Instead of a move of the week this week – I have NEWS of the week.  🙂  Things have literally been out of control, and for once I can say that it’s been out of control in a GOOD way.  I’ve learned a lot in the past few months….heck, in the past few DAYS.

I’ve been in the music business for 8 years, which is a drop in the bucket to most of the people in this town.  It’s a biz that can suck the life out of you, get you higher than you’ve ever been and then drop you lower than you thought you could imagine.  I know some of THE most talented people in the entire world, and most of them are my good friends.  Some of them you may never hear, but their lyrics, their melodies, and voices are truly some of the richest most moving things in this world.  It breaks my heart that so much TRUE talent may never be heard.  

So many of us work so hard in hopes that one of our songs will break through.  WE believe in them.  When you spend year after year, day after day pouring your heart and soul into these music babies and you always hear a “no” or maybe nothing at all… it gets tough.  I always say each song we write is a piece of us – a piece of our hearts.  When we continually get turned down, turned away or our songs end up sitting in our computers – we start to doubt ourselves. 

That happened at the end of last year for me, and this year I’ve had the push and the strength to turn my focus back to fitness a bit more.  I couldn’t find a publishing deal and I had no choice but to find a “real” job again.  I felt like the 8 years of hard work in music meant nothing even though I have accomplished much.  I’d cry in writing sessions, talk to my co-writers and look to them for some kind of light.  Finally, I had to LET GO.  I had to come to grips that right now it may not be time for me to have a pub deal, and I had to be okay with my income not coming from mostly from music. I had to ask myself what really makes me happy, and then I had to accept it all.  And I did.  

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” 
― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

I found out that sitting in writing rooms crying didn’t make me happy.  Seeing people change their lives and having an affect on them DID.  Writing what I want, when I want DOES.  I stopped living the life that I HAD and started living the life that I HAVE.  When I did this, things started to happen.  I had people come to me left and right wanting to train and work with me, I found the people that really want to write with me, my true friends stepped up with support, and all around good things started to happen.  

This week has been a big one.  My duo partner and I released our EP on iTunes!!  We are called Paperhouse. Please go download it and check it out if you haven’t yet…  https://itun.es/us/ljkyY  If you are in Nash – we are having an EP release show Monday the 7th at 7pm at the Basement (poster is below!)  BIG NEWS – there was a press release with the Rascal Flatts songs and writers, and a song I co-wrote is number 9 – the album releases May 13th!!!  (See pic below)!  I also found out that a duo from The Voice recorded one of my songs on Monday as well – The Swon Brothers, and they are set to release their album soon.  Also a couple of weeks ago a dear friend pitched a few songs and we landed 2 Australian cuts with a great singer and winner of their big star competition.  

I have no control over what people think of me or what happens to my songs out there.  Worrying or trying to control people or situations definitely doesn’t work. Dreams do come true, but hard work will help them along.  Sometimes you just have to let go.  Have faith that whatever is supposed to happen WILL happen, and live for the life you HAVE, not the one you HAD.  

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free