Have you ever felt like you've been pushing and striving for opportunities in your creative career, only to find that your biggest breakthroughs came when you weren't actively chasing them? Do you sometimes struggle to recognize your own accomplishments because you're so focused on what you haven't achieved yet?
Perhaps you've wondered why some artists seem to effortlessly attract the right opportunities while others work tirelessly with little to show for it.
In this deeply reflective episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares how music is unexpectedly making a comeback in his life, not through force or relentless pursuit, but by choosing him when the conditions were finally right.
Drawing from his journey of building financial stability through his tech contract and growing Spark Infinity to nearly 2,000 members, he explores the crucial difference between opportunities you chase and those that find you when you're ready.
Through honest reassessment of his previous music career and practical insights about finding mentors who've already achieved what you want, David offers both validations for non-linear creative paths and actionable guidance for recognizing success when it's staring you in the face.
Sponsors:
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Get coaching: Stuck in your creative career? Not sure what to do next? Want to take things further? Book your personalized coaching session with David today.
Highlights:
00:17 – Documenting the journey
00:53 – Hard lesson learned
03:19 – Being chosen
04:41 – Reflecting on a music career that was buried in a shallow grave
08:47 – The revival of a music career
14:24 – Tying up loose ends
16:54 – Excited for what’s to come
18:10 – Recognizing your successes
21:23 – One step you can take to shortcut years of anguish
Summary:
In this reflective episode, David shares how music is unexpectedly making a comeback in his life, arriving not through force or planning but by choosing him.
Through candid self-assessment, he explores the lessons learned from his previous music career, the importance of recognizing actual accomplishments amid failures, and why finding mentors who've already achieved what you want is crucial for avoiding years of guessing and reverse-engineering.
Key Themes & Takeaways
The difference between forcing projects and allowing opportunities to choose you
How financial stability and having a home base enable better decision-making about creative opportunities
The importance of taking a "sober" view of past accomplishments rather than dwelling on perceived failures
Why skipping the step of finding mentors or proven methods leads to years of inefficient guessing
The reality that success comes from what you do with failures, not from avoiding them entirely
The Foundation Lesson
David begins by reinforcing a crucial life lesson learned through a difficult experience:
The necessity of having both a home base and financial stability for life to function well
How his current big tech contract and Spark Infinity success provide the foundation for better choices
The distinction between people who can thrive as nomads (with family safety nets) versus those who need more stability
Why some people require different structural supports to be creative and productive
"If I don't have a place to call home, and if I don't have some kind of financial stability... my life tends to spiral out of control. And for some people, I'm telling you, that's not the case... But I think what I've learned for myself... is if there's no home to go back to and my financial life is variable at best, things do tend to spiral out of control."