Latest / 52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast / What Should You Look for in a Mentor?

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What Should You Look for in a Mentor? · 52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast

• 0:30
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for inspiration, if you're looking for motivation, then getting a mentor or a coach could be key to unlocking the next phase of your career.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: So, if you're wanting guidance and feedback, if you're wanting somebody to listen to your cues and tell you how to improve them, if you're looking for somebody who is just a future version of you, that can offer career advice, connect you with other networking opportunities on top of telling you about your mix and helping you in the DAW, all while keeping you inspired to write, if this sounds like you, then chances are you are looking for a mentor.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: What is happening, everybody?
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: And welcome back to another episode of the 52 cues podcast, your weekly insight into all things production and library music.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Whether you're simply curious about the sync industry, learning to write better cues, or maybe you're ready to pitch to publishers, I promise you you're in the right place.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: My name is Dave Croft and it is so good to be with you today.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: And if you find this video helpful, then why don't you give it a thumbs up here on YouTube or a five star review in your podcast tab?
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: And please be sure to subscribe, because I talk about library music every single week.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Today's episode wouldn't be possible without the incredible support of our members, subscribers at 52 cues, who not only keep the community alive and thriving, but as members they also get access to extra features like workshops, live streams, office hours, cue breakdowns, zoom feedback sessions, hundreds of hours of video archives and opportunities to submit to real music library.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Maybe this is you, or maybe you're feeling stuck and finally ready to take your sync career to the next level.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Then head over to 52 cuescom.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: It's free to join and membership start at around four bucks a month.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Just a quick programming note here it's 2024, week one.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Welcome everybody, welcome to 2024.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Hope you had a fantastic new year and little changing up the format, just a little bit.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: One of the things that I did early on in the YouTube channel and in the vlog was a weekly check in where I would just kind of talk about kind of what I was up to professionally and then I would play one of my cues and then we would have a topic and I want to return to that.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: So we're going to start out first by just checking in what am I working on, what's kind of happening in my world and my career?
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that will tie into the topic, sometimes not, and then I want to play my cue for Expedition 52.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: More on that here in a second, and then our normal topic.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Of course we're going to have timestamps and everything in the description below, so if you want to skip ahead then you are free to do that.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: So my weekly check in it's week one 2024.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: And I don't know about you, but I completely unplugged over the holidays and took about a week and a half to two weeks off.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Yesterday was my first time in the studio in almost two weeks and I have to do that, and Shannon and I have to do that because you know we burn the candle on both ends all throughout the year and we have these little pockets of time off usually lining up with my full sale teaching schedule.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: So we're going to have a spring break, we have a little break around Thanksgiving and then New Year's and Christmas we have a big chunky break, and it just so happened that this year there was a three week break between classes at full sale and so have had kind of a more extended break and I've spent the last couple of days just just kind of getting back up to speed, answering emails, responding back to two fellow composers, folks who I have got interviews coming up with or libraries where we've said, hey, let's, let's connect on the other side of the holidays.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Well, now it's the other side of the holidays, so getting back into the swing of those things.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Had my first coaching session in almost two weeks yesterday was a little bit rusty on that, but just getting back into the swing of things and have already written my first cue of the year.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: And that brings us to our Expedition 52 check in.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: And just as a reminder, expedition 52 is a year long composer question.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: There's a year long composer quest going on over at 52 cues, where participants called the climbers submit one cue per week for the entire year and not only do they write a new cue that week, they post the cue and then post feedback to somebody else's cue.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: You have to do that in order to make it to the next stage or to get the prizes for for joining the composer quest and we've got a lot of folks already jumping in tons of really, really great feedback.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Now we will keep having feedback over in our normal what Are you Writing posts, but the Expedition 52 just kind of gamifies it a little bit and, like I said, it's not too late to join.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Signups will be available for the next couple of weeks, Then after that, then we're going up the mountain and we would love to have you.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: There are four stages base camp to icefall, to ridge, to the summit that wrap up the year.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: So that's what's happening over in Expedition 52.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: And the cues that I wrote this week is called Shanghai and Dry, and this is a cue that I am writing for a publisher looking for, and we're putting an album together of cinematic world cues world meaning kind of like non-western or so, and so I'm actually doing three world albums for this publisher.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: One is a more traditional world album, another one is a world dramedy album, which are dramedy cues fused with world instruments.