Bike Riding → Singing → Making 💰?
If 🚴 = 🎤🎶 and 🚴 = 💵…
Does 🎤🎶 = 💵?
(INTRODUCTION - PART 1)
I once heard a speaker say learning how to make money is like learning how to ride a bike. It reminded me of when in college I heard a guest teacher in a masterclass say if you can learn how to ride a bike, you can learn how to sing. So can that mean if I can learn how to sing, I can learn how to make money?
I thought long and hard about that question. If I can finally figure out the singing—and it took three degree programs and more to finally get my classical technique solidified by the age of 30—can I finally figure out the other? And hopefully in less time, right? After all, many voice teachers say singing is supposed to feel easy and effortless, and many business and mindset coaches say money-making is supposed to feel easy and effortless! 😅
And so I wondered more about the course of my life journey of going from learning how to sing to learning how to teach singing, followed by learning how to earn more as an entrepreneur to learning how to mentor others to earn more. There are some interesting parallels between learning how to really sing, particularly as a soloist, and learning how to really sell yourself as an entrepreneur. I’ve noticed a similar heart rate whenever I’d walk on stage for an audition or I’d get on a call with a serious prospective client or make a sales pitch to an audience.
We could speak similarly about other artistic outlets, but I’ll keep this simple and focus on my own craft of singing. A case can be made that finding your most authentic voice with your singing (or other artistic medium) is very much like finding your most authentic voice for your entrepreneurial selling. It’s kind of like the unique “it factor” you find with your voice; there’s a similar “it factor” that makes selling yourself an effortless, trustworthy experience.
Singing is a very emotional experience. Asking for money for what you uniquely have to offer—especially your singing!—can also be a very emotional experience. They both can come with a lot of judgement, especially the more you succeed. Both can also contribute to higher than normal amounts of anxiety for many. Every voice is unique and goes on a unique journey to determine what it really has to offer, its most optimal and authentic sound, and how to best present itself within or beyond its genre and style. Every entrepreneur likewise goes on a unique journey to determine what they are most meant to offer to whom and why, confidently put themselves out there, and actually ask for and actually receive money in exchange for what they offer.
Gabriel Weiner on a recent Facebook Post wrote, “Your singing won’t just ‘click’ with a single ‘aha’ moment—it will fall into place after a series of vocal discoveries.” The same could be said about the personal development process for growing in our ability to gain the confidence to sell ourselves and our services and actually ask for money or an equivalence in exchange.
Parallels with the Books and Mentors too!
I’ve studied singing with three degree programs in vocal performance and beyond, including a doctorate. Like so many others, I had to deal with a lot of technical information on things like anatomy, physiology, and acoustics. While important, the information by itself did not help me sing better. When I started studying how to make more money, I was often sifting through a lot of technical information on things like economics, budgeting, and financial planning. And again while important, the information by itself did not help me make money as an entrepreneur!
The teachings of singing and entrepreneurship also both involve a lot of psychology, spirituality, and other mindset factors. Yet simply possessing the right mindset or psychology alone did not cause me to hit new high notes, nor did it help me hit a new high in my bank account balance. So both require a certain amount of individualized direction by teachers and mentors. Just as I had to deal with some questionable teachers while learning to sing, let’s just say that the business and life coaching spaces likewise have their questionable actors too!
Now I just need to get some bicycle instruction to bring this full circle…😬
The process for learning how to get better at all three activities isn’t a one-size-fits-all overnight panacea. In addition to building up the physical capabilities by developing the corresponding muscle groups and getting more comfortable actually doing the activities, we have to overcome various psychological challenges or fears that can keep us stuck from where we are. For many people, the fear of getting on the bike can feel similar to the fear of standing the stage, which can also feel like the fear of asking for money. Constant studying and practice with constant-spaced repetition until you get comfortable is the process for most people make a lasting change. And a mentor can help you get there faster!
From Traditional Career Goals to Entrepreneurial Ambitions
As I mentioned in an initial post, my original career dream was to become a professor who could offer a more pragmatic approach to voice teaching. I wanted to be a part of a new generation of teachers intent on being more encouraging and believing in their students’ potential. I also dreamed of one day giving more aspiring singers the chance they deserve by doing away with the common metrics and systems that seem to only discourage and suppress so much talent. But proving correct the “We plan, God Laughs” proverb, I learned how life doesn’t often unfold as expected.
The career dreams we have in our 20s tend to evolve into something else as we go through our 30s, and then even more so as we hit our 40s, when I currently am writing this. However, since the heart of entrepreneurship involves comparable challenges to the heart of singing, and because both the voice teaching and business coaching spaces have their polarizing personalities, it’s like I am now more daringly fulfilling my original dream by helping more people pragmatically learn to earn more actual money. And the more money you are able to earn and keep on earning, the less you have to worry about all the traditional gatekeepers!
It doesn’t matter how “perfect” your career is or was, there’s always something from your life that can be leveraged to help make others’ lives better. AND you can rightfully be remunerated without limits. I don’t yet have all the answers, but I’ve acquired quite a bit of wisdom from my eclectic career path as a freelance and entrepreneurial singer, actor, voice teacher, and now business mentor, plus my academic jobs, nine-to-five corporate jobs and other odd jobs and gigs to get by. I hope sharing some of my journey and its relatability, along with some tangible business and mindset direction, you will learn how you can likewise achieve wealth and success, no matter where you are in your journey.
Daring to put yourself out there as an entrepreneur, especially in new ways with new kinds of offers or contexts people aren’t used to seeing you in, is often as daring as trying to actually “make it” as a professional singer, actor, instrumentalist, or even as a biker, as well as any other capacity for which there is no predetermined “safe and secure” career route. The judgement of others can be intense with both, especially when you start climbing what will be your own personalized ladder of success. Whatever you’re meant to offer the world, I hope my writings here can serve as a foundational rock to help you take your entrepreneurial mindset to ever higher levels so you can get as rich as you desire so you can have that impact you’re most meant to have.
