Latest / 52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast / Turning Pro

Transcript

Turning Pro · 52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast

• 0:30
  Speaker 1: But if you're wondering why maybe you feel stuck on the amateur treadmill and wondering why, why you haven't been able to turn the corner into turning pro then reflect on the things we talked about today.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: I imagine there are a few things which you can adjust right now.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Right now, you can make a change.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: What is happening, everybody?
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: And welcome back to another episode of the 52Q's podcast, a weekly podcast dedicated to all things production and library music where we talk about industry topics and take deep dives into the different aspects of being a working production music composer.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: My name is Dave Croff and I'm a professional composer and educator with placements ranging from the NFL to Food Network, and I've spent the last 22 years teaching music to career-minded creators just like you.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: So if this is your first time here, welcome.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Today's episode is made possible thanks to the support of the family, friends and patron subscribers of 52Q's, who help keep everything running.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: We are 100% community supported.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: So if you like what I do here, don't thank me, thank them.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: But if you want to learn more about how you can help support 52Q's while also unlocking exclusive subscriber perks like live streams, workshops, zoom, coaching sessions and a ton more, be sure to click on the links in the description for more information.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: So today I want to talk about Turning Pro, turning the corner from being a hobbyist, being an amateur and pushing into production music or really any creative arts as a career.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: And before we get started, I want to tell you that it's okay if you just want to do this as a hobby.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: I want to give you permission.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Before we even get into anything else.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I want to give you permission to just explore composing music, making beats, writing songs, doing production music.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: It's okay.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: You don't have to turn every creative outlet into a career.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: And I'm telling myself this, I think as much as I'm telling you.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: I'm telling myself this because I have a habit of learning something and then like, okay, how can I monetize this?
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: How can I make this into something that I can make some money with?
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Does every new creative thing you try have to become a hustle?
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: And I don't necessarily think so.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: So before we get started and before I encourage you about turning the corner from hobby and amateur to professional, I just want to give you permission to be okay with that and be okay with it possibly taking a long time getting from hobby to professional.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Not everybody does this full-time professionally.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Not everybody can, not everybody has the creative stamina for it, not everybody has the financial stamina for it.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: And when you put all that pressure on yourself it can really rob you of the joy of just creating music.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: So it's okay if this is just a hobby.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: You're allowed to just enjoy the thing for the sake of enjoying the thing.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: And if you've bought a new computer and plug-ins and maybe you're a patron, subscriber or a family member or whatever, and this is how you're doing this, right, you're making production music instead of fixing up old motorcycles or painting models, that's okay, that's totally.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: It's probably cheaper.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: It's probably cheaper to buy new plug-ins than it is to fix up old Volkswagen's or something like that.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: I guess I don't know, I've never actually fixed up an old Volkswagen, but I just want to say it's totally okay.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: But if you do want to turn that corner, I want to talk to you about some things which you can do to help transition from hobbyist, amateur to pro and I'm taking this phrase turning pro specifically from Stephen Pressfield, who was the author of, among other things, the Legend of Bagger Vance but the War of Art, which is a fantastic book I highly recommend.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: We'll have a link to that book in the description and in the show notes.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: But one of his follow-up books is called Turning Pro and this book explores the concept of transitioning from amateur to professional and it's focused just on creative arts, but it can also be used really in any aspect of life.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: So let's first start by kind of defining some of the things that get in the way of professionals or from going professional.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: So we're going to first say amateurs versus professionals.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Amateurs the thing that's keeping you from pressing into that next professional level.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Amateurs are often dogged by procrastination, self-doubt and what Stephen Pressfield calls in his book War of Art, resistance.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: That is, resistance to doing the necessary work, because it does take work, it takes discipline, and so if you are resistant to those things with procrastination, self-doubt, those are the things that get in the way of pushing into the next version of yourself.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: That's what he talks about in War of Art.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Amateurs are, I don't want to say, defeated by that, but amateurs allow resistance to be the guiding force where professionals and it's not that professionals don't encounter these things.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Professionals are just as much procrastination driven.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: I know I am good Lord.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Self-doubt, imposter syndrome, all these things happen.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: However, professionals are committed, they're disciplined, they're dedicated to their craft and it's that discipline that helps define the professional versus the amateur.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: The amateur allows resistance to stop them and professionals embrace resistance.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Recognize that this internal force preventing you from doing your best work while the enemy of the professional.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: It has to be overcome that the only way that you are going to achieve the success that you're wanting professionally is to learn to dance with resistance, because it happens to everybody.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Again, check out the War of Art.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: That whole book is about identifying resistance and overcoming resistance.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: But professionals have figured out how to push through that.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: They have to.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Resistance will dog your output.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: A resistance will dog your motivation.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Resistance gets all in the way of just doing the things you need to do.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: Resistance stops that from happening, and so professionals, like I said, have figured out how to overcome and to achieve those things.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Not saying it's easy, but it's simple, it's straightforward and often it's just committing to this being important enough that I'm just gonna sit down and get in the studio, get in the chair and start.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Steven Pressfield has another book called Doing the Work, or it might be called Do the Work, yeah, where it's just you just gotta do the work, I find resistance.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: And where I'm finding resistance in procrastination right now is that thing right there guitar.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: I've been really enjoying learning guitar, like really learning guitar.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: I've got a podcast episode coming up about it and how learning guitar is super humbling and it's anyway.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: That's another podcast topic.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: But instead of working, I'm like, okay, let's look at another fingering for a pentatonic box.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Do I need to be doing that or do I need to be doing the work?
