Let's face it. The music business can really suck sometimes! It's not nearly as glamorous as I thought it was when I was younger and dreamed of one day playing music for stadiums filled with adoring fans. The reality of pursuing a music career is that there are times when it´s really, really hard.  It can be a struggle to stay motivated when things don´t seem to be going the way you want them to be.

One of the most common responses I get from people who leave my newsletter is that they appreciate the information and think it´s great, but they've simply decided to quit music altogether.  They're throwing in the towel! They're just giving up.  In some ways I´m saddened when I hear this, but in other ways I think this is perfectly normal and makes it easier for those of us who want to keep going and keep getting our music out there.

You have to be in it to win it, as they say. But even if you're in it, and you know you're in it for good, it can be discouraging when you're not getting the instant gratification you're looking for. So how do you stay motivated along the way when you face the inevitable rejection and setbacks that come with pursuing a music career?

For starters, it helps to be as objective as possible about what you're trying to do. I once read that the average songwriter who moves to Nashville to work as a songwriter spends about five years on average in Nashville before they land their first publishing contract. Some things just take time, and if you're aware of that fact you can stay calm as you confidently move towards your goals.

Secondly, something that has helped me tremendously in staying motivated is setting smaller goals that will ultimately lead to my bigger goals.  I realize this sounds like self help 101, but it´s really true and can be easy to forget.  If the only thing you're thinking about is wanting to be a rock star, you're going to be missing out on a lot of other opportunities along the way that will propel your career forward.

Licensing your music is one of those areas that you can get start getting success in along the way as you pursue other music career related goals.  Or it can be an entire career in and of itself.  For me licensing my own music, primarily in TV shows, has given me a huge boost of confidence and has inspired me to keep going.  And to be honest, somewhere along the way I've fallen out of love with the idea of being a rock star and have fallen in love with simply writing songs.  Isn't that´s really what it's all about anyway? 

The lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, was once asked why he wrote songs and I loved his reply.  He said that his motivation is to one day write the ¨perfect¨ song, although he knows the ¨perfect¨ song doesn't exist.  That sums up how I feel about writing songs perfectly. Every time I write a new song I want this one to be the ¨perfect¨ one, and although I doubt I'll ever get there, hopefully with enough practice I can get close!