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: And then this one, this album is a cinematic world album, which means tension cues, tasking cues, more kind of uplifting cues, fused with world instruments.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: And in this one, this is a tension cue and this features traditional Chinese instruments like air who, goujiang, chinese gongs, fused with tension elements, synth pulses and pads.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: And so we are going to take a listen to Shanghai and Dry and then we will jump into this week's topic on the other side you, you, you, you.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: That was Shang Hai and dry.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: My week one expedition 52 Submission is still not too late for you to join us with love to have you over there.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Head over to expedition 52 calm and sign up.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Like I said, sign ups will be available for the next couple of weeks or so and if you want to see a complete breakdown of this queue, including instrument choices, mix and master and all of that the production process, then that is available tomorrow for our Friends and family subscribers, because I will be doing a breakdown of each one of my expedition 52 queues throughout the entire year.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Here in the first week of the year there's a lot of really good energy about making Changes, maybe changes We've been putting off, things that we're wanting to do.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: It could be Starting that journal, it could be waking up earlier, it could be eating better, maybe you go into the gym or or whatever.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: You know your resolutions, but for many of us in the creative industries we look to improve ourselves, either improve our situation, our career, our skill set or whatever, and that often comes in the form of education.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: It could be Signing up for a local class, it could be subscribing to a community, like 52 queues and in everything we offer over there, but for many folks it involves connecting with a coach or a Mentor, and so that's what I want to talk about today.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: I want to talk about first what what mentors offer and what you should look out for in a good mentor or a coach and I am using those terms, some somewhat interchangeably.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: So what?
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: What do mentors offer?
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: Well, fundamentally, guidance and feedback.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: A good mentor should provide Personalized feedback on your cues, helping you refine your styles and your technique.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: They are helping you improve the actual craft of composition.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: A good mentor will listen to your cues, be able to give you detailed advice on how to improve those.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: It could be in the form of you know, here's what I would do, or you're making an error, or whatever, but a good mentor will give you that guidance and the feedback, and it's not just limited to the cues themselves.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: A Good mentor can also give you career advice, give you insights into you know how to navigate this industry, how to market yourself, how how to pitch to to libraries, often drawing on their own experiences.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: You know, one of the things that that I like to tell my students or my mentees is I'm no better than you, I'm just a future version of you, and so, finding a mentor, that that is when you want to be and in doing that, they can Show you up the mountain.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: That's why expedition 52 is called expedition 52 and and the host, me and Shannon we call ourselves Sherpas Because we're, we're, we've been up the mountain and we're just helping you get there and we've just walked the path a couple more times maybe than you have.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: And so, giving you career advice, what things to watch out for, think the pitfalls that you should avoid don't do this, because I did it and this is what happened and so a good coach and a good mentor can advise you on that.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: No, obviously, on top of the career advice, they also will help you with your technical skills, you know, helping you improve your mix, your master music theory stuff, daw proficiency, production techniques, often from their perspective, and what has worked for them.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: Like I know that I am not the world's most talented mixing engineer and I've never claimed to be, most of what I've learned in the mixing space has come through on the job training, just things that I tried, things that work, things that didn't work, through a lot of feedback from my mentor, a composer that came alongside me and helped me along the way, and it was a lot of back and forth, tons of trial and error, and I am learned from him and he learned by doing trial and error and so giving you the technical skills based on their experience and allowing you to Use that and kind of I don't want to say this kind of turn it into what works for you, like my technique works for me and works for my cues, I will show it to you, but I don't claim to have all the answers and and I would hope that you would find a Version of my technique that can incorporate.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: You can incorporate and works best for for your process.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: That's the hope at least, but a good mentor will, will help you through the technical side of things.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: A good mentor Will help you connect with networking opportunities, often on piggybacking off of the career advice that they, that they offered you.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Right, because mentors often have established networks and can help connect you with industry pros and and help you open doors.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: It could be a connection, it could be an email handoff.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: One of the things that we're doing Over in the 52 cues family is the briefing room, which is a direct result of my relationships with my libraries and wanting to connect Composers with libraries and and being the mentor role in that.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: And so a good mentor and a good coach, you know, can help open some of those doors.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Can't make any promises, but they can at least get the ball rolling.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: They can at least get that ball rolling.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: And the last reason you might need a coach or a mentor is inspiration and motivation, because when you're working with somebody who is where you want to be, is a future version of you, then they can help push you to to challenge yourself so that you can grow Into the composer you want to be, based off of where you see them.