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: It's not that that's not important, super fulfilling, but is it a point of resistance?
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: It really is the enemy of the professional, all right.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Next, professionals have a turning point.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Professionals have a point where they make a conscious decision to turn pro, and I think that's okay and that's where the hobbyist and the amateur might feel comfortable being like you know what?
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I don't need to be pro.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: I enjoy writing fiction.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: I have a book, a novel, that I've been banging around for two or three years, four years Wow, it's been longer than that for several years and I started getting into that rabbit hole of monetizing and I'm gonna sell it, I'm gonna be a best-selling author and kindle and market your book and blah, blah, blah.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: But I stopped myself and I made a conscious decision not to turn pro as an author, like writing sci-fi and fantasy.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: But if you do want to turn pro and you have decided that, I am going to make a conscious decision to go from hobbyist amateur, I'm gonna amateur that word feels a little pejorative so I'm gonna say hobbyist, because writing fiction is a hobby for me.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: It's a hobby, right, which is fine, and I'm gonna study it and I'm gonna read books and I'm gonna watch seminars and YouTube videos on it.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: But I don't want to turn pro as an author, so it's a hobby.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: But if you want to turn pro as a composer, specifically a production music composer, then there needs to be a mental shift where you say to yourself, either through a journal or maybe to your face in the mirror, or to a loved one who can support you and come alongside you but say there needs to be a mental shift where you are committing to the chosen path to turning pro and all the things that need to go into it.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, it takes responsibility.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: It's a big decision and it can ebb and flow.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: It's not like you're not letting anybody down.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: If it doesn't happen, it's totally okay.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: But a professional takes responsibility for their actions and the outcomes, whereas a hobbyist doesn't necessarily have to, it's just a hobby.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: I haven't written a new chapter in my sci-fi book, probably in nearly a year, and that's okay, it's all right.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: But if I go a year without writing a cue, but I'm trying to be a professional as a composer, then that's not okay.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: That's not me taking responsibility.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: So a professional takes responsibility for those outcomes and says I'm going to have the discipline, I'm going to make a conscious decision and I'm going to shift my thinking and committing fully to that chosen path.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Now, what committing means could be different for different people.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: For some people, committing to Turning Pro is signing up for 52Q subscription.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: For some people it's joining Jesse's group over at, you know, sync my Music.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: For some people it's going to college.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: For some people it's buying new plugins.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: For some folks it's taking lessons in person.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: It's taking responsibility.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: For other folks, it's committing to getting up early.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: I'm going to get up early, or I'm going to put everything on the calendar, or I'm going to start journaling, or I'm going to really manage my to-do lists.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: That's what, for me at least, that's what taking responsibility really looks like and that's what it feels like.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: And as soon as I stop doing those things, I find that I don't feel focused and I'm allowing my mental shift to shift out of being a professional here to treating it like a hobby.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: And that's where it's dangerous when you start treating the thing that you're trying to be professional in as a hobby.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: Hmm, I think that's what defines amateur.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: I'm having this thought for the first time.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Treating a professional career as if it were a hobby, and the level of discipline and responsibility, both personally and vocationally, that's what makes an amateur In the pejorative sense of the term.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: Hmm, I'm going to have to sit with that.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: I'm going to have to think on that, because that might help me understand that.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: All right, what else separates a professional from a hobbyist?
