I’m taking today not to communicate what I’m thinking now.Not for any negative reason.I have been distilling and synthesizing so many ideas that I need to let them marinade.Are you giving yourself that time?Time to exist with your thoughts - to reflect on them, wonder what they mean, identify what you might do with them?The best moment I had today was sitting in my piano room with a cup of tea while staring at the piano… thinking of absolutely nothing but that the piano existed, and that I existed with it.

When you already put in the money, when the invites have already been sent out, or when the caterer is already preparing it can be tough to cancel an event. “There’s already so much that went into it, right? We can’t cancel now!” - words never spoken by anyone that’s planned an event.When your job gets touch, when you start to feel under appreciated, when your bosses are being bosses and not leaders… “I shouldn’t look for another job, I just need to stick it out, I’ve been here for so long!” - words never spoken by an under-appreciated employee.Every commitment we enroll eventually invites us to quit or persist. The post you’re reading now is about knowing when to quit.Have you ever heard of the sunk cost fallacy?If you’re planning a wedding/concert/event in a pandemic, and most of your attendees cancel because they got sick and what you’re setting out to achieve from the experience can’t be fully realized… it’s time to quit. If you stick it out, you’re not really executing the event for your attendees, you’re executing it for your pride.If you’re in a job and you feel undervalued, your bosses treat you horribly, and you’re hating your life - it’s time to quit. If you stick it out, you’re not really thinking about the people you serve, you’re thinking about your pride.Pride is a fickle friend.Giving us validation that we’re worth it - but also giving us a false-sense of validation to keep us same from the unknown - what if we cancel? what if I quit? what if we’re out the money?To counter pride, remind yourself: “Who am I doing this for? What am I doing this for? What is the change I am seeking to make? Why would anybody care?“I imagine that if you ask those questions at the moment when sunk cost thinking is setting in, you’ll likely see that the right thing to do for the people you’re trying to serve and the change you’re seeking to make is quit.

“What business of mine is the future? There will be other crises in the time to come…. let my successors solve those new problems as I have solved the one of today.” - Hober Mallow.Today I completed Isaac Asimov’s, “Foundation.” If you’re a science fiction, sociology, or geopolitical fan, that book might be for you. The story ends with the quote you read above. What I love about that quote is the thought it offers us. What business of ours is the future?None.To understand what I mean, consider the quote this way:The problems that are in front of me now are solved by Today David. What business does Today David have in the future? There will be other problems in time to come, let Future David solve those problems as Today David solved the problems of today.Does Today You need to solve the problems that Future You gets to solve?

I was thinking about this today - how do we learn to learn?Nobody showed me how to play piano. Somebody taught me how to practice the piano. Weekly, they would give me guidance as to the quality of my practice. I learned how to practice.Nobody showed me how to think. Somebody taught me how to share my thoughts and they questioned my arguments. I learned how to practice asking questions.So how do we learn to learn?Perhaps, we learn to learn by actually doing work and getting feedback. Somebody telling us, “hey, what you did there, that did not resonate with me.” We then leverage our ability to ask questions and ask, “How might my work better resonate with you?” We edit our work and try again.Nobody taught us how to learn. Somebody taught us how to practice being curious, asking questions, and listening to others.Perhaps that’s why I keep my Kindergarten diploma visible on my wall.Special shout out to all the teachers in my life that encouraged me to be curious, ask questions, and listen!

When I woke this morning I realized I had the choice to stay in bed or go to work. I chose to go to work.I walked into the kitchen. Carefully, I put dishes back in the cupboard. I boiled water. I ground the coffee beans, scaled them, and prepared the drip brewer for brewing coffee. Later, when the water was boiled, I bloomed my coffee. I then cooled down my water, because I don’t want to burn the coffee, and continued to pour. I poured 540 g of water for two cups of coffee.Why all of this effort?Because it mattered.Because my work mattered.I know that when I consume a cup of coffee I put every intention into that cup. It feels good to know that I made something for myself with love and intention.The work we’re meant to do for ourselves and others doesn’t have to be a life mission. I argue that’s not very productive - you’ll never see the fruits of your labor.Instead, I argue that the work we’re meant to do is the work that’s before us right now - at this exact moment.Be it making coffee, responding to an email, making your bed, leading a meeting, writing a report, making dinner, or sitting with a book. Whatever it is… the work that matters is before you now.What have we to complain of?

If you’re into coffee and grind your own beans, you are always watching out for channels. What are channels?When you brew coffee, water is passes through your grounds and extracts that delicious elixir of life we know as “coffee.” However, if you grind your beans too coarse or too fine, water will find (or create) “channels” that allow it to flow more freely without passing through your coffee. That’s no bueno. Why?Because your coffee will suck and your morning will be ruined!Water takes the easiest and most natural path towards its end - through your coffee via channels or passing through the grounds, it’s going to get to where it’s going via the most natural path possible.Be like water.There is a path that will take you from where you are to where you want to go. It’s not the “easy” path, it’s the “natural” path. The natural path to becoming an effective musician is to practice your instrument. The natural path to becoming an effective leader is to practice listening, collaborating, and making decisions. The natural path to becoming a more effective you is to get comfortable being uncomfortable being you.The easy path is the one with shortcuts - not doing the work, avoiding the problems, or escaping from the problems all together. Water doesn’t do that. Water creates the most natural path for it to flow.Be like water.Find the natural path.Don’t ruin your coffee.