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: And again, they're not perfect, they're they're.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: They're still climbing.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I am still ascending my own mountain of my career, but what I'm doing is I'm turning around and helping somebody up behind me, not pulling the ladder up behind me.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: And so If you're looking for inspiration, if you're looking for motivation, then getting a mentor or a coach Could be key to unlocking the next phase of your career.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: So if you're wanting guidance and feedback, if you're wanting somebody to listen to your cues and tell you how to improve them, if you're looking for somebody who is just a future version of you, that can offer career advice, connect you with other networking opportunities on top of telling you about your mix and helping you in the DAW, all while Keeping you inspired to write.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: If this sounds like you, then chances are you are looking for a mentor.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: You're looking for a coach.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: So, now that we've kind of run down for why do you need a mentor, let's talk about some things to look out for in a mentor, because there are a lot of folks out there.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: Then again, I'm not the only game in town.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: I don't.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: I'm not for everybody.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: It's totally okay.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: If I don't resonate with you, that's completely okay.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: But, to be honest, there are a lot of courses.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of folks on YouTube.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of you know people who will, will add you to their email list and they might have a pop-up course or whatever.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: And I'm not I'm not really talking about anybody I've had on the show here before.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: I want to give you five things to look out for when you are wanting to start a mentoring or a coaching relationship with someone.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: These are just some things to look out for in a coach.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: And first, like I said, a good mentor will be a future version of you.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: So look for a mentor with relevant experience.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Look for a mentor who has experience in the thing that you want to do.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: I would be a lousy mentor for a songwriter.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Why I don't write songs, I don't write lyrics, I don't mix vocals and while, yeah, I could kind of fumble my way through it, but if you are looking for somebody to help you write songs, to help you write classical quintets, if you need help putting sheet music together in finale or sableus, yes, I could do those things, but I'm the wrong person to help mentor somebody through that process.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: So, relevant experience.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: Look for somebody who is doing the thing that you want to do and whose specific background aligns with your own goals and what you want to write.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: So, whether you're watching this YouTube channel, listening to this podcast, or whether you're watching other YouTube videos or other academies or courses or whatever, is that person where you want to be?
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: Is there experience?
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: There are track record?
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Is that you?
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Is that the future version of you?
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: And how do you find that out?
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Well, research, google them, please.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: Google me, look me up on IMDB.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: You can check out everything that I've done, but research their career and their accomplishments, their credits and their placements.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Now, do you have to have IMDB credits to be a good composer?
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: No, I'm sure there are amazing composers who have never gotten placements.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: However, if you're looking for somebody to be a mentor and if you're looking for that future version of you, then that matters, in my opinion and I'm not here to humble brag or anything like that but these are the things that I look for.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: When I found my coaching mentor, they were where I wanted to be because they were already getting placements.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: They had the education that I desired.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: They were a future version of me, even though I was older than them, but they were vocationally where I wanted to be, and so I'm going to hitch my wagon to that train.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Do you hitch wagons to trains?
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: I don't know, mix, my metaphor but research their career, google them, check them out on IMDB.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: That's a place to start, because a mentor with a proven and successful track record, I believe can offer more practical advice and insights into the industry that you are trying to get into.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: And when you're working with somebody who has worked with libraries, worked with publishers, they're where you want to be, they have a good reputation and they can tell you how to navigate those waters.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: You have a question about a Q sheet, you have a question about copyrights, you have a question about registering on IMDB, you have a question about cut downs and all those things.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Well, if they haven't done those things, it's not that they can't help you, but they're coming from how to say this?
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: They're coming from a shallower pool of experience.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: They're not inexperienced and they can absolutely help you.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: But somebody who's been there, somebody who is already where you want to be, I believe, can offer a greater depth of insight.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: And so that's the first thing you should look out for Relevant experience.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Number two are they a good teacher?
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Do they have competency in teaching and do you resonate with their style?
