MasterMind Drummer
July 30th, 2024
Newsletter #32
Are You An Action-Man/Woman?
Well, as it stands, I am 7 shows into a nationwide 10 show run with Black Comet, and so far have held 4 MasterMind Drummer clinics too, with #5 next week, down in Taranaki.
I’m not a big fan of the word ‘busy’, but to be honest, to say it’s been busy lately is quite an understatement.
In and among all this, last week I released my new course –
I’m super proud of this course, and the feedback has been great!
In a very systematic and structured way, I take you through exactly what I did to develop my chops, facility, and most importantly, a voice on the kit.
What I teach here, are my concepts and approach to mastering things such as –
Hand and foot interplay
Linear and non-linear
Odd number groupings
16th note and triplet subdivisions, & more.
You also get instant access to all course PDFs, as well as a bunch of bonuses, too.
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With so much on at the moment, what I’d like to touch on briefly today is the idea of momentum.
Do you have it? I hope so. And if not, do you want it? And how do you get it?
By now, I’m sure you’ve picked up on how I believe in the importance of having a clear vision of your future, supported by big ideas and big goals.
The Macro of it all. The 5, 10, 20-year plan.
‘Reach for the stars’, as they say.
In my opinion, you NEED to know where you are going in life, or you aren’t really going anywhere at all.
BUT! The problem is, (and I’ve seen this time and time again), we can get choked by these big, open, and sometimes lofty ideas and goals. So what happens then?
Well, unfortunately, often nothing at all!
This tends to be because our goals are so far away from where we currently are, that it seems near impossible to make the jump between where we are now, and where we want to be.
So how do we combat this?
How do we simultaneously work towards our big vision or ‘master plan’, but not let the unfamiliar ground trip us up along the way?
Well, I’d like to touch on two ways to approach this today…
First, break it down!!!
Understand that we can not truly have a macro goal, without the support of micro-goals.
It’s about zooming out, looking at the big picture, making a plan, and then working your way back from that plan, by breaking it down into smaller and more digestible chunks, in order to get there.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, we need to understand the power of just doing. Taking action every day.
This is a big one!
Momentum is built on a simple premise. In basic terms, it just means putting one foot in front of the other. Thats it. Babysteps.
One step at a time, day in, day out, without question and without excuse.
On its own, it never looks like much. But remember, the true power in this process here, is that it is accumulative. All you have to do is keep moving forward one step at a time, and when you finally do look back, you realise you’ve actually covered quite a lot of ground.
Now, I know this is not new news, but you’d be surprised at how many people forget the ‘taking action’ part, when trying to work towards a goal. I see this all the time –
“Hey man, I’m really keen to build up my chops and facility on the kit. Like, really really keen. I’ll do anything…”
Me – “Cool man, here are a bunch of exercises guaranteed to help you achieve that. This is what I did, the literal blueprint, you just need to put in the work.”
Sometimes, the silence that follows this is deafening. Hahaha.
We have all heard that ‘momentum creates momentum’, but remember, before all that, it’s action that creates momentum.
Action comes first.
For ANYTHING to occur, action must be taken. That is 100% on you, and you alone.
Now, this can all be overwhelming. I get it. So, in the context of all this, I’d like to share with you a simple productivity tip that I call ’52 cards’.
This is something that I came up with many years ago, and still use to this day.
The idea is this. Imagine that all your problems (or steps towards your goals) are represented by one card each, from a full deck of cards.
Rather than doing what most people tend to do, which is looking at all 52 cards scattered across the table, instead, get organised! Stack them all up into a nice and tidy pile, and then just flip over the top card. Thats it. Simples.
Only focus on one card/problem/step/micro-goal at a time, and when its complete, and only when its complete, put it to the bottom of the deck, and flip the next card (or task), over.
At any given time, we all have 52 problems, or micro-goals we need to work through. No one is different. No one is special. But, it’s how we deal with those cards that counts.
So, with all that in mind, ask yourself…
Are You An Action-Man/Woman?
I hope so…
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Let’s leave it there this week.
As always, thanks for taking the time, and thanks for all your feedback, too. I really appreciate it.
I read them all. So please, if you have any thoughts, send them through, and let’s get a dialogue happening.
Don’t forget… Stay hungry (and stay healthy!)
See you next week.
Stan