Artist Acceleration

For a step-by-step process, check out The Key to Automating New Habits here.

If you ever get stuck trying to figure out how and what to practice in order to develop mastery... this is for you.Watch the video or read the transcript here:https://artistacceleration.com/blog/mastery-aint-complicated-you-are/

Recognize that your skill level and your capability seems to be uncannily tied to the quantity and the complexity of the songs that you learn memorize and master from masters that you're emulating. Read more on the blog here: https://artistacceleration.com/blog/the-skill-development-cheat-code-emulate-more-masters-more-often/

Prefer to read? Read the podcast and access free resources here.In this episode you will discover how changing the context in which you learn can have a dramatic effect on how quickly and how deeply you learn.Put this approach to the test whenever you need to learn something fast and retain it for life.

Access the resources for this and all episodes here.Key takeaways:If you are developing skill, you are voluntarily signing up for the experience of being limited. This isn’t something that you can avoid. Nor need you wish to avoid it. "If it weren't a struggle, I wouldn't be interested in the pursuit itself. I would be on to something else already." When you stop being curious, you stop learning, and you stop exploring... you start dying. If you're in a state of frustration, what success will mean to you and the feeling of satisfaction that can come from, it tends to be something that's even further out of reach than what success might normally mean. When you have an open and curious attitude. Learn to magnify your interest and your focus on the details of what's happening (cause) instead of what’s happened (effect). Pay more attention to what are you doing to cause a certain effect (or to cause a lack of effect), rather than focusing on the outcome of what you’re trying to play. This distinction is fairly subtle, but it's an attitude that you can adopt that will almost inevitably caused you to make more progress. You’ll also enjoy the process a whole lot more. You continually participate in this process of finding out what your limits are. And in finding out what your limits are, you see if you can overcome those limits. And then in overcoming those limits, you end up exposing more limits. As long as you remain open and curious, then you are essentially signing up for not only being limited, but having the experience of being limited and having to confront your limitations over and over again. Whatever outcomes occur as a consequence of this effort are just a bonus. The point is the process itself. Frustration only ensues when you forget that the whole point of the whole process is dedicated to this act of exposing your limitations, trying to figure out why those limits exist, and attempting to overcome them. Frustration only ensues when you believe that things should be any different than exactly as they are. Adopt this mindset to decrease the amount of time that you spend being frustrated while also recognizing that frustration is likely to occur, and also recognizing that frustration needn't occur as often or for the same reasons that it might be occurring right now. Nor need the frustration last long. Read more here.

Go with the flow.This is a worn and tired expression. But like many cliches and platitudes, it’s got a compelling power behind it once you live it.I often get asked about music theory.Indeed, out of over 7,000 guitarists and artists that I’ve asked over the years… the question of music theory––and other topics that fall under that very vast umbrella––get mentioned almost daily.But here’s something I’m going to suggest (and I’m certainly not the only one making this suggestion):Forget music theory.You don’t need it.Read more here:https://artistacceleration.com/blog/you-dont-need-music-theory-to-create-music/

This is a brief followup vlog to last week’s piece in which I made a case against constantly posting content online. In addition to advocating that you do the deep thing, rather than the constant-and-compromised form of content production… there is a case to be made that the world never needs to see what you’ve made at all, and you might be all the better for it.Share… with but a few.At any moment, I can post a clip of my guitar playing and within minutes, thousands of people will see it.If it’s a particularly good clip, within hours, tens of thousands of people will see it.And if it’s one of my best clips, within days, it’ll get more than 100,000 views. I’ve even had the occasional video get over a million views.But what’s relevant is that I have the option to have my creative work be seen by thousands of people within mere moments… and yet I prefer otherwise.I find the act of sharing what I’ve created with a handful of close friends, family, and even intentionally chosen fans, to be a far more rewarding experience...

“I want to get my music out there, but no one is paying attention to me. Am I just not posting enough?” There are young artists getting crippled by the pressures and constraints of how we now tend to share music. They put a lot of unrealistic demands on themselves (or they have high hopes that get quickly crushed). It’s because of a pervasive myth that seems to have permeated our culture (at least online). It’s really a series of misconceptions that, when taken together, make up something that I consider to be toxic and counterproductive:1. In order to exist, you must exist in the data stream (share things with an audience so that you can be noticed and rated)2. In order to be relevant, you must constantly and consistently create content for an audience3. In order to maintain relevance, you must never stop creating content, nor slow down the pace I think all three of these things are laughably untrue.Do this instead...

If you want to make music, and you want to create…Don’t wait for inspiration to strike.Instead, show up to do the work and be consistent about it, even when you are at your worst. Even when it feels like the last thing you want to do. And then, perhaps equally important; when inspiration hits, ride its wave fully until it fades. Read the episode here: https://artistacceleration.com/blog/making-the-most-out-of-inspiration-without-needing-it/

I’ve spent years trying to figure out a few things: How to never get sick How to stop a sickness in its tracks once it starts to come on How to recovery from a sickness quickly Whether or not you are fearful or dismissive of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the cultural uncertainty and panic is looming large.There’s no better time than now to arm your immunity arsenal.Here is my tried-and-true supplemental protocol for preventing sickness or radically reducing symptoms and cutting its duration:Ionic Zinc Acetate Elderberry Oregano Oil MushroomsEchinaceaSleepy Tea Bone Broth Propolis Vitamin C RESTORE (or Colostrum)You can access full episode show notes, resources, and videos here:https://artistacceleration.com/blog/how-to-rarely-get-sick-or-recover-quick-if-you-do/If you are interested in the Crypto Acceleration program mentioned at [16:34], email joshua@artistacceleration.com with the word "CRYPTO" in the subject line.Stay safe out there.Continue to skill-up.Remember: we’re in this together; playfully practicing and always improving. Don’t let the coronavirus––or anything else––get you down for long, because you have music to make that no has ever heard.And I’m standing by to hear it

This episode is about how to regain momentum after you’ve lost it.You’re far more likely to habituate comfort than you are to habituate Deep Practice.It's worth developing the skill of getting back to practice after life inevitably gets in the way.You can read the full episode transcription and show notes here: https://artistacceleration.com/blog/get-back-up-how-to-bounce-back-fast-after-falling-off-the-tracks/If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. We'll keep this going if there is enough interest