Getting past it
2008-12-22
I love owning as little as possible.
Once you've moved a few times, packing and lugging piles of stuff you've acquired over the years, you can really appreciate the simple freedom of letting old stuff go, and refusing to acquire new stuff.
But minimalism is usually a quirk of the guilty affluent. Magazines about it sell well in expensive organic grocery stores. People without still want more.
I love open-source software.
Once you've felt trapped by expensive proprietary software lock-ins, you can really appreciate free open-source community-developed software like Firefox, Ubuntu, OpenOffice, GnuCash, GiMP.
But in many poor developing nations that seem like they'd need it most, attempts to integrate free software are refused, saying it's cheating people out of learning the best software used in the developed world. (Interesting story about this, here.)
I love independent musicians.
Once you've tangled with the dirty politics and greed that run the business of massive fame, or felt the sick post-signing regret realizing the executive that owns your music is now your boss, you can really appreciate the “indie” world, where you can make a living owning your own music, and are your own boss.
But many musicians are still trying to get signed.
Getting past it:
With each example, I realized that getting to the more peaceful place means getting past the original goal. It's only after you've had too much stuff, proprietary software lock-ins, or bad music biz dealings that you can appreciate the better option by comparison!
Which of course reminds me of many mistakes I've made in relationships, business, management or programming. I had to make the mistake to feel the pain and realize why it was a mistake.
Or did I?
We all know that through vivid storytelling (whether oral, written, or movies) you can feel you've experienced something, just by hearing it.
Maybe we need more vivid stories that can help people feel the pain of the mistake vicariously without having to make the mistake?
Unfortunately, we can only pass on / inherit knowledge and not wisdom. Until we can actually do that, people will continue to make the same mistakes others have made. Redundant problem solving.
Quite a poignant post and a lesson I learned recently, too. Almost half of my house flooded, which forced me to live on one level, and after a while having all those other floors seemed silly and unnecessary. I came to love and appreciate the new-found minimalism. There were parallels to this lesson in other areas of my life but the house flooding provided a great metaphor. Being in the peaceful place is joyful, getting there is a journey! Embrace the process and trust the universe.
Great post, I love the idea of not only having to own things (I prefer to lease), but to learn without the pain. That's because I'm the kind of person that loves to avoid that if there is valid information that will help me fastrack to my objective, rather than go down the wrong path, then find out I need to backtrack to accomplish something.
The right story definitely can help with that!
Unfortunately, it seems humans for the most part primarily learn only when forced to, the hard way, if they learn at all...
We seem to be stubborn creatures, and I love how the movie 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' approaches this fact.
The greatest progress in human history seems to come out of the most traumatic catastrophe.
I do believe that as we evolve, we won't have to go through pain to learn things. Bahá'u'lláh said that humanity is in an adolescent stage right now, so it is a particularly difficult time for us.
But I think we can change! If we want to badly enough. Obama's election is proof of that.
Absolutely, Derek! The best art in all forms endures precisely because it tells stories that are timeless to the human condition. Aesop's fables and Shakespeare have the same benefit. Of course, it's easier said than done - as David Lee Roth says: "recognise the same mistake every time you make it".
re: people still wanting to get signed. They don't know what they are getting into and/or don't realize the late great Tower Records basically, stocked the major labels, and so has TV but in these economic times - if you had to pick between TV or the internet, most urban connected people (music buying public) would dump the TV. The content is far richer and of more value on the internet as it is at CD Baby...compared to the majors. Indies and the net are here to stay and come push and shove - the majors and TV are out. But, there are people who haven't accepted all the changes, and they'll learn....they'll learn.
I agree. Completely.
I myself have fallen in love with Ubuntu. I have also fallen in love with the concept behind Ubuntu's integrated Synaptec Package Manager. When I have a task that no software currently installed fulfills (particularly a simple task, say conversion from A to B) I can open the package manager and search for something. And it's all (or almost) open source freeware.
I find the fears of the major software companies -- particularly the audio software devs -- make for irritating, crippling setbacks. I have actually bought quite a bit of Native Instruments plugins, such as Drum Kit from Hell 2. All the NI plugins have this daft copy protection system. Recently, I have changed the partition sizes of my system drive. I had to re-register all the NI plugins. And NI actually charge money for that. No thanks, NI, I already paid for the freakin' software. I find myself using cracks on software I already bought because the copy protection methods are so long-winded, irritating and crippling (as I said).
I love Ubuntu. I love REAPER (not actually free, but there's no crippling copy-pro so it almost is). I love Mitter. I never liked MSOffice -- buggy and annoying. I love OpenOffice, though. For years, I have used The GiMP for all my graphics work and photo editing. Totally. I have used PhotoShop a few times and didn't like it in comparison. Not sure why it remains the industry standard.
After years of hating macs and being relatively contempt with Windows 2000 Pro SP4 (loathing XP, 98, ME, etc) I have finally found happiness with Ubuntu. After years of using WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows (and being very happy with it, actually), I have changed over to OpenOffice, which I love just as much.
It's not even about the price. It's about less people working on the code. Less people working on code means the code is not scattered around and consequently buggy, unefficient, etc.
