This New Year release is a story of letting go. It’s not a new recording — yet! In order to complete my upcoming album, I first need to create more space.
For the New Year, I’m letting go of what no longer serves me. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s more difficult.
I had a different New Year’s blog post in mind. I envisioned myself dusting and vacuuming, straightening and clearing my studio. Writing about it and taking some photos.
Instead, I just cancelled my guitar lessons website. I won’t bother linking to it in this post as it’ll probably be non existent by the time you read this. In essence it was called Free Guitar Lessons Online — and it was my very first website.
I started building it in March 2009. It was intended as a way to make people aware of my music — but somehow it became it’s own thing.
For almost 4 years, I dove deep into a “system” about learning about the internet. SEO, keywords, how to write better headlines, optimize videos, create a newsletter list, etc.
The site was based entirely on guitar lessons. Mostly with video and written content. Back then the way to earn money on the internet was via Google ads.
People would bid to have their ads placed alongside relevant content. I was a content provider who was able to attract a good amount of traffic.
And even though my first intention was to use the guitar lessons to raise people’s awareness about my music, this soon became obscured by my new plan…
My Dream of Passive Income
I would create enough content to provide a steady stream of “passive income” via ads on my site. This would free me up to spend more time recording my music.
The Universe — and the Intelligent order of things — had other plans! Just as my site started to cross the threshold of attracting enough organic traffic via Google to make some decent money from the ads, Google began a drastic restructuring of it’s algorithms.
Most smaller sites got “hit” — even though Google’s intention was to eliminate the “bad guys” who had been gaming the system for a few years.
Even though my site played by the rules, it was hit pretty hard. I was “screwed” — at least with making enough passive income through ads.
I still had enough traffic to make money — but I would need to develop a suite of guitar lesson products and learn how to sell them.
I felt really down at the time — I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel the creative drive to develop these products and sell them, but I didn’t know what else to do.
As time went on, I started to pay less and less attention to my guitar lessons website — although I tried a few other strategies just to be sure. I even managed to build a Facebook page on guitar lessons that has over 20k likes. It still gets many likes and views and I stopped touching it several months ago.
Meanwhile, I continued to teach my private students here in my studio and work on my songs and my music. However, that was only on the surface…
Getting Honest With Myself
I started getting more in touch with myself about certain core issues. I get up early most mornings and actively meditate, journal and reflect. I used this time to ask myself what I really want out of life.
I began to realize that I had been playing it safe. That the guitar lessons site was a substitute for what I really wanted to do — create and perform my songs for people!
I had to dig deep to get past blocks in my mind that came up with all kinds of reasons and beliefs to discourage me from following my heart.
I’m still working with these old belief systems while I continue to take action everyday in the direction of my true desires.
I have come to feel deeply that I am co creating with the Universe — and that by staying true to myself, the light of the Universe is able to shine more brightly into this world.
By healing these limitations within myself, I’m helping to heal the planet. It’s not just about me. It’s about humanity.
Do you have any limitations holding you back? If so, it’s ok. If you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t be here experiencing life in a physical body!
I’m not here to tell you what to do about it. Just please don’t use any of this as a stick to beat yourself up with! We are all in this healing process together 🙂
New Year Release
I’m telling my story as a way to inspire you. If I can do it, so can you type of thing.
This New Year, look around and see if there is anything that no longer serves you. Then see if you’re ready to let go of it.
Start with small things. Material goods and items (I just let go of a winter jacket I’ve had for almost 10 years. How did I manage to create sentiment around such an item? I had it on when I “hooked up” with my wife Mary. Lol.)
Work your way up slowly. Very slowly if you’re new to this type of thing. Baby steps are all that’s necessary. Be gentle with yourself, but lean into it.
Wishing you all the best for this New Year of 2015!