People who want to believe there’s something more to life, leadership, and the practice of getting better every day enjoy this blog. I am a person like that. I am a person that’s trying to be an artist in life - practicing getting better at leading myself through life with the hope of seeing positive results. The blog originally started as a journal for musicians, but that’s evolved - because what connects me to music is not music - it’s what music means for living a better life. The blog also became a vehicle to share leadership advice, but that’s evolved - because my concept of leadership has evolved.So can you enjoy this blog if you’re a musician? Absolutely. You can apply the concepts to your practice and approach towards your development as a musical artst.Can you enjoy this blog if you’re a leader/future leader? Absolutely. Being an effective leader is knowing how to listen, make decisions, and learn. Hey, that’s also what being self-effective means. Can you enjoy this blog if you’re an entrepreneur? Totally. Being an entrepreneur is all about failing fast, listening, and making better decisions next time. Why am I restating my blog’s intention? Because it’s a new year, and I’ve been doing this on and off for a bit. I want to make sure that if you’re along for the ride, it’s the ride you want to be on. I care about you.

If you learn improv acting, you will likely learn the technique called “yes, and…“Person A: “It’s a horrible day out.“You: “Yes, and it’s great that we get to appreciate it.“Person A: “But I don’t want to appreciate it. I want to stay home.“You: “Yes, and at home you get to stay warm…”… you see how this goes.Well, what if we used that technique for getting over any problem? And what if that technique helped us get over those problems ridiculously fast? … if we practice.Here’s the scenario.Your boss calls. They have criticize your work, and you start feeling the pressure - perhaps you didn’t deliver enough? Maybe this is their way to get rid of you? What about all of the other work you’ve been doing? Didn’t they notice that?Can you relate to that feeling?Now, after your boss gives you feedback you say to yourself: “Yes, it’s unfortunate that I got this feedback, and I am fortunate that I am not harmed by it.“Or, perhaps someone gets under your skin with a comment they make about/towards you. That comment really stings. You are bothered. Yes, it’s unfortunate that they made their comment, and I am fortunate that I am not harmed by it.What I like about this approach is that, like improv, it keeps the scene (read: life) in motion. No stopping to brood or think about how upset we should be about something that never physically hurt it. Instead, we acknowledge and then move - “yes, and…“During your next internal crisis, try it out.Yes, and…

Jazz musicians, after playing the melody, will take a solo. Put simply, they compose a piece on the spot. It is our hope, as the supporting musicians, that the soloist will compose a piece that sounds similar to the melody, uses similar harmony, and compliments the style of music being played by the rest of the band. When that musician finishes improvising, they hand off to another musician.The amateur listener will experience several minutes of musical ideas that may, or may not, sound like they make sense - it’s just nice to listen to. But the attentive listener gets to enjoy a conversation across the band. Ideas being traded between one musician and another. Ideas being being born, developed, evolved and destroyed.The life cycle of a riff, of an idea, starts inside the musician - it’s conceived. The musician then nurtures the riff in their head until it’s ready to be shipped to the world - born. When the musician plays the idea, it is shipped. Now, the musician enjoys the responsibility of nurturing the idea.With the help of their band mates the musician takes the idea and grows it. Adding new ideas upon it, removing the old ones. Like nature, an unelegant evolution that’s bombastic and caustic. Eventually another musician picks up on the idea, takes it, destroys it, and births their own.I have been thinking a great deal on what it means to live and lead a fulfilled life. Perhaps it’s not about being “happy,” but instead it’s about birthing, nurturing, and shipping something that’s worth something for someone else.What if happiness could be like a solo? Giving birth to an idea only to see it taken by someone else and made better.Want some inspiration? Listen to Miles Davis’ First Miles album here. It was Miles’ idea of how jazz might evolve, but it was the smallest of an idea. Years later, Miles would evolve the idea of jazz into new and unknown ways.What idea will you give birth to?

Honestly, if this wasn’t a rule, it should be. The rule is: listen. The first rule of music is to listen.You cannot create anything with your instrument if you cannot listen. Hear what’s happening around you, hear the music inside your mind, listen to how the other musicians are playing around you, listen to how your audience wants to be entertained.Listening is the key.If you listen well enough, you actually get to play less. That’s a good thing! The goal is not to over play, but only play what’s needed. What’s the minimum amount of contribution you can make that creates the most value? In tech, we call this the minimum viable product (MVP), but in music we simply say “leave space.“Listening is the key to a noise-free life.If you listen to what’s happening around you, and really listen - don’t listen/judge, you will know better where to focus your time and attention.Phone ringing, news is blaring, dog is barking, kid just got home, the neighbors kids are running around - so much stimulus. Listening allows us to pin point the thing that matters. It’s invites us to choose to spend time greeting and being with our kid.Listening is the key to being a great leader.So many leaders come to their teams with ideas of how things should be now that they’re in charge. A great listener listens to their team and asks the team to suggest the next move - less is more.Listening is the key…. to de-cluttering the world around you and only doing the most essential work.