What Have I Learned Since Dropping YHEYN?
Today someone texted me (I have yet to reply).
They asked this simple question: What’s Something You’ve Learned Since Dropping Your Ep?
I’ve learned that excuses are tools of incompetence which build monuments of nothingness. Being a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, Sorority INC., I learned this poem as a part of our induction process. The ep changed course so many times. I placed excuse after excuse on why I couldn’t get it completed. I even made poor mistakes financially that put me in a major setback as well (more on that in #2). But, I made excuse after excuse when in reality, I was just failing at focus. And when you fail at focus, you fail at completing your projects.
Don’t take the money out if you really don’t have a CLEAR & CONCISE plan for how it will be used. I made a huge mistake by allowing the original Kickstarter funds to just sit next to my personal funds. At the time I didn’t have a job that gave me a lot of money and I also decided to move around that time back to the Philly area. This caused a quick confusion and mixing of my funds that didn’t allow me to execute the ep in a financially responsible way. I gave money to friends who were supposed to be helping with the album BEFORE we ever completed or started anything and got no return of service on this. That situation really burned me and made me feel very down about this entire process.
I moved and had to use some of the funds to help that transition go as smoothly as possible. I quickly looked back and saw that most of the funds for the ep—I had to actually pay back. With a plan, discipline and obedience—this all could have been avoided.
I have everything I need. Seriously. As stated, the ep changed courses at least 5 times. It began as She Used to Be followed by Becoming, Sanovia, The Mourning After, Pack Light and finally ended at YHEYN only three days before I uploaded every track to distrokid. Yes, I am telling you that the NAME of the album did not come to me until 3 DAYS prior. Though I had already been using the saying with my business Pack Light, I had not thought that the album would have this name. Upon completion I realized that I literally had everything I needed the entire time. If I didn’t have it—It wouldn’t have been completed.
God is Good. What they say in church? ALL THE TIME?! Y’all. Even when I dragged my feet. Even when I made the wrong decisions. Even when I forgot that I was equipped and prepared to be successful and win. When I forgot that I was an overcomer—GOD CAME THROUGH. Thank you .
Set the DATE. It wasn’t until I set a date that it really became real to me. I set January 26th rather than saying “sometime in January”. When I set the date, asked the people to be at the event, secured the venue and started investing in that direction—I had to show up for not only myself, but for all those I had been making promises to.
I recorded this entire project in my bedroom, with my mic, my ideas, my laptop and some beats I purchased. That’s it. Now it’s a final product I am extremely proud of.
So, what are you waiting on?
You have everything you need.
In light,
Sanovia