This is the season where graduating students are hearing from doctorate programs, festivals, grants, fellowships, professional auditions and other opportunities for which they have applied. Inevitably, there will be rejections along with a few acceptance letters. And with those rejections, it’s not hard to fall into the trap that you are somehow not good enough and that you will never …
The Growth Mindset Updated: 3 Ways to Help Music Entrepreneurs Achieve Success
As I sit in my office at Yale listening to a piano student next door repeating the same passage in the same EXACT way for what seems like hours, I have an urge to knock on the door and say to this person, “Mere repetition is not going to help you improve. You need smart new strategies and the growth mindset!” …
Riding On Talent: Why Musicians Need the Growth Mindset to Succeed
Working with the high-level graduate students at the Yale School of Music reveals an undercurrent that pervades a lot of high-achievers: riding on talent. It stems from a mindset (known as the Fixed Mindset) that does not allow failure. Paradoxically, those who ride on talent are not as likely to experience success as those who work hard and learn from …
Creativity for Music Entrepreneurs Part V: Design Thinking in 3 Steps
Design Thinking is all the rage these days in academic circles, often misused and overhyped as the perfect teaching tool. In fact, Design Thinking is an excellent process for advancing creativity and innovation when properly understood and applied. Design thinking is the human-centered design process that helps you understand the emotional needs of the people whose problems you are solving through …
Networking and the Growth Mindset: How Music Entrepreneurs Can Learn to Love Networking
Summer is a great time to network! Chances are that you are touring, at a festival or engaged in a new teaching or performance venues where you are likely to be meeting a lot of new people. Yet for so many people, networking brings up a lot of negativity. I have heard the following: Networking feels sleazy activity but musicians have to …
Get the Most From Your Practicing: How Music Entrepreneurs Use the Growth Mindset for Optimal Results
Do you feel stuck in the practice room? You are not alone! All those hours of practicing can be frustrating and make you feel that you will never make it as a musician in the professional world. Enter the growth mindset, one of the most powerful concepts to help music entrepreneurs achieve success. The growth mindset is the brainchild of …
How Music Entrepreneurs Stay Positive: 4 Mindset Strategies to Help Through Tough Times
My coaching groups at Yale are going strong! Students appreciate having a confidential forum where they can share successes and challenges with a trusted group of peers and learn new strategies for creating sustainable careers. With the semester winding down in a few weeks, our students, especially those who are graduating, are finding it a challenge to keep their spirits up …
Mock Auditions at the Yale School of Music: A Rich Growth Experience for Music Entrepreneurs
Last week, students at the Yale School of Music were treated to an extraordinary experience: mock orchestral auditions with a panel of 3 world-class musicians: Maestro Peter Oundjian, Music Director of Toronto Symphony and former first violin of the Tokyo String Quartet, and two professors from the Yale School of Music, William Purvis (French Horn) and Robert Van Sice (Percussion). Nine brave student …
The Power of Vulnerability: How Music Entrepreneurs Experience Deeper Connections and Authentic Success
Now into their second year, my coaching groups at the Yale School of Music have provided a powerful measure of support to our budding artists as they forge the joys and the uncertainties of the artistic path. This year, our coaching groups were much more free form than last year. Students shared their challenges and successes and we improvised our topics …
The Power of Yet: How Music Entrepreneurs Are Inspired to Create Long-Term Success
I greatly admire the groundbreaking work of Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University, who lays out her research on the type of mindset that leads to success in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Dr. Dweck identifies two mindsets: the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. Those with a growth mindset do not simply rely on “talent” …