Project Beast Life

Ok, So this past week I worked on more tracks than I have in a long time, which felt GREAT. The trade off, though, was that I ended up procrastinating on a few things that are going to bring me immediate income. That's not good.

Being the man that I am, every time this happens I feel a great sense of urgency to get my hustle on and get my shit straight so that this doesn't happen anymore. Some good usually comes out of the situation.

It's like I turn my own mistakes into a great motivation to improve. 

Those of you that are familiar with my philosophies of motivation already know about what I refer to as working in Beastmode. Today, in a fit of inspiration, I chose to take that concept one step further, which I will explain in a second.

One thing I learned from Matador, and a book that he gave reference to (Getting Things Done by David Allen) was the importance of dividing every aspect of your life into "projects", so that you can plan out the steps necessary to complete those things which need completion, and you can keep a closer eye on their progress.

For instance, I have been planning Project Super Engineer for some time now. 

Today, I took these concepts one step further by creating an over-arching project designed to keep all of the individual projects running smoothly. This project is to be maintained, not so much to be completed. 

This is something that I wrote to myself, to get thoughts straight in my head. This applies to MY life and may not apply to yours. It will be tweaked in the future, but after feeling the sense of motivation that it gave me, I decided to share it with all of you. You're welcome.

Without further ado, I give you Project Beast Life:

Before this project can begin, you must have your top 8 goals for the year written down. The following "rules" will facilitate the completion of said goals.

Although a beast lives happily and contentedly in the moment, he also creates his own future, leaving little to chance or fate. He does this through the use of planning, goal setting, and follow through. These goals, and the completion of them, will NOT make the beast happy, but will aid in the construction of the lifestyle of his choosing. THIS is the beast's motivation for making the sacrifices and living the disciplined life necessary for this accomplishment. 

Project Beast Life:

Get up at 9:00 am until it feels normal (This is early for music industry folks)

Even if I worked until 8:00 am (it happens) the night before, get up at 9:00 am.

Visualize EVERY day after eating a beastly breakfast

Go to the gym BEFORE work. Bring toiletries to shower at the gym. This could save up to 45 minutes in travel time (2-3 hours a week)

Prepare meals at home - the Beast does not eat fast food.

Take meals to work - the Beast DOES NOT eat fast food.

Stay on that Beast Chow. Lean Meals. 2-3 Protein shakes per day, and plenty of carbs. You need that Beast Fuel, especially since you are hitting the weights hard these days.

Every day, M-F must include Promo (my job outside of the music industry) if I didn't work at a studio. Weekends too, if I didn't get in enough promo during the week.

Every night before bed, plan out the next day. Try to plan the exact times, although the order of completion should be sufficient as long as you stick to the plan. The Beast does not like living an overly rigid life, but he feels much more beastly when he actually gets his shit done. 

Every sunday, plan out the upcoming week. You don't have to decide on exact times, but plan exact days for each task, for sure. 

Also every sunday, evaluate your goals and the progress towards their completion. This includes 1yr, 5yr, and 10yr goals. 

Read this list every day until is it second nature. All of these are mandatory.

So that is Project Beast Life. I would also like to include the top 8 goals for the year that I came up with along with the project. These are also almost certain to change. I have other, more longer term goals, but I'm sure you will read about them in other post.

Top 8 Goals for '09 (In no order, and destined to change)

3 Major Label/Major Artist recording credits (This is almost complete, if not fully. Yay!)

Keep up with the gym routine and beast diet. NO cheating. Ideal weight: 185 - 190 lbs.

Live self sufficiently AND save money in Atlanta, GA by making atleast $2400 a month. (ATLEAST)

Buy a flat screen TV.

Buy a couch.

Buy a GOOD pair of headphones ($$$!)

Ensure that Project Super Engineer is full throttle (This includes a separate list of goals).

Volunteer time at least once per month (exact charity/cause is TBD)

Every Sunday, evaluate these goals, and figure out what can be done NOW for each one to aid in your progress. Remember, this isn't to make life a boring routine. This is how you get what you want. If the goals change, that is absolutely okay.

Writing these thoughts down helps me stay aware of them, and when I look back over them, I will be motivated to maintain in their progress. I hope you have found some inspiration in them, and you can help keep me accountable, now that you are aware of some of my goals. 

Now, if you will excuse me, I have laundry to fold, and then a show to promote. Don't forget to watch Eastbound and Down on HBO, sunday nights immediately following Flight of the Conchords. Goodnight.

BANGER!

The feeling is so good when you make a beat that you KNOW is a banger. Like, you can hear the hook on it already. You can hear that shit on the radio, ring tones, and ipods everywhere.

I had recently taken a break from making beats in order to focus on sharpening my engineering chops. I feel like they are a lot sharper, but I am nowhere near done with that. Being a badass engineer takes a long time. As much as I would love to just sit around and make beats all day, I feel like being a good engineer will make me a better producer. Also, I know that being an engineer will give me a lot of good connects and put me in a better position to launch a production career. Chess, playa, not checkers. 

But the beats are calling me back...So much so that I woke up at 3:45 this morning, ate a turkey sandwich, drank a protein shake, and made 4 beats in 30 minutes. Must have been the shake.

No, seriously, I wanted to make four beats without spending more than seven minutes on each one. That way, I wouldn't get too caught up or invested in one beat that could very well turn out to be garbage. Once they were done, I would pick the best one, and that would be the one that I would flesh out and finish. I may have gotten two out of this session, but I know for sure that one of them is a banger. Actually, I liked all of them until I got to the end and listened to them all consecutively. Only two were still cool after that. 

This is a lot better than the last time I tried this exercise, and the exact thing I was trying not to do ended up happening. I ended up working on one beat for like three hours straight, changing the entire direction about four times. And at the end, it was OK. Not incredibly fucking awesome like you would hope. 

As it is, I worked for 30 mins, and came up with a banger. Possibly two. Of course, I will spend several hours more on them, but the groove, the soul of the beat, is already there. I will most likely be making beats this way for a while. 

Introduction

What it do? I'm Zach Steele. I was born to make music. I haven't thought about doing anything else since I got my first electric guitar in 6th grade. Probably before that. Right now, I am working as an engineer in Atlanta, GA.

I don't wanna do some corny ass introduction, so I'm gonna briefly explain what this blog is about, and then I'm gonna get right to it.

This blog is about music. Mostly the construction of my career as a music producer. It chronicles my adventures and mishaps in a crazy and ever-evolving industry. Here, you will read about my beliefs, thoughts, and actions as I attempt to do something your parents will have you believe only happens in fairy tales: Make music for a living.

This blog is also about other things. I will post about things production, engineering, and gear related. I will also post about things that have nothing to do with music whatsoever. It is very likely that I will be writing about women. I love them. You will also get acquainted with my thoughts on self-development. That's always important.

I have much to share with you. I hope you can find some wisdom in this blog. I also believe that writing my thoughts here will greatly improve the speed at which I learn the lessons that this industry, and life in general, are trying to teach me. And hopefully you will be slightly entertained. I'm being a bit too modest. You're gonna love it. I would appreciate any and all feedback from you guys. 

Well, here we go...