Keeping The Dream Alive

Why Your Goals Make You A Better Music Editor, And Vice Versa

Without going Dr. Phil/Dr. Drew/Dale Carnegie on you guys/gals, we’d like to offer a thought that will (hopefully) inspire you to come to work every day with a smile on your face and a skip in your step. What are we talking about? Your dream. That glorious idea in the back of your mind that gives you impetus to keep working your “day job” while you imagine this idea coming to fruition.

Whether it’s a film you’ve envisioned, your own album, writing a how-to book or novel, developing a podcast series or maybe starting your own service company, the road to realization begins with your current work. And here’s why: developing your dream requires more than just that Aha! Moment. You need a plan—usually starting with a business plan—and then picturing the steps you need to take to make that dream happen.

As you develop this plan, you’ll want to apply everything you currently do at work: excellence in editing, attention to every detail and superb organization. Oh. And keeping a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) throughout the day is also crucial.

So as you go about the not-so-fun aspects of logging SMPTE codes, filing cue sheets and working on the next quarter’s budget, imagine this is YOUR business. What would you expect of someone working for you on YOUR dream?  What paperwork do you visualize necessary to see YOUR goals materialize? How are YOU going to market your final product/service?

At CSS Music we’ve dreamed of hearing our music in television and seeing our name in that LOOONNNG credit list of motion pictures. And thankfully, we’ve seen/heard both. And we can tell you from experience that keeping a “steady as she goes” attitude and tackling problems as they arise will result in success.

So when you’re laying in a CSS Music track in your next show, keep that PMA and strive toward excellence. It will definitely pay off when you begin/continue working on your dream. From the founder of McDonalds:

"Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -- Ray Kroc.