099 – When Music Chooses You: Recognizing Success and Embracing Unexpected Opportunities

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: Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook: Get a free copy of the “Definitive Guide to Productivity for Entrepreneurial Artists.” BUMP Global TV: Want to join a growing network of heart-centered entrepreneurs exploring and creating new opportunities together? Check out BUMP. 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." This foundational insight provides context for understanding how different people require different conditions to thrive creatively. Things Choosing You vs. You Choosing Things David explores a fascinating shift in how opportunities have been presenting themselves: The contrast between actively choosing projects that didn't work out and being chosen by opportunities that flourished How the big tech contract and Spark Infinity both "chose" him rather than being pursued The growth of Spark Infinity from 4-5 members to over 1,900 in seven months Why sometimes the best opportunities come when you're not actively seeking them "In the last year and a half or so, really what I've noticed is instead of me choosing things, things are choosing me... the things I've chosen didn't necessarily go anywhere or didn't do that well... what I can say about things that have chosen me that have worked well is, of course, the big tech contract and Spark Infinity." This observation challenges the conventional wisdom about always being proactive in pursuit of opportunities. The