"Do the work" (a confession to music)

(Context: I wrote this little poem back in November when I was struggling to show up for my album, which is now fully written. I'm sharing it with you this week in hopes that it'll create a "spark" within you to create something after reading 🙂)

DEAR MUSIC,

I'll admit it: I haven't been showing up for you.

I've thought about you, planned our dates in my head, even talked about you - but I haven't actually been with you.

Because, truthfully, our relationship could still use some work:

• I'm terrified of screwing up what we've got.
• I get bored of you, but I'm scared of spicing things up.
• I don't reserve enough energy for our time together.
• I try to capture too much of our relationship on camera.

I know we've been working on it - but the work never stops.

We can't keep hiding from each other.

And writing this letter to you is just another form of avoidance.

So...

No more thinking about you, rainchecking our dates, or talking about you to others.

Let's meet up.

Because right now, I feel the spark.

If I close the laptop and run to you, I know we can ignite that spark into a roaring fire. But if I wait - even for another minute - that spark will be extinguished, and we'll have to work that much harder to start again.

So even though there's a million things that'd feel easier, safer, or more fun to do right now...

I'll choose to do the one thing that feels right.

Let's get back to work.

👋 Want to work together?

I offer two paid courses...

• 🎻 Orchestral Mockup Fundamentals. Learn how to program and perform realistic orchestral mockups in minutes with my no-fluff, 3-hour crash course.
• 🎬 Composing Career Bootcamp. Join 100+ students from around the world who are using my 6-week program to land paid work in film, animation, and games. (Or try my free 4-part masterclass before deciding to enroll.)

And two paid services:

• 🚀 Group Coaching. I help composers achieve leveraged growth and deeper creative alignment in their careers. If you're interested in working closely with me, book a call and let's chat about your goals to determine if we're a great fit.
• 🎶 Commission Music. I'm accepting new clients for commissioned composing work. If you like my music and want to discuss working together on a project, hit reply to this email or click the link and let's chat.

That's all for now!

Hit reply to share thoughts or say hi.

Otherwise, happy music-making and see you next time. 🙂

- Zach

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