Reaching for “unrealistic” goals

I bought a copy of “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss a few years ago and never read past the introduction until a few days ago, and it’s made me think of my life as a composer in a different light.

Before you jump to conclusions, I’m not trying to turn into a composer who only composes four hours a week or anything. It’s more that I’d just like to get the business side of things automated and delegated a little more. But that’s not what this blog post is about.

The book talks about setting what Ferriss calls “unrealistic goals”. Goals so audacious that hardly anyone is trying to achieve them, while their next door neighbors, the “realistic goals” are being attempted by everyone, so the competition is much more fierce.

Think of it this way. A “realistic” goal could be like going fishing on a crowded fishing pier in the Gulf of Mexico, where the railings are lined with anglers jockeying for the best spots. An “unrealistic” goal might be like leaving the pier behind and chartering a boat to go far out into the gulf, away from everyone. Sure it’s more expensive, takes more planning, and you need different equipment, but once you take care of the leg work, the whole ocean is at your disposal. There are less lines in the water around your boat, so maybe there is a better chance that the big fish out there will choose your line, instead of the hundreds of different lines being cast from the pier.

Look, I know that’s not the perfect analogy, but it’s close enough. I could sit here an try to think of a better example, but I’d rather finish this blog and get back to composing, so it will have to do.

So lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve become lazy with my composing. I write when I’m commissioned and spend an inordinate amount of time checking my website analytics, then I stress out about getting a new round of score covers finished so that I can finally send my music to retailers. I look up at the end of the day and maybe I’ve written some music, maybe I’ve just waited for ideas to strike, maybe I sat around playing Animal Crossing. But for the past year or so I’ve felt like I’m not doing enough. I’ve felt like a fake. A composer who hardly composes. Then I started reading this book and felt that tickle of excitement I haven’t felt in quite a while.

That’s another thing Tim says in his book. You shouldn't ask “what do you want to do?” or “what are your goals?”. Those are both too vague. You need to dig deeper, to the essence of what people are actually asking when they pose those questions.

“What Excites You?”

When I got to that part of the book I sat the book down and thought for a little while, trying to think of what excited me. It wasn’t my website (which I really appreciate you dropping by, by the way. thank you!). It wasn’t worrying about selling my music. It certainly wasn’t scrolling endlessly through social media, another task that takes far too much of my time. No. The thing that excites me is writing music and having people perform it.

I’ve been grateful to have a handful of performances of my music over the last few years, but it’s been nothing like that first year that I was a “full time composer”. I reached out online and had about twenty different performances that year around Arkansas. I had some great friends who were willing to take a chance on my music. It felt magical. I was doing it! I was writing music and people were playing it. And even though I hardly made a dime that year, I wrote music that I was proud of.

Since that first year I don’t know if I’ve even had a total of twenty performances of my music. (Not counting the few marching shows I’ve written which received many performances over the course of a season) What changed? I guess I got lazy about promoting myself. I accepted commissions (working super hard on them, of course) and wrote music that I am beyond proud of. I delivered the pieces to the commissioning groups, helped in whatever way I could to get the piece dialed in for them, the premiere would happen, sometimes I was able to attend, sometimes I wasn’t, then I’d do final edits to the piece and add it to my website and wait for people to find it.

I’ve been very fortunate and grateful to have a handful of friends buy some of my music, and even a few new friends who have found me randomly through my social media or my YouTube channel. But I need to reach for more.

So, what does this have to do with “unrealistic goals”? Well, after reading an especially inspiring passage, I put the book down for a bit and closed my eyes. I asked myself what an unrealistic goal was that excited me. It had to be music based, but not just writing a piece. I’ve written a ton of music over the years. No, this had to be about having my music played.

I thought about approaching some big name institutions to play my music, but that wasn’t right. How was that unrealistic? How was that audacious? Then a thought struck me….

What if I wrote a piece of music and tried to get it played in all 50 states before the end of 2022?

In a fervor of excitement (just what Tim Ferriss was hoping for, I’d like to think), I ran to my computer and typed up a poster to hang above my desk.

Right after I taped the poster up on my wall, the worry and doubt started to creep in.

“This isn’t an original thought”….”How are you going to find someone in Alaska"?”…”You’re gonna have to cold email so many people.”…”No one even knows who you are.”…”But, 2022 is like 2 weeks away and you haven’t even started writing it yet.”

As for that last one, that’s kind of what makes it audacious, right? Unrealistic to be sure! But on that subject, I’ve realized that I’m the sort of person who loves a deadline. Give me two years to write something and it will take me two years, but give me two weeks and I’ll get it done with a few days to spare.

Speaking of quick turnarounds, I’ve been attempting to write a novel for the past 10 or 15 years. Every November I participate in NaNoWriMo, which is a challenge where authors around the globe try to start on November 1st with nothing and write 50,000 words over the course of the month. Well this past November I succeeded for the first time ever! I wrote a novel in 18 days! So maybe writing a piece quick enough that I still have time to get it out to people to start learning by the end of January or February is right up my alley!

So anyway, I’ve got an unrealistic goal, and it excites me! There are still so many details to work out. Should it be a consortium or just a piece I write on spec? Should I let multiple organizations from a state participate, or just one? What ensemble should I write for? Concert band or percussion ensemble? Or something else? How am I going to get the word out?

But despite all the fears of not pulling it off, or no-one caring, I’m still excited by it. I’m excited about the prospect of meeting people who will perform my music. I’m excited by the prospect of how uncomfortable it will make me when I have to reach out to so many people. I’m excited about writing this piece of music. And I’m excited that it all starts in a few weeks.

On January 1, 2022 (01-01-2022) I will start composing. My goal is to be finished with the piece by February 2nd or 22nd, 2022 (02-02-2022, or 02-22-2022) just because I like the all the “2’s”. After all, in the immortal words of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, “What’s life without whimsy”.

So I hope you’ll follow along with my journey, and if you happen to be a director of a concert band or percussion ensemble, maybe you’ll consider participating. (I really need to decide the ensemble I’ll be writing for, don’t I! haha) And if you’re from outside the 50 United States of America, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate. For this to go international would be even more exciting & audacious, and in my opinion, that makes it even better.

Fill out the form below to stay informed. Or you can DM me on Twitter. And I’m sure I’ll post some videos on my YouTube as well.

And if you know anyone in other states that you think might be interested, please, please, pass this along to them!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and possibly pass along this post. I’m excited to get started.

Anybody know anyone in Wyoming?

-Drew