Balance
The older I get the more I realize that the key to success is balance….at least I find this to be true in my life. As Notes constantly reminds me, “you can’t forget to treat yourself.”
I guess I could be considered a work-a-holic of sorts, but I just find it hard drop what I’m doing and walk away when there is so much that needs to get done. When I first started AG One, I was going hard every minute of everyday that I wasn’t at work, and even then I still managed to find time to accomplish AG One tasks while at work. I handled all the business matters, I met with lawyers and talked to state representatives about getting my business recognized by the state. On top of that I had a heavy hand in the creative side of the label. I was doing recruiting, producing, and performing. I don’t need to get into the logistics of it all, but the point I am trying to make is that I let it take over my life. Everything else was put on the shelf: My family, my friends, my own music project, sleep, my health…
It was my first year trying to really go full-time in the industry not just as an artist, but as a business man as well. I was struggling to find that balance between my life and my career. I think the worst part of it all is that I didn’t even realize that it had consumed that much of me, it literally took me over. My patience and tolerance was running low, I was stressing so much that I was treating the people I care about the most in my life the worst.
Cliff had to sit me down one day and say, “today, we’re NOT working on music. We’re NOT working on AG One. We are going to enjoy the day.” He told that he let me do it my way…and obviously it wasn’t working out as well as I had hoped. So it was time to listen to someone who was 5 years ahead of me and had already been through the same/similar experience I had found myself in. I needed someone to tell me I was fucking up, and the sacrifices I was making weren’t exactly leading to the possibility of a better outcome.
Now it is Early April and this is what I’m doing to create balance for myself:
-I am learning to treat myself…when you work hard and accomplish goals you have to take time to reward yourself. If I claim to be working hard for 6 days, and still have work to do on the 7th…then clearly i am not working hard enough in those 6 days.
-set up schedule…with my current workload, and complications with everyone else’s schedule as well, it is real crucial to have our sessions organized in order to maximize our time as well as leave enough time to unwind at the end of the week.
-appreciate life and those in it…determining whats truly important and make time for it.