationships: Interacting with clients—be it directors, producers, or collaborators—should go beyond just surface level. Chris suggests starting by asking detailed questions to understand their ultimate goals, like the emotional impact they want to have in a project or the audience they hope to reach.

• 🎧 Audience Engagement: Engaging with your audience also means, you’re inviting them into your world! Chris Do highlights the power of vulnerability and transparency in building authentic connections. Share the journey behind your music with your listeners. This can be done through behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram, posting about what inspires you, or even sharing the challenges you faced while creating your music. This approach not only humanizes you as an artist but also helps create a genuine audience!

👎 Fail Forward

Now let's discuss another concept Chris Do emphasizes: the importance of embracing failure as a stepping stone to success! This principle, "Fail Forward," is particularly relevant in the unpredictable world of music.

• 🤑 Failure as Tuition for Success: Chris Do views every failure as a lesson, an investment in your future success. For composers, this could mean a poorly received track endless revisions, or a project that lacks communication. Instead of viewing these setbacks as defeats, see them as opportunities to learn and grow. Each misstep brings you closer to your breakthrough moment.

• 📝 Practical Application: Set aside time after a project or performance to reflect on what didn't work and why. Reach out to your team, peers, or mentors for constructive reflections. Take note of these lessons and apply them to your future projects to avoid repeating the same mistakes!

• 📈 A Growth Mindset: Adopting a mindset that actually welcomes failure as part of the creative process will likely increase your risk-taking and innovation. It frees you from the fear of making mistakes and hopefully allows you to explore new musical directions and collabs that could lead to your next big success.

🦸‍♂️ Amplify Your Superpower

Do tries to get readers to identify their unique strengths or 'superpowers'—a blend of their passions and talents. This means we have to authentically reflect inward.

• 🔎 Identify What Resonates in You: Reflect on the aspects of music and writing that energize you the most. Is it the aspect of storytelling, the thrill of live musicians, or maybe the process of going from sketch to score? Your superpower lies where your passions intersect with your skills.

• 🎥 Leverage Your Unique Style or Genre: Consider the elements of your musical style or genre that set you apart. It could be your voice, innovative use of instruments, or a blend of sound design that hasn't been explored yet. Embracing this is what sets you apart in the industry.

• 🏋️ Apply Your Superpower Across Your Career: Now, integrate your superpower into every aspect of your music career. Your superpower is a fantastic tool for helping you in your creative process. It also helps define your “brand”- guiding your marketing strategies, audience engagement, and even the collaborations you pursue!

  • ‼️ Want help identifying your superpower? Take my free Composer Odyssey Index assessment to discover your musical strengths!

Overall, I really enjoyed Chris’s Pocket Full of Do! Worth the $35? It might be! It’s filled with clear and actionable strategies that I think are perfect for any creative. And don’t forget to check out the rest of the books I’ve been reading for my 2024 Book Challenge!