Firstly, a HUGE thank you to all who have downloaded, played and shared this podcast, you make my day everyday!

Two stories in this episode- one about a young musician whose mom tried to live out her fantasy of stardom through her daughter, creeping most people out in the process; and another involving an over-zealous musician who didn't seem to get the memo about over-sharing among your peers.

As with all things here, these are all true, real life things I have experienced in my life as an artist and educator in the arts, names have been withheld to protect the parties involved!

Ah, recital season, which also means "audition season"...

Are you prepared, are you ready for the self-doubt, the anxiety and the woulda-shoulda-coulda after thoughts?

Well, artsie, maybe you can find some solace in my words.

I've see the best and worst of folks when presentation gets confused with competition.

Art is not a competition. Expression is not a race.

Creativity is not something to be seen as a goal post or something to exceed.

You create because you must; and if you honour precedes your delivery, you may claim success!

Another true story from my life as a music teacher, but the message easily applies in any discipline.

What happens when you raise the bar, you know, raise your expectations, up your game?

Sometimes we exceed our goals, sometimes we feel like we're going backward.

It's a good thing to do this, but there can be some really tough moments when we hold ourselves to a new and higher standard.

I did a video for this episode which can be found on my YouTube page @resound7

As always, please feel free to comment, let's have a conversation!