Too many cooks spoil the broth. Pitty MS haven't learnt that... the last 3 OSes might not have been littered with bugs (WinME, WinXP, WinVista).
On the subject of learning from mistakes...
The cave man who puts his hand in the fire and never does so again is a wise man worthy of evolution.
The cave man who puts his hand in the fire, laughs, then does it again, on the other hand... well, let's just say sometimes I think it was HE who evolved to become us. 8-)
Wasn't that girlie film 'Juno' exactly the kind of film you were talking about, Derek? Having said that, I never saw it. No intention of doing so, either. Too girlie.
Whatever. I'll end this comment now. I'm tired, so sorry if it was a bit ranty.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But its not everything. Foresight, insight, and good old sight, by which I mean just paying attention, are more important than knowing how to run your life in retrospect.
Personally I believe than pain is just part of the human experience. Why would I want to avoid running one of the tour hire cars into the back of the other tour hire car (true). Difficult as that was, at the time, it makes for a fantastic story that I love to dine out on.
You have to experience things to know them. Anything that come from someone else's experience you can only believe in. More on that here - http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=164646728&blogID=271704369
derek.
funny how i have never seen you and Sleep in the same place at the same time? coincidence? i think not.
on computers...
...for me, i have gone beyond simplifying with the computer. i use an apple. most of the software i need is already on here....and i can leave it at the apple store when it doesn't work. i have spent years watching spinning rainbows and hourglasses. it has become a quality of life issue. i calculated that i had between 2-3 years of watching my processor in the last 7-10 years....
i could have been relaxing. meeting new people....having fun on twitter!! ...building a mailing list (a lot less processor time, and more long term career health than begging my computer not to crash 'This' time).
the computer is no longer the center of my house or my life.
people are.
on career...you have uncanny truth derek.
with my music, my market found me, years ago. but they never told me, they are very quiet (they're "gen y," -hate that term, it is so degrading).
so your advice, in my case, is spot on. by working towards my 'real world,' practical plan- my market goals- i was missing a group of people that had already decided on me...(and they weren't on my marketing radar so i didn't notice how many had started be present to the work being created....).
my internal lesson was....
work and goals Are important.
people are More important.
when i focus on 'me' and my goals
my life has Stress
when i focus on others and the growth possible from Listening
my life has Meaning
i decided to turn my career to helping people, and a couple of my fans (that i didn't know i had) asked if i could help them voice some of the frustrations they are having in their generation bracket...
that's how i found cdbaby. my 24 year old nephew has been using the service for years and was jumping out of his skin to get me on there when he found out about my first album...
funny, turn of event circles like this are so much easier when i stop the myopic 'me' thing and just look around...
i am humbled by your generousity of time and spirit, facilitating these discussions
thank you for asking my opinion
stef
I've moved home more than 30 times in 53 years, and each time found a different facet of the same fractures and fissures. I've been working on a memoir called School for Wonder for the past 10 years, and am only now beginning to write in my own voice.
Voice is leveled and balanced by the process of reflecting, steadily growing and changing according to deeper commitment to seeing clearly, losing the need for pictures and protection. It doesn't have to be audible to change other people profoundly.
Our vivid stories of mystery are SO necessary, and different perspectives make them glow, with every rewrite and edit, from every different angle. We can connect intimately, fearlessly. All that's missing in cyberspace gets grounded when it falls into the next person's care.
Gene Roddenberry had a similar idea. A bit of back-story behind the Star-Trek series tells this story:
An inventor, by the name Zefran Cochran created faster-than light travel with the Warp-Drive. When he registered his patent, he left it open, much like open-source software today.
This way, any one could profit from it.
This eventually led to the elimination of money on earth, and for a much better world.
This is happening today, with open-source software and the like.
For example, the new Apple Operating system is Linux. It was open-source, and Apple used it.
Obviously, not every person has the resources to re-write an OPERATING SYSTEM another organization built, but hey, I'm typing this in the new FLOCK browser, built from open-sourced Firefox code.
Our greatest obstacle is ourselves.
Technology is freeing us (people downloading MP3's leads to this, which leads to that, which leads to no record labels, someday), it will take all of us to shape what music will mean for everyone tomorrow.
There are plenty of vivid stories about materialism and having too much stuff.
There is also a good amount on the perils of major labels as well.
Not so much on open source software -- can a narrative on that subject ever be that appealing? Not very tangible heroes or villains... and where does the love story fit in?
I spent my Sunday afternoon digging through my wife's aunt's storage unit looking for twenty-year-old ski clothes. She watches QVC all day buying the most useless stuff, and then stores it.
Getting rid of stuff is so refreshing! Been doing it for the past few months. Gradually giving stuff away on Craigslist instead of throwing it away.
Also, I was just talking about how AVG Free is my favorite anti-virus program for Winblows, while Norton, one of the most poopular anti-virus suites on the market, and gives your computer syphilis.
d; well said. I wonder how your good fortune (well deserved might add) has changed your perspective on this...in other words, did this thinking change post "success" or was it there prior? very few people ever accomplish a feat like u have, and it's always interesting to dive deeper to see what atttitudes change.
keep up the great work, and again, congrats!
