This year I’m going to get back into learning the saxophone.
This year I’m going to write my memoirs.
This year I’m going to start an eBay business.
Do you remember saying it (or whatever it was that you did say)?
And, now that the year is marching determinedly along, let me ask: Have you done it?
If you have, then every credit to you. You deserve the fruits of your endeavours. But, if you haven’t, let’s take a look at how you could go about not finding yourself in the same (rather uncomfortable and leaky) boat this time next year.
A goal is a perfect (and, indeed, essential) starting point for any endeavour. But, until you have a plan for actually achieving the goal, the goal is only a hope or a dream. In order to realise goals, you have to make the transition from ‘hopes and dreams’ to ‘achievements’. And you have some work to do!
Suppose you’d like to get back to playing the sax and to become proficient enough to join a band. Here’s what won’t make that dream come true:
- Watching lots of YouTube videos;
- Telling all your friends and family about your ambition;
- Investing in a new, professional-quality instrument;
- Polishing your old instrument and blowing a few notes on it occasionally while you wait for your new one to arrive;
- Scrolling through ‘sax teachers’ on www.MusicTeachers.co.uk
Each of these is a good thing to do. And doing them all is even better (although I’d caution you against buying the new instrument just yet). But, even if you were to do them all, is that likely to bring you any closer to fulfilment of your dream?
Possibly. But probably not.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Even though all those things would be helpful (although whether investment in a new instrument is necessary just yet is debatable), they will not, in and of themselves, make your dream come true. To make that happen, you need a plan: commitment, steps, dates, and action.
Let’s think about it this way:
- A dream that you commit to achieving becomes a goal;
- A goal broken down into steps becomes a strategy;
- A strategy whose steps are linked to dates becomes a plan;
- A plan backed by action makes your goal possible.
Without a plan, you may well improve as a saxophonist. But without a plan (and without the will to practise practise practise!) the chances of your becoming a member of the next big band on the jazz circuit are probably fairly small.
So let’s think about plans. Your plan might include:
- All of the things listed above (and perhaps even the new sax);
- A practise routine that includes technique, theory, repertoire, and improvisation;
- Finding a teacher and fitting regular lessons in to your schedule;
- Going to gigs (and that might have to be on Zoom) and getting yourself known in jazz circles.
But even a plan isn’t going to help you unless, deep down in your heart, becoming a proficient saxophonist (or artist, or marathon runner, or whatever your dream it is to be) really is what you want to do – and really is what you are prepared to put the effort in for. Following a dream, in a strategic, committed way, involves hard work, commitment, and investment (not only of time and energy but usually of money too). You may find yourself facing tough decisions about your priorities. But, once you’ve made a decision (and let’s assume that the decision is that you do want to become a proficient saxophonist and that you are prepared to put in the hard work) then the next step is to start devising your plan.
My wish for you is that, by this time next year, that plan having been made and implemented, you find yourself in a completely different (and leak-free) boat.
If you find that you have the will to turn your dream into reality but are finding difficulty in drawing up your plan, I may be able to help. Send a message and tell me about the plan you want to make. And read about my approach to counselling, mentoring and life-coaching.
