Every year I set out to achieve audacious goals. Sometimes I even succeed.
Setting goals has felt especially foolish these past couple of years. Last year at this time I asked “how do you plan when everything changes?”. I’m not sure I have an answer yet other than “you just do, anyways”.
Goals continue to set me on good paths – even if they don’t lead where I thought. Charting a path and reflecting on where I wind up reminds me that not all change is bad and there are still good surprises, even in these strange days.
I’ve had two words bouncing around my head this past week – “dumb hope”.
They may become more, but for now, that little phrase tells me to keep going – to be at least as naive as I am informed. I see the world and somehow, dumb as it may be, I hope.
Because what’s the alternative to hope?
And so, reality in one hand and dreams in the other, here are the goals I believe I can achieve this year. I won’t bog you down with details here but I’ve put timelines and budgets and other boring stuff in place to reach every one of these. Maybe.
Let’s see where 2022 takes us.
Goal 1 – Learn Piano
Last year I set out to become a better musician and I actually did. I’m still not where I’d like to be but I finished 2021 a much better guitarist than I started. I also finished 2021 with an expensive electric piano in my studio.
This year I want to learn more about theory and be able to write music on that piano.
I want to know what notes and chords I’m playing. I want to compose on piano without having to use my computer to fix everything I’ve just played.
This goal feeds a few others I have this year and it scares me because I’ve hit a wall with both theory and piano in the past. Dumb hope drives me on.
Goal 2 – Become a 3/4 Time Musician
I currently make income from music AND several other freelance pursuits (marketing, graphic design, video editing ….) Over the next two years, I want to be a music-maker full-time.
This doesn’t mean I make a full-time living selling and playing my music – that may take a long while still. It does mean I make all my income doing music-related jobs like podcast production, sound editing, jingle writing, composing for podcasts, films, games, and recording and producing other artists. Every one of these jobs feeds into my music career and builds my skill set. I also really love doing these things – especially working with other creatives.
I have a lot of learning to do.
This quarter I plan to learn about jingle writing. Where do I even start? Who do I talk to? Who does this in town? Quarter 2 I want to learn about licensing my music for film and TV. Hopefully learning these worlds will lead to some opportunities. I’m open.
Goal 3 – Release Music Monthly
Last year I finally put my first full album out into the world and it has been, for me, a huge success. I’m just a few units away from selling out my first order of 100 CDs and another order is in the mail, ready for upcoming shows and a (late) radio mail campaign. I’ve grown my streaming numbers significantly with this release and want to keep that momentum rolling.
Being forced to record an album at home made me fall in love with recording – and get pretty good at it.
Playing a 20+ stop yard tour last summer enabled me to improve my studio and pay for studio time to finish tracks I’ve been working on since 2018 (!). Those five songs will release this year, and I plan to release more covers and collaborations to fill out my release calendar.
Goal 4 – Grow Where My Fans Are
This year I’m focussing on three core communities for growth – Spotify, Instagram, and Email. I’ll be less focused on Facebook and Twitter and will continue to ignore TikTok completely. The jury is still out on YouTube. I have ideas, but I’m not sure it’s worth my time to pursue them.
When I think about it, the people who love what I do spend more time on Instagram than on other platforms. So do I. Email is still my favourite way to connect with my fans and the place we all get the most value. I have momentum on Spotify and I use it myself.
I have targets.
I set a goal in the fall to reach 400 Spotify followers this quarter. I hit that mark in December, thanks to some heavily paid advertising. By the end of the year, I’d love to have a month with 10000 streams – that’s a stretch at more than 10x what I currently have, but not impossible.
I want to take my Instagram from nearly 2000 to 4000 by year-end. I want to streeeeeetch.
I want to grow my email list to 300.
Don’t worry – numbers are the least important part of any of this for me so I’ll be okay. Shoot for the moon, land among the stars, right?
Goal 5 – Play New Venues
This year I want to play 2 new venues and 2 new festivals. These are not big numbers but they feel big enough with our current situation.
Live music still feels so tentative, but if the past couple of years are any indication we will have more opportunities come summer and I want to make sure I’m part of them.
I’ve already been emailing like a madman to make this happen and I have some exciting news to share very soon. Seriously, I cannot wait to tell you.
Goal 6 – Return to Podcasting
I love podcasts. I listen to them obsessively. I used to make some and I want to get back to telling stories with sound.
I have ideas in the works but time has not been on my side. Still, I’m not giving up. I know I have something to share with the world in this space and I’m going to make that happen this year.
Goal 7 – Build Community
Ah, people. Remember people?
I had some wonderful experiences of community and music this past year – from my yard concert tour full of beautiful people in lawn chairs to my online home recording meetup over Zoom. I want to create as much musical community as time allows this year.
I plan to launch a “Make It Small Together” support group online for musicians who are struggling with … fill in the blank … during the pandemic. I plan to book another yard tour as well, so get your yard ready for summer.
I’ve also set goals for new collaborations – I want to make music with at least two new artists this year. I’ve already got a head start on that and I can’t wait to share this new music from great artists you likely haven’t heard yet.
I feel like I have a little dumb hope to spare these days, so why not share it?
Goal 8 – Grow My Soul
All of this work takes a toll on the soul.
Where does dumb hope come from, amidst a global pandemic?
Spirituality has always been important to me, but I’ve lost myself a little in the past few years and I want to take some more time this year to quiet down and listen.
I’m not sure where this will lead me – my faith remains complicated and a big part of my kind of wants it to stay that way. I do know that you can’t give out and stay hopeful without taking good things in on the regular, so I’m planning to take some form of personal retreat each quarter this year.
That’s where I’m headed for 2022, dumb hope firmly in hand. The only thing I know from here is there will be surprises along the way.
Do you set goals? Intentions? Wishes? What are you hoping for in 2022?