"My Emails are written in good humour, and should be read with a smile"

I was truly overwhelmed with Emails this week thanking me for, and quizzing me about the ‘One Minute’ last week.  Very thought provoking.

 You will remember that it was a simple idea about the ‘GOOBI’.  GOOBI is simply a mnemonic for ‘Get Out Of Bed Inducer’. It's that thing that gets you out of bed in the morning and puts a spring in your step.  And ‘music making’ can be that ‘GOOBI’ for you.

 I have never considered that my writings were ‘motivational’ and, certainly, never thought that they were teaching ‘positive thinking’ [much better than negative thinking, by the way].  In fact, in one lengthy phone call from a Member of the ‘Serious Writers Guild’ at www.makehits.com I had to go to great lengths to explain that I do not preach ‘power talk’ etc.  I merely explain that the successful folk in our industry are all ‘powerful talkers’.  Also they are all, without exception, ‘powerful thinkers’ and have exciting, ‘alive’, minds, that are working at far in excess of 44.1Hz. They are all ‘up’ people who think success, live success and breath success.  They go, not only the extra mile but, the extra ten miles.

 They are guys who ‘make’ their own luck.

 I have just read Howard Massey’s wonderful book: ‘Behind the Glass’, which gives ‘in depth’ interviews with the top 37 producers in the world today, and that whole ethos comes through, with a vengeance.  They all, without exception, think like me.  We are ‘get up and go’ people.  We don’t hang about waiting for the phone call…we make the phone call.

 We don’t hang about waiting to lose two stone…we lose three stone and look fantastic!

 We don’t dream of being fit, feeling fit and looking fit….we get up, run, jog and power walk.  We actually use the weights that we were bought for Christmas.  They ain’t a decoration in the bathroom.

 We don’t hang about waiting to go on holiday to get a tan, we go to the ‘tan‘ shop…oh, I’m rambling now….

But, you get what I mean?

We don’t wait for our boat to come in, we swim out to meet it.

 On a serious note, if you are looking to be successful in our great industry and you think all this talk and writing is ‘poppycock’, then you have seriously got our Industry all wrong.  No matter which side of our business you are in, writing, performing, producing, Theme Music, engineering, home recording…the success pattern is exactly the same…it’s YOU that has to be successful first - then your product!  I hope that makes sense.

 I went into a deep thinking thing when I got all those Emails….some Emails were happy, some sad, some, from guys, said: “Dec, you think exactly the same as I do, have you read: ‘Intuition, your Secret Power’ by Quentin Reynolds?”  A lot had books to suggest.   Now, I know I read lot, typically a half hour in the morning, and the same at night…but I can’t read every title.  As it happens, that’s a good book…and written by one of the Members of the Guild.  Now quoted in some mighty powerful, world class, motivational tomes.

 Seven of the Members of ‘The Serious Writers Guild’ are now published authors, since joining the Guild to learn about music making.

 Then, on the other hand, the Emails, written from the depths of despair….nothing going right, the whole world crumbling in…even a letter from a wife pleading for her songwriting husband who was just so, so afraid.

 I racked my brains…yep, I could remember a great, sort of, poem that I was recommended to, I suppose you could think of it in a motivational sense…it certainly motivated me…

 Could I find it?  I looked - every cupboard, every drawer.  Yes, I can remember having it pinned up over my computer…where is it?  Ah yes…and a word of advice, do what I did, and I have had some low moments in my life, copy it, and pin it up where you can most easily see it, every day, first thing.  Here it is:

 If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win but think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will,

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

Think about it.  Do you think you can?

 All the successful music guys…what do they exude?  Confidence, self esteem, power.  That is something that cannot be taught.  No amount of motivational tapes, seminars and books can make you what you don’t want to be, yourself.  So you have to realize that to be successful, you have to be ‘larger than life’, you have to have a smile on your face, you have to be a Jerry McGuire.  How did Alan Strachlan get to write the music background for ‘Who Wants To Be a   Millionaire’?  With sheer will power, sheer ‘get up and go’.  Not by sending off a couple of amateur demos in beaten up, worn out, jiffy bags covered in sellotape. 

 Does that inspire you to try harder?  I hope it does.

 “It’s all about decisiveness and having the confidence to move forward”

mick glossop [producer for Queen, Mott The Hoople, Frank Zappa, John Lee Hooker]

Regards

DEC

 “The purpose of music is to invoke emotion, but you also have to have technical skills to make a great record”

danny saber [producer: Black Grape, David Bowie, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Rolling Stones]

Tip of the Week:

For a stunning vocal sound, stand a mattress against the wall of your studio/bedroom/recording space [portrait fashion].  Place the vocal mike between you and the mattress, singing into the mattress.  To get even more stunning sound, surround yourself with blankets on the other three sides, hung to form a tight vocal booth [improvise how to hang them].  This way you can add effect.  With normal studio ambience, you are adding effect to the, already present, studio ambient effect.

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One moment with Stuart Goldsmith:

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