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Because a great composer isn't necessarily always a great teacher, especially super talented folks who maybe either A don't remember what it's like not to know a thing, or B have just always.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: It just comes easy to them, and so if they've not struggled through the creative process because it just flows out of them, then it could be really difficult for them to explain their own process.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: It's like taking financial advice for how to save money from somebody who has always been wealthy.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: But somebody who has worked through, somebody who's like like I'll take financial advice from somebody who's been super successful but has maybe also been on like food stamps and I can say that because I have been on food stamps before.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: When Shannon and I first got married, we qualified for food stamps and all of that stuff.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Yep, yep, yep, that's for another day.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: So a good composer isn't necessarily always a great teacher.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: So you have to make sure that your mentor can communicate ideas clearly, understands and remembers what it's like not to know a thing, has bottomless patience for you and doesn't mind answering questions, like some of my least favorite teachers that I had in college, specifically the jazz program at University of Memphis, there was like two types of jazz professors.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: There is the super laid back man what's mine is yours, maybe a little bit grouchy, but you know deep down that they really like love and care for their students.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: And then there's the aloof snatch the pebble from my hand, kind of elitist vibe, and University of Memphis had both had both of them.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Guess which one.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: I resonated with Spoilers.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: It was not the elitist ivory tower.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Snatch the pebble from my hand, professor.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: I can't stand those types Like you have to earn my respect and blah, blah, blah.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: And they seem like they don't give a crap whether you exist or not and if you mess something up or if you.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I never resonated with those people.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: But the other guy, even though he was kind of a grouch, he loved his students.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: You know the American Idol judges, especially the early seasons, and if you're younger than 30, you probably don't remember this, but the original American Idol judges were Simon Cowell, randy Jackson and Paula Abdul.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Actually, it was Simon, paula and Randy, like in order from like right to left.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: And so you had Simon, who is always the truth teller, but he was mean and sometimes cruel, and I understand that.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: That's that's what gets ratings.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: But that's his persona, which is fine, says it like it is, but completely disregards, like just devoid of empathy or compassion.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: So that was Simon.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: And then you had Paula, who was almost the opposite of that.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: If there was something not working, it was effusive love and praise and all of that which is great which is why they sat next to each other, you know, on the set Is because it was really good having the Simon and the Paula kind of budding heads.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Now, paula never lied as far as I'm concerned, but her truth was floweringly sweet, to the point of not being really effective as far as I'm concerned.
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: But then you had Randy, bass player right, the eternal bass player.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Just the vibe, you know, the glasses, the look, everything right, you know.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: And he was a truth teller.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: He was not devoid of compassion and empathy, but he told it like it was and sometimes, you know, if something didn't work it was just like it was just a sigh for me.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Dog right, that was Randy.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: And here's my point of talking about these 15-year-old American Idol judges.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we need a Simon because we've been lying to ourselves.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we need Apollo because we're hurt or we're wounded or bruised, and so getting feedback from assignment is only going to further traumatize.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Of course I'm not talking creatively and professionally here.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: Somebody who is in a really bad place is going to respond to Simon.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: In my opinion, if I was really like imposter syndrome and all that stuff and I was like I'm going to give all this up, I'm not going to respond to Simon.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Likewise, if I'm like my poop don't stink and I'm amazing, then I'm not going to respond to Paula.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: But Randy, randy's the balance.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: As far as that show goes.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: It's brilliant casting, the way that they balanced those.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: It's like all three types of mentor coaching relationships and some people respond really well to Simon.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: That's not my vibe.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: I can't imagine a 10-year relationship with Simon Cowell energy into my psyche day after day.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: They would get tiring.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: So I shoot to be Randy.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Tell the truth, do it with compassion and empathy, don't lie.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: You're not helping anybody.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: And so those styles matter.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: And finding somebody who their teaching ability, their feedback style, who can provide the constructive criticism while still being encouraging, I think is vital.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Finding that balance between honesty and encouragement.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, do you resonate with that?
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: I know that that's not always me.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: That's fine.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: If I look at me and, for example, jesse Josephson over at Sync, my Music had him here on the channel doing great work over there, but we have very different vibes.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: I would say Our YouTube videos are different and there's just different energy.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: And Jesse people aren't going to respond to Dave people.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: Likewise, dave people might not necessarily respond to Jesse.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Some people can respond to all of it and that's great.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: And if Jesse, if you're watching this, what's happening, man, I hope you understand that it's coming from a place of love, no disrespect, no hate, nothing.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: But it's a different vibe.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: And so finding somebody who not only can tell you how to improve, communicate it clearly, but also provide feedback and encouragement, open to exploring new ideas, open to exploring new techniques in a way that helps you feel better about your process, so you come away motivated, inspired and encouraged.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's super important.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: You should look out for a mentor or a coach which has an effective teaching style and has an effective teaching ability and a feedback style which resonates with you.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: So that's number two.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: Number three I touched on this earlier, but you want to find a mentor or a coach that has an established network and a reputation in the industry that you are wanting to get into, more future versions of you kind of thing.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: So what's the breadth of their professional network?