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: A professional continuously works to improve their skills.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Professionals always look to learn more, expanding their knowledge, improving their mindset.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Professionals are always, always, always improving.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: That's part of what the guitar thing for me is.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: Where it gets bad is when I do it.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Where it goes to the bad place, I should say, is when I do it instead of the things I should be doing over here.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: That's where it kind of gets to the unbalanced.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say bad, it's just a little out of balance watching videos on chord scales instead of doing deliverables.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: But that's why I'm learning guitar.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: You know, I have this gorgeous, you know Fender Strat on my wall in the background of every shot and I don't know how to really play it.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: I mean, I could do, I can fake it, but I haven't really learned how to play it and it's something I've always wanted to play and I can't wait to to put that in some cues.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: That's going to be really great.
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: So I'm always looking to expand.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: What it doesn't necessarily mean is always expanding plugins.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: You know I'd be lying if I said I haven't spent A non zero amount of time researching other guitars, and part of this is my hoarding mentality and just how it's like.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Like, do I really need a telecaster?
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: I think I do, but I need it to sound more like a less Paul, so maybe a double humbucker.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I wonder I don't need that.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: I'm telling myself, I'm telling you, I'm telling Shannon you know how about I learned to play the guitar I have instead of buying another guitar.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: How about that?
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: But I'm still always looking to learn, expand my knowledge, expand my skill set, expand my mindset, but it's not always going to be perfect.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Aren't always going to work out.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: You're going to try some things and fail.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: I've hit a wall with my guitar stuff and what I feel like I can absorb through YouTube videos.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: So this week I have my first I don't want to say well, my first ever guitar lesson.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Have a friend of mine, amazing guitarist, who I've actually music directed in a musical before, but he's an amazing jazz and blues guitarist.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: He's coming over here.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: We're coworkers at full sale.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: He's coming over here and we're going to have a guitar lesson.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: I've never had a guitar lesson in my life and it's been 20 years no, no, not long, probably 15 years since I've had a sit down music lesson with with somebody, like in person.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: The last one was a drum set lesson.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited, I'm a little nervous, but I recognize that I'm not getting where I need it to be.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: I'm hitting these roadblocks and instead of being frustrated by it, I see it as an opportunity.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: Hey, I can grow here.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Or if I get some returns, or if I get some feedback from a library, from a submission, I mean each of these failures and setbacks, these are opportunities for growth and professionals embrace those.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Not only do professionals expect it, but we have to embrace these failures and setbacks as opportunities for growth.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: That's.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: That's what you have to do if you want to turn pro hobbyists, because it's a hobby.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: If you have failure, it's no big deal.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: If I publish a book out on Kindle and it only sells 10 copies, cool, no big deal, it's a hobby.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: But the amateur mindset lets that inordinately stick on them.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: The easier way, easier said than done.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: I think I mentioned this in a previous episode.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: You know the boxer mentality.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: You know the amateur goes into the boxing ring trying not to get hit, which I think is is.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: It's a fool's quest.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: If you're a boxer, you can't get into a boxing ring expecting not to get hit.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: You're going to get hit.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: The professional boxer knows how to roll with the punches, absorb the punches, because their goal is to hit.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Their goal is to land a hit, not avoid getting hit.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: And so the professional embraces those failures, embraces the setbacks.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Getting punched in the face, yeah, I'd say that's a setback, but it's also an opportunity to learn and opportunity of growth.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: And a lot of that comes through habit and discipline.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: And so the professional has cultivated consistent daily practice, consistent routine.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: That's essential for any type of sustained success.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: You can have short success.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: It's like dieting, I mean you can have short term gains.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: You can lose some water weight, you know.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: You can drop 10 or 15 pounds by cutting anything with flavor out of your life or exercising three hours a day.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: You can do that and have short term gains.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: But what you can't have is sustained success, and professionals have long term, sustained outlooks in their career.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: They're not thinking next month, they're not thinking next year, they're thinking five, 10, 20, 30 years, and that sustainability comes through practice and routine.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: For me, routine is absolutely, unquestionably vital and I know it.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: I know when I'm out of my routine that things go sideways.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: They always go sideways.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: For example, last Monday was Labor Day here in the US and I took the day off.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: I had the day off from full sale.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: I had the day off from, you know, our weekly Zoom office hours with the family, subscribers and everything, and I was.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: It might as well have been like a Saturday, except that I had client things do because I was out of my routine and it knocked off the whole day.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: It actually knocked off the whole week.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: I had a really tough time all week long playing catch up because I had client things do.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: That I didn't do.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: It created a domino effect that now I'm doing things in the place of other things, which knock things further down.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: So it was like this this, this train, car pile up and it was super frustrating.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: And it wasn't until the following Monday that I felt really caught up.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: That's because I slipped out of my routine.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Now the moral of the story here isn't don't take vacations.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: The moral of the story is, if you have a vacation day, you've got to plan for where you're going to make up that work.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: But having a routine for me it's mission critical.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: What daily practice?
