When “Do What You Love” Fails You

One question I’ve been asking songwriters who feel stuck is “what gets in the way of you writing regularly?”

Of the hundreds of responses I’ve gotten in the past few months, there is a persistent theme. Recognise any of these in your life?

“I have a full time job, and take care of my family, home, animals, etc.”

“My schedule, tiredness (from work), and family obligations stop me writing.”

“Chronic procrastination is a major issue.”

Friend, all of these things apply to me too. I have two little kids under 10. I have a full-time job (last year, I was teaching at 2 higher ed institutions, running a YouTube channel, running several live Workshops every month – answering email, cooking dinner, packing lunchboxes, going to doctor’s appointments, caring for my aging mother…)

The time pressure is real. There’s no denying that.

But you know what’s way worse? The pressure of your one life passing, one day at a time, while you put off your calling.

When I am on my deathbed, I don’t want to regret what I didn’t do.

I want to have a bias toward action; to take bold steps towards that which gives me joy, makes my life meaningful, taps into my creative wellspring, and connects to what is most life-giving.

I want to have made something – not merely consumed what others have made.

So let me tell you what doesn’t work.

“Just do what you love” doesn’t work. We love songwriting. That’s clearly not the issue. We aren’t lacking passion or dedication to songcraft – it’s the follow-through that’s missing.

But also?

“Discipline” doesn’t work (let’s be honest: ‘discipline’ looks like putting things in your calendar, doing it for a week, and then just feeling bad the rest of the time because you stopped doing it—who is really getting up at 5am to ‘write’ regularly?—and now it’s just an angry red brick in your calendar pointing out how you failed at discipline this week, yet again…)

I’ll tell you what does work.

• Deadlines.
• Accountability.
• Community.

AND JOY.

​​That’s why we created the HTWS Songwriting Accelerator Independent — to give you the structure, guidance, and tools to make rapid progress in your songwriting. And to be in the company of mentors, peers, and collaborators who nourish your spirit, fuel your drive, and provoke your creativity.

Successful songwriters already know this – you don’t have to do it alone.

Not only that – they know that true creativity doesn’t actually happen alone, in a vacuum. Being surrounded by other creative people (and hot tip: others that are further along the journey than you) is not a side dish: it’s the main course.

Successful songwriters seek out collaborators, community, and mentors.

Successful songwriters don’t convince themselves that they MUST do everything by themselves.

The HTWS Songwriting Accelerator Independent is for you if you know you don’t need more ‘content’—you need to implement. You need to fast-track the songwriting process. You need to consistently finish your songs. And you need to (….finally…) refine your body of work that’s been sitting on your hard drive for months (okay, years).

It’s for you if you are done wondering “what if?”, done with wondering how to progress, done with wasting time, and you want an intensive and radically practical path to improve your songs and songwriting—for life.

We LOVE that you love songwriting. Now let’s bring in the missing pieces:

Deadlines.

Accountability.

Community.

AND JOY.​
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We’ve already welcomed in the early joiners into the program which kicks off this Sunday night.

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Other ways to write better songs with us:

• Simply want to write more? ▶️ J​oin an 8-week Songwriting Sprint.​
• Want feedback, community, and resources? ▶️ Join our membership Community.​
• Want topic-specific info? ▶️ Check out the newly minted (and totally free) Resource Library​