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: If they're on the front end of their career, they can absolutely help you along.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: But if you are connected with somebody, or if you connect with somebody and they have relationships that they can help bring you alongside, then that can really help you out.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: Really help you out.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is basically what happens in the film music industry.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: This is why folks move to LA and will get coffee for the composers at Remote Control Studios, because they know that they're in the room where it happens, right, and so, by the way, remote Control Studios that's Hans Zimmer's production company, and they take interns.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: We've had full-sale students go and be interns there and name-brand composers that you have heard of started their career getting coffee for Hans Zimmer and then, hey, they need some work done and opportunity meets availability meets skills and now they're scoring for Game of Thrones.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: So having a coach or a mentor that is connected in the industry can help kind of bring you alongside.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: This just means that there is more chance for opportunities and collaboration and exposures.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: And if they have good reputations and good relationships with those people, then you don't run into any weird issues.
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: You don't run into any problems of like, oh, this guy, I worked with this composer.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm not sure about that guy because of reputation, whatever.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: But a good mentor can help connect you to their own upline, and I talked about this briefly last week in last week's episode, or my birthday episode, I think, when I talked about legacy and I talked about lineage and how, as a composer, I am now part of my mentor's kind of line, and so a good, connected mentor can bring you in the fold.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: And again, this is what the briefing room is all about.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: It's finding folks who are like-minded, who are serious about it.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: That's why the briefing room is part of the family subscription, is for folks who are ready to push into the next career level, because it is a mentoring program.
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: Libraries that I have relationship with, libraries that I've connected with, have worked with, have reached out and I work with them.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: We come up with a brief, we come up with albums, we put it up to the family group for those family subscribers and then it's like a six to eight week process mentoring, back and forth, revisions rounds, feedback.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: That's what's happening in the briefing room and it's not behind the family subscription because it's a paywall or whatever.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: No, it's because folks who are subscribed to the family are actively, weakly, pushing into their careers and they're serious about it.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: You don't pay 50 bucks a month for something you're not serious about, unless you just, I guess, have money to burn.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: But it's between you and your accountant.
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: But that's what the family program is really all about.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: It's mentoring.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: The friends is more about education and the neighbors is more about just watching the process and learning the process.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: And the briefing room wouldn't even exist if I didn't have relationships with libraries already, if I didn't have connections with publishers that I could reach out to and say, hey, this is kind of what's happening over here.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: That's what we did last year.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: We piloted something and we're like, hey, this is kind of going and we're just organically taking it wherever it goes.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: So, finding a mentor that has a good relationship, not to promise you anything, not going to guarantee I can't guarantee that.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Anybody who pitches cues or writes cues for the briefing room, or who I coach or mentor, I can't ever promise that they'll make a bunch of money.
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: I can't promise they'll ever make any money.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: And any mentor promising you that, well, they're selling you something.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: To be honest, any mentor or coach who is appealing to your get rich quick, kind of thing, or look at all this money on the table you're leaving, or whatever I don't know I think they're selling you something.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: That's the mentality, the whole kind of gold rush mentality.
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: The only people who really get rich during a gold rush are the people selling the picks and the axes, not the people looking for gold, and I do not want to ever come off as a pick or axe seller, which is why it's important to find somebody out there doing the thing that you want to do and being successful in the thing that you want to do.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: Is that okay to say?
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: I hope.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: I hope I'm projecting my empathy, I'm not bagging on anybody and I understand that there are a lot of different angles to take in this education field.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: But that's just me, that's.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: I don't resonate with that kind of hustle culture vibe doesn't sit well with me.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: I never responded to it and when I, when I see YouTubers or email lists or whatever and it's kind of like that, I don't know, it makes my Spidey sense tingle.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: But your mileage may vary.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Your mileage may vary, okay.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: The next thing to look for is the cost, because usually a good mentor will charge for their services, whether it's a one on one coaching fee, like I have over at 52Qscom slash coaching, you can book a one on one session with me if you want.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: There's a fee involved with that and whether it's an hour or half an hour.