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Whether it's writing music, whether it's practicing music, I've committed to practicing guitar at least 30 minutes a day, if for anything, just so my calluses stay, stay, stay nice and tough.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: If I let it go a couple of days and it starts hurting and I've got a lesson coming up and I can't, you know, 20 minutes into the lesson, I can't fret anything because my fingers hurt, and so you know.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: I've talked on the podcast about how I don't write music every day, but I am in music every day.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Whether I'm creating music, whether I'm doing deliverables, whether I'm doing reference work, whether I am studying, whether I'm watching a video on how to mix better or EQ better.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: I am in music is in my brain Every single day, and that actually includes the weekends, even though I don't come into the studio in the weekends.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm totally watching videos and Linda tutorials, and here lately I've been bringing the guitar downstairs and practicing it while watching Shannon, and I just finished an epic rewatch of Golden Girls, including Golden Palace, which parenthetically features a very young and very funny Don Cheadle.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: I wasn't expecting that, anyway, rabbit trail.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: But I am in music, I'm thinking of music every single day and I think I think that's vital in order to turn pro.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: I think you have to do it.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: Hobbyists not necessarily.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: I don't remember the last time I did anything with my book it's been several months.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: I certainly don't think about it every day.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: That's a hobbyist.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: The amateur doesn't think about it, even though they have committed and want the end results of a professional.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: So we've talked a lot about resistance.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about absorbing and expecting setbacks, and with all of that comes the courage to push through and recognize that this well, fear, right, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of missing deadlines that's part of it.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: It's common, it's a companion for you on your journey to become a professional.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: It's the punch in the face in the boxing ring.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: I don't think boxers want to get punched in the face.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: It doesn't feel good, it hurts.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: I would like to get punched in the face less, right.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: But fear is, recognizing that that's going to be part of it.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: But yet having the courage to face and overcome these fears, that's where the professional is different.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Having the courage to face the fears and overcome them.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: Having the courage to step in the ring knowing full well you're going to get punched in the face.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Wanting to get punched in the face less and yet still getting in the ring because you're going to land more blows than you take.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: This is all a professional mindset.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: That's what we're talking about here, right?
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: It's taking ownership of all of these things.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: It's embracing adversity.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: It's pursuing the career.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: It's pursuing and dedicating yourself to the discipline of having specific purpose, knowing that setbacks are going to happen.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: That's all about your mindset.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: That's what really separates the professional.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: If you're looking to turn pro, to change from hobbyist through amateur into pro, then you've got to have that mindset, taking ownership of these things.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: A few more things that I think get in the way of us wanting to turn.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: Pro.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: One is amateurs really.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: They disproportionately and overly seek external validation, meaning that they disproportionately look for other people to tell them you're great, you're doing it.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: This is different from learning and sitting with somebody, having a mentor and everything, but always requiring that external validation and super quick rewards.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: This is what's super frustrating in the world of production music submitting up to libraries, waiting to hear back from them and hitting refresh in your email just to see if anybody I get it.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Man, you know I'm talking to myself as much as you.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: But the amateur depends on that external validation and it's that external validation that motivates them.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: That's amateur thinking, because the hobbyist, much like the professional, finds satisfaction in doing the work itself.
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Like you should enjoy composing more than you enjoy having composed While getting placements, having tracks finished, seeing royalty Q sheets, tune set.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Those are great and are motivating, but they shouldn't necessarily be the only form of motivation or validation.
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: The work itself, doing the work.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: You should be getting a ton of satisfaction from that.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: I dare say the most satisfaction because the rewards and the efforts, or the rewards of your efforts, all the time that you've invested in it.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: It may not come right away and if you're depending on external validation and quick rewards.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Then when those rewards don't come quickly, you think for your failure.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: Imposter syndrome and that goes into all of those things pushes us into amateur thinking, amateur brain.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: But professionals, they understand that the rewards of their efforts aren't going to come immediately, because professionals are patient.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: To be professional requires patience along with persistence.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: You can't give up.
