Are you a goal-planner?
Many entrepreneurial composers I work with in my Pro Group love mapping out their visions - what they'd like to achieve in their life, art, and business over the next twelve months.
To support that, I set up a monthly "Accountability Thread" in our student portal with a prompt encouraging them to define and publicize what they want to accomplish, and how it's going:
(This public accountability is surprisingly effective in and of itself.)
And as it turns out, hardworking composer like the ones I'm working with are really great at generating new goals to tackle.
However...
In their eagerness to push forward, many struggle to actually determine which goals are most effective at getting them to where they want to go next.
(And this is a common challenge that comes with any kind of goal-oriented list, whether it's a daily to-do, a monthly plan, or an annual vision board.)
The hard part when setting goals is figuring out which of your "to-do" items will get you the MOST results for the LEAST amount of effort.
For example...
If you've decided that you'd like to start landing composing work in 2025, you might write out a plan for January that looks something like this:
- ๐ Build a resume, reel, and website
- ๐ฉ Contact to 10 people/week
- ๐ Apply to 5 job applications/month
- ๐ Finish my orchestral template
- ๐ฒ Post content 1x/week
That's not a bad plan - but it's not a very focused plan, either.
And that's where the "80/20 Principle" comes in.
If you haven't heard of this concept, stick around - it's one of the most powerful practices I've ever learned when it comes to optimizing our time around our goals.
The "80/20 Principle" is a concept developed by mathematician Vincent Pareto who discovered that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes.
In other words:
80% of the results you're seeking are achievable through a select 20% of your efforts.
And in order to get your desired outcome, you've got to to slow down and take the time to determine which tasks you're considering could have the highest opportunity to yield results.
Now, scroll back up and look at the our mock to-do list.
Ask yourself:
"Which task out of the five listed has the greatest likelihood of getting me to my goal of landing composing work?"
(Drumroll, please...)
If you guessed networking, congrats - you're right! ๐
In most cases, building out your network is the most straightforward path to working with new clients and landing work.
Which means that if the only thing we did on that list was network, there's a high chance we'd reach our goal with much less effort.
BUT WE'RE NOT DONE YET.
Now, let's apply the 80/20 Principle a second time, this time to our singular networking task.
Ask yourself:
"Which 20% of people I could contact/network with has the best chance of helping me land composing work?"
Believe it or not, it's likely not going to be contacting hundreds of strangers.
It's likely going to be people that already trust you - friends, family, colleagues - the people that are so close to you that you didn't even think about reaching out and asking for their help.
I see this happen all the time with composers I work with.
But once we've worked together to help them identify the highest points of leverage for their goals, they get results so quickly that they can barely believe it:
So...
As excited as you might be for 2025, be careful not to over-exert yourself.
Get clear on your top-level goals, and take the time to 80/20 the ideas you've got to determine the most energy-effective way to get there.
Remember:
Success requires restraint.
Wishing you a wonderful 2025 ๐
๐ Ready for More?
When you're ready, here's 4 ways I can help:
- ๐ฅ My YouTube. Watch me in action over 300+ videos spanning nearly two decades.
- ๐๏ธ Newsletter Archive. Catch up on previous editions or re-read your favorites.
- ๐ฌ Composing Career Bootcamp. Master the business of getting paid for your music.
- ๐ Work Closely with Me. I help working composers take their creative careers to the next level. Book a call when you're ready and let's discuss your goals and determine if we're great fit.
That's all for now!
Leave a reply to share your thoughts, questions, or just to say hi.
(I love hearing from my readers. ๐)
Otherwise, happy music-making and I'll see you next time!
- Zach
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