Great post. Experiencing what we don't want can often help us figure out what we do. "Bad" relationships, "bad" biz deals, "bad" software experiences all help us get that much clearer on what we realy want out of a relationship, deal or software.
It's Maslow's pyramid. Enlightenment is only afforded to those who can bother to take the time to concern themselves with it. "Things" are largely physical representations of security. If you can see the things that meet your needs, then you know your needs are filled. Forced minimalism is poverty. Chosen minimalism is freedom. What's in between the two is a matter of privilege.
Or maybe there are no mistakes but only one sublimely designed trajectory that we follow as it unfolds...
When a few decide what music is important for the "masses" everyone loses out. Let's hope that the internet continues to level the playing field for the real talent that is out there. I've heard more talent in my local coffee house than I do on the radio....or TV.
I agree - it's best to live with as little as possible.
About 8 years ago I traveled through Europe with a tiny rolling suitcase, small purse/bag and that's about it.
Still working on the "getting rid of stuff" part. Now if people would stop sending me boatloads of CDs...I literally give away dozens of CDs a week yet I still seem to get more.
I need to try this open software stuff. You just create documents online? How does it work?
Yeah, everyone in the business knows majors suck yet most artists still want to "get signed" - the allure of having 'the work done for you' and 'instant fame' are all too alluring...I wonder what will happen in a few more years when indie labels are the new "majors" and majors have about 3 artists and $4 in their bank accounts...
My biggest mistake in the indie musican era was to believe the hype created by "unsigned" music festivals and for me to enter them. Little did I know that those type of institutions were only interested in making money from our fans using the band itself as their cheap publicity machines.
I now know better
Yeah for less! I'm a big fan of cleaning out and clearing out-- nothing like the feeling of clearing a space in life... Cheers to you, Derek. Keep up the great blogs and work!!
i have no choice to get past the mistakes, but if only they didn't cost so much $$$ ;) Plus, after while, one needs to have more 'wins' than mistakes or else it just plain wears ya down... love the sentiment of 'moving past the goal'... yes..
Happy Holidays Derek! hope to continue a dialogue with you into 2009, thanks for being a fighter and champion for the indie musician...
p.s. maybe there should be a "Don't Make The Same Mistake" archive/webpage that everyone can post to... you could call it the "Oh Shucks Page"...
oh the things I would write...
I see, in your recent posts, a definite Buddhist trajectory here. Interesting how musicians/artists usually end up walking down that road.
There are occasions when I hear a story from someone else and decide it isn't a path I need to walk myself. One friend told me over ten years ago about how traveling on business is not as exciting as it might seem. I remembered this and held on to it - I was able to use his experience to "get past" that desire so that I could focus my energy, my desires, my dreams in another direction. Keeping our eyes and ears open to the stories the world has to offer us is a big part of this learning process. Offering our stories to others, especially when solicited, is also part of the process. That being said, I do believe that much of my learning is a "peace in progress". What I had written in the preface to my album with this title was that I used to believe that conflicting internal commentary, misunderstandings in our homes and communities, and wars of all kinds obstructed peace, until I realized that navigating this terrain is part of our collective peace in progress. I feel that we grow the most after having navigated the terrain ourselves, however painful and time-consuming it might be.
It is becoming somewhat unnerving to come to your blog and always read an article that is exactly tuned to my mindset at the moment.
We can learn from others' mistakes, just as we learn to love things that are hyped and may not in fact be what would make us happy. One of the first stages of adulthood is defining what you dislike. Ever noticed that? But then over time (and it may change), you discover the more important, positive thing: what you like. What gives you energy, as you have said, rather than drains and depresses you.
I too could share some first-class music biz mistakes. But that's called burning bridges, I believe!
I was taught once in school (of all places) that if you learn from your mistakes, it means you're smart. But if you can learn from other people's mistakes, then you're a genius.
Point of order to Robert McDonald :
Apple OSx is not based on linux. It is based on BSD.
Derek,
habe you read
See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward
and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver?
as to the simplicity aspect, as well as learning from mistakes, I think they might have perspectives you'd find interesting.
Good post Derek!
I work with hundreds of indie artists on indieheaven.com
I love working with indies as well, and most of our members do not want to be dependent on others for their careers. That is what I have been teaching them since 1997.
Take a read of my blog to see what I am telling them. http://www.indieheaven.com/blog
peace!
I've always been a believer in exposing yourself to as many experiences as possible. Well rounded is always better than flat.
I think actually making the mistake is more beneficial than a vivid story of it.
(by the way, I love the simple, clean design of your site!)
On moving all the clutter you've accumulated: Remember the adage, "three moves are as good as a fire."
that is why we had mythology and the fables to teach us life lessons with out having to do it "the hard way". I have been a student of minimalism and feel like i always will be. learn more and more everyday to trust the process and the universe provides what is needed. in my music, personal and emotional life it has never done me wrong. great thoughts. thanks for it.
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
— Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Now i finally get what that quote is all about.