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: We have subscription fees at 52Qs and the mentoring programs and the family plan and all of that.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: And the reason the fees exists again isn't a gatekeep anything.
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: It's just you pay attention to what you pay for, because this takes a lot of time as it is right now.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: I'm recording this in the early morning of a day that I am on vacation from full sale.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: You're paying for my time, my expertise, my networking, everything that I kind of bring to the table.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: There is a cost involved with that, but you also have to make sure that's within your budget and it makes sense.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: Some ways you can think of it on a return of investment If I'm going to pay $100 to have a one on one, am I going to get $100 worth of placements?
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: That's one way to think of it, although I don't think that's the only way to think of it.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: This is why I have a problem with students who attend college purely to get a job, especially in the creative field and this is coming from somebody who teaches at full sale.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: We are all about vocational placement and entertainment industry and it's high on the priority list.
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: However, you don't go to college to get a piece of paper.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: You go to college to get skills and experience that will yield a piece of paper at the end, but those skills and experience are there to help you better yourself.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: That's what you're paying for.
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: You're not paying for the job Somebody who takes a coaching session with me, they're not paying for a placement.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: They are paying to improve themselves, which will hopefully yield better placements.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: But that's not actually what you're paying for here.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: Subscribers over at 52Qs aren't paying to be guaranteed placements.
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: They're paying to improve themselves into the mentoring relationship, the educational resources, everything that's over there.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: Now there are some mentorships that are free, but I have found that it's really I don't know for me if I'm not paying for it.
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: I don't have any skin in the game and it's easy to just let it slide.
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: You know, earlier I showed you the Expedition 52, week 1.
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: We're here in Week 1 and the feedback that we've gotten.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: There's so many people posting cues and responding.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: There's been more chatter and more back and forth feedback over in the Expedition 52 posts than there really ever is.
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: In the main, what are you writing?
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: Threads in the community which are free.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: It's free to post what you want to write and I encourage people in the general community there to give feedback and some people do, but most folks.
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: What are you writing?
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: This is what I wrote, almost kind of a showcase portfolio which is 100% fine, even though I would love for people to give feedback.
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: But over in Expedition 52, where, yes, it's only a dollar a week, but that investment, that commitment financially, and if you don't provide feedback every single week on at least one other person's cue, then you're not going to win the prizes, you're not going to make it to the summit, and so that provides some kind of motivation.
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: So having some financial investment, I have found, motivates me more to kind of stick with it.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: So cost is a factor, but that's not to say that the more expensive they are, the better they are, because they might not be the right fit.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: They might not be, but it's also the inverse of that.
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: Is it true that if they're free or if it's really cheap, then they're not worth it.
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: It's a real balance from a business perspective.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: It's a real balance of finding, charging, what you're worth against what people are willing to pay, and that's a challenge, and that's just business and marketing.
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: But make sure it's within your budget, but also make sure that it feels worth it to you and that you are getting the value, not just in education and not just in placements or whatever, but just feeling like you're moving forward on your path, all right.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: So, number one the relevant experience.
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: Number two teaching ability and feedback style.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: Number three their network and their reputation.
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: Number four the cost.
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: And now, finally, number five, which is just in general, basic compatibility Are your personalities compatible?
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: Can you see yourself spending an hour in a Zoom room with this person or in a discussion thread?
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: Think of it this way would you be okay just having coffee with this person in real life?
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: Are your personalities compatible?
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: Yes, the professional compatibility Are they doing the thing that you want to do?
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: Do they write the type of music that you want to write?
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think that's a given, but do you just like the person?
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: Do you like spending time with them?
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: Can you bear to hear their voice?
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: Can you bear to watch them?
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: But can you just be around the person?
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: The coffee or beer you know you could think, hey, man, could you go get a beer with this person and just talk life.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: Do you feel like you could have an engaging conversation with this person and never bring up the work?
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: Hmm, I'm thinking of students.
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: I've worked with folks that I've coached, whether one on one or through the community.
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: I could say the vast majority of them absolutely yes.
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: I could have a conversation with them and never talk cues, never talk daws or music or whatever.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: I mean.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: That happens almost every week in our office hours, just crank up a Zoom room and just chat.