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: You can't give up.
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: That's what's going to separate you.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: This is tough.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: This is tough on the early part of your career, when you haven't got any Ws in the column, you are your O in 30.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: You feel like what is it the team that always plays the Harlem Globetrotters?
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: Is it the generals?
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: I think the generals.
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: They always lose and you feel like that because you're not getting anywhere and you just want to throw your hands up.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: This is where we have to lean on the work itself, sustaining us while we are doing all those other things in realizing a career and being able to turn pro.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: And then a couple of last things Recognizing that a professional strives to become the best version of themselves.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: Self-actualization, I think, is what Steven Pressfield calls it in his book Fulfilling the best possible version of yourself, fulfilling your potential.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: I think that everybody has potential, and I think the only thing that separates successful composers is a part of luck, a part of networking, a part of just time, but I think it's persistence, it's realizing that I am every day sitting down trying to become the best version of myself, looking to fulfill the potential and I believe you know I say this at the end of every episode I believe that the universe has amazing plans for you.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: I believe that you are a bottomless well of potential that is only held back by your persistence and your patience.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: You know, because this is all part of our journey and everybody's journey is different, but everybody is still going to face challenges and everybody is still working towards transforming themselves into the true versions of themselves, and that really only happens through challenges.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: The best educator is often failure.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: And so if we were to compare this to the Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, right where you start out one way you go through some challenges, you overcome an obstacle and you return home changed.
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: That's the hero's journey Essentially take a hero, put the hero up a tree, throw rocks at your hero, the hero comes down, the hero returns home changed.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: That's essentially the Joseph Campbell's hero's journey and the only way that we transform ultimately into the true version of ourselves is through those challenges, through the trials, through the adventures that happen all along the way the ups and downs, the learning guitar, the getting on, this fear.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: The taxi returns to taxi forwards, the onscreen placements, the complete lack of onscreen placements.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Yep, that's what's going to help us turn pro.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: I'll reiterate you don't have to turn pro.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: You can be an accomplished chef and just like making production music, even if you just make a little bit of money on the side.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: You just want to make some air, get some royalties.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a few bucks, but, man, I'm doing it because I want my music on TV, not I'm looking to pay my mortgage, which is important.
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: Right, paying your bills is super important, but if you want to be a hobbyist, that's fine.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: I welcome you among us, please.
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: I will pour into somebody who has no grand, lofty vision of becoming a pro.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: I'm going to pour into them as much as somebody who is doing it full time.
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: But if you're wondering why maybe you feel stuck on the amateur treadmill and wondering why you haven't been able to turn the corner into turning pro, then reflect on the things we talked about today.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: I imagine there are a few things which you can adjust right now.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: Right now, you can make a change.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: You don't have to go buy anything, you don't have to research, to do playlists or anything Nope Like with dieting, right, the best time to start a diet was yesterday.
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: The second best time to start a diet or an exercise regimen or turning pro is now.
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: The worst time to do that is tomorrow.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: But what about you?
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: What are your thoughts?
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: I would love to hear from you.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: I would love to hear your thoughts on hey, are you a hobbyist and you just enjoy making cues?
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: That's fine.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: Please let me know in the comments.
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: I would love to hear from you.
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: I do read all of those and I make every effort to respond, but I would love to hear from you.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: Again, a huge word of thanks to the family, friends and patron subscribers of 52Qs, who really do help keep the whole community the channel.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: It keeps this possible.
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: I'm not looking to get a huge income from YouTube views and all of that kind of stuff.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: The ability to do this really comes through their support.
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: If you want to join us, head over to 52Qscom.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: If you want to join us, you can join the community for free.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: I'd love to have you as well, but that's going to do it for me today.
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: You definitely want to tune in next week where I welcome Venus Theory.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: Cameron Gorham joins me from Venus Theory and we talk all about sound design, growing your career, creating sample packs and what's going on with YouTube and their algorithm.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: We're going to talk with Cameron from Venus Theory next week, but I hope that you had a good week this week and I look forward to seeing you next time.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: And just remember everybody that I know, trust and have the fullest confidence that the universe yes, the universe has amazing plans just for you.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: Until next time, peace.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: The 52Qs podcast is copyrighted 2023 at 18 Studios.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: All rights reserved.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: The music played on the podcast is copyrighted to their respective owners and is used with permission and for educational purposes only.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: For more information and including joining the community and submitting your cue for consideration on the podcast, head over to 52Qscom.