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we talk sports, sometimes we talk game, sometimes we talk heavy life stuff, family stuff.
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: No, not every mentor or coach is kind of kind of go into personal buddy friend territory and that's fine too.
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: But I think a good mentor is somebody that simply resonates with you, just resonates with you.
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: They're on the same frequency, same vibe, same wavelength.
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: Are they compatible?
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: And this is beyond just as their availability Are they willing to commit to meeting you?
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: Do they have times that work?
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: One of the benefits of me getting up in my miracle morning I'm usually up between 4 and 4.30 every morning is I have coaching sessions with folks in India and Tokyo and Australia because we have sessions in the morning but that night might not be for everybody.
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: If you're a coach or a mentor living in Hawaii, then that limits how many folks that you could have any kind of relationship with.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: Like from the UK.
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: It's not impossible, but it's just something to consider.
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: So, number one relevant experience.
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: Are they where you want to be?
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: Are they future versions of you?
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: Number two their teaching ability and feedback style.
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: They might be amazing, but can they motivate and encourage and unpack things that you're able to understand.
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: Number three network and reputation.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: Do they have connections?
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: Can they help you get to where you want to be in your career?
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: Number four the cost.
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: Is it within your budget and do you feel like you're getting value from it?
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: And then, finally, number five compatibility.
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: Do you just like the person?
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: These are the five things that I think you should check out and you should keep in mind and look out for when looking for a mentor or coach.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's me, maybe it's not.
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: I'm totally okay if I am not, but chances are I might be.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: And if that's something that you're interested in, then head over to 52Qscom.
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: Slash coaching would love to work with you.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: You could also join us over in the neighbors, friends or family subscription tiers.
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: Mentoring, coaching, feedback it's core to what we're doing here at 52Qs and I'd love to work with you.
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: But if I'm not, if Jesse's more your speed, or Eric Copeland or Stephen Bedall CBB, that's totally cool.
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: I don't have all the answers and I don't ever promise you that I will have all the answers.
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: So go find somebody that fits these things, that resonates with you, and I think you will find yourself in a much better place in your career.
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: But what do you think?
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: Have you ever worked with a mentor or coach?
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: What are some things that really worked for you?
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: Or maybe what are some things that that you wish were different?
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: Did you have any bad experiences with a mentor or coach?
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: Let me know in the comments below.
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: Please don't don't put any names in the comment.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: Let's not put any negative energy out into the universe.
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: There's plenty of enough already without us doing that.
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: But if you have, if you've run into some some bumpy experiences, let us know and maybe, maybe, let us know how you got through it.
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: What are some things that maybe we should watch out for in looking for a mentor?
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: But that is going to do it for me this week.
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: Once again, a huge word of thanks to the family, friends and neighbors of 52Qs, who really do keep all of this going.
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: They pay their actual real life money to help the channel along, help the community along, and if this is something that you want to help out with, because it helps, helps us from having to put embedded ads and things like that.
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: I mean, I can't control YouTube ads and you'll never if I have any control of it, you'll never see any mid-roll ads here on YouTube but you're not.
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: I don't like the idea of taking sponsored, sponsored videos here, so that I don't want to do that.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: And how I can keep doing this the way we're doing it is through your help.
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: So we have family neighbors and family friends and neighbor plans starting at just four bucks a month.
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: We would love to have you also it's still not too late to join us over in Expedition 52.
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: If you are looking for weekly motivation and inspiration and leaving your cues and getting feedback and receiving feedback and giving feedback, then Expedition52.com you can join us.
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: It's just a dollar a week for our year-long composer quest and this will only be open for the next couple of weeks and so we definitely would love to have you over that over there.
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: And why don't you join us next week where we are going to be welcoming back some of the family members, the family subscribers, at 52 cues and we are going to have another family rounds table.
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: These are folks that I am working with and mentoring and coaching and we're going to talk about handling discouragement.
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: We're going to have a roundtable discussion talking about handling discouragement.
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: So definitely hit that subscribe button down on the video and that way you'll know when every episode goes live.
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: But that's going to do it for me.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much and I hope that you've had a fantastic week one and I look forward to talking with you next week and week two.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: And just remember, friends, that I trust and believe that the universe has amazing plans just for you.
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: Until next time, peace.