How I Built My Career in 4 Simple Steps
And how you can too.
What’s good, family? Welcome to Grace Notes.
Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Notion.so. I just joined their affiliate program, and I honestly couldn’t be happier.
This software has changed my life. I’d be lost without Notion.
Notion is the tool I use to build ThatViolaKid Productions and Whole Soul Music LLC.
When I first started using Notion, I used it to build a tool that would help me manage my hectic, scrambled life as a freelancer. This is that tool: A Gig Tracker for Musicians
Here’s a sneak peak of my database tool. It’s completely free, and my gift to you as a reader of this newsletter.
In next week’s newsletter, I’ll jump into a broad explanation and 3 ways that I use it every day.
4 Components for Career Building
Sometime between 2018 and 2020, I decided that I would not audition for orchestras anymore.
I ultimately decided to go all-in on building my own career. No more auditions.
I struggled a lot, failed a ton, and got my hands dirty. After 11 years of building, I’ve developed a framework.
This framework has helped me:
Absorb criticism and ignore it
Crush the inevitable obstacles
Find my purpose
Build a brand off of being myself
Push through resistance and doing hard things
And so much more
The BALI Framework
Belief → Action → Lens → Imagine Ideal Enemy
To our detriment, music school taught us string players a single framework.
Solo Career
Tenured Orchestra/Legacy String Quartet Career
Tenured Faculty Career
That was it.
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t understand that there’s a 4th option—a different option.
Using BALI, I walk a new path. The Path of the Extra Classical String Player.
When you understand this framework, you will have the blueprint for building a thriving career.
B: Believe
Without belief, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.
Belief is the most critical element of any action.
You must develop your belief before you do anything further.
Close your eyes and envision your wealthiest, wildest, most abundant future.
What makes you wealthy?
What excites you about every day?
What does it feel like emotionally?
What does it taste like?
How free are you?
Who is there with you?
This is the future you need to build. This is your vision. Your vision gives you aim.
Your belief in your vision will be tested relentlessly. It must be cherished and guarded.
People will have opinions for how your life should turn out. Oftentimes, their vision for your life will conflict with your own. Some of these people may be your family, your spouse, or your closest friends. Do not let others’ visions for your future hold any power over your own. You’re the one that has to live your life—they’re just a spectator.
Give them something good to watch.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Day(s) I Almost Quit Viola. Each story is a moment in my life where someone or something did not believe in me.
Although painful, I viewed each situation with anger and dismay. A recurring question would always bubble to the surface of my thoughts:
“How could they not see the same vision that I see?”
Failure only occurs when you stop at an obstacle. I looked at each of these experiences as obstacles, and I persevered in spite of them.
Do not allow negative experiences to tarnish your belief.
Belief is a germinated seed. The soil is your environment. The water and sunlight are…
A: Action
Change comes through Action.
No Action = No change
Belief is only important when it leads to action. Without focused action in the pursuit of materializing your vision, belief is useless.
I envision paying off my student loans, serving millions of people, creating wealth for myself and my community, and becoming a great dad.
The problem is, I haven’t done any of it yet. These are aspirations that I hold for my life.
My belief in my vision gives me direction. I believe that I can become these things.
To become, I must change. To change, I must act.
In order to evolve into a person like this, I take daily actions that push me an inch in the direction of my beliefs.
Consistent action over long periods of time produces compounded results. The more time you act, the more profound the result.
I aim to increase the quality of my actions by 1% every day.
If you want your life to change, you must act.
L: Lens
Action isn’t enough.
Blunt action is a waste of energy, and it will lead to burnout.
Instead, develop a lens. A lens exponentially amplifies your action. Developing your lens will help you engineer a life that energizes you.
The mental model that I use as a lens is called “Ikigai.”
For the uninitiated, Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy for finding mean and purpose in life. “Iki” means to “live” and “gai” means “reason.”
Find your Ikigai, find your lens
Create a diagram like the one above:
Draw 4 circles that have a common area in the middle. Make the circles big enough to brainstorm inside.
Set a timer for 15 minutes, and fill out all 4 categories. List as many things as you can think of.
Compare each of the circles’ contents and look for similarities.
If something you wrote is found in all 4 circles, that’s your Ikigai.
That’s your lens. Find it.
I: Imagine Ideal Enemy
When you have a belief, you can act. Action, magnified by your lens, is powerful. You can now do some damage.
Now, let’s find an enemy.
Enemies are essential. They give you motivation. They inspire creativity and innovation. They make you grow.
Who is an enemy to your beliefs? If you don’t have a clear enemy. Make one up.
Michael Jordan used to do it. When it came to trash talk, disrespect, or even innocent misunderstandings, MJ took everything personally. MJ always found an enemy—even it he had to manufacture one himself.
If you don’t have a competitor battling you for market share, use your imagination. Imagine your ideal enemy.
“The government does it, why can’t you?”
Jokes aside (what’s good, NSA?), developing your enemy is critical. The stronger the enemy, the more dire the struggle.
Struggles make great stories.
My enemy, and the enemy of this newsletter is singular.
My Imagined Ideal Enemy: The idea that classical musical success is solely defined by the job you win, the competition you win, or the organization you join. Traditional classical music institutions, employers, and service providers are my enemies because they are centralized authorities with the power to choose who wins and who loses.”
My path is that of the Extra-Classical String Player. What’s yours?
Takeaways
I fully believe in the BALI system. It has helped me forge my own entrepreneurial path outside of institutions, and I fully believe it can help you too.
Envision your ideal future and develop your belief
Act on your beliefs
Align and balance your actions with things that give you energy and purpose
Imagine your ideal enemy and start waging war
If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, you’re not alone. Leaving the certainty of school, regular lessons and rehearsals, constant feedback, and a consistent, predictable schedule is too much.
You have to decide what you’ll play. You have to make your schedule. You have to be your own boss.
It’s overwhelming. I know. But you’re not alone—I’m right here with you. Take it one step at a time.
The best part about being your own boss? You can’t really fire yourself.
Building in public
ThatViolaKid Productions
How about that Bitcoin all-time high? I wrote about Bitcoin and why it’s important, and the price immediately ripped afterward. LOL
Check out my recent interviews with MusicianCentric Podcast
Working on some collaborations with my friends Hannah White and Grace Youn
I just realized I can put my sample pack on my IG store, so I’ll need to figure that out this week.
Writing new music with artists in LA
wholesoul/Whole Soul Music, LLC
We’re running a sample project with someone who can help us build this business
I’m halfway through editing 3 different live performance videos of ours. Content is hard.
We just performed with the West LA Chamber Orchestra at the Hilton LAX. We performed a reduced version of Porgy and Bess. Wild.
Preparing for 2 sessions and a collaboration with Vi Jordan this week!
Drew Alexander Forde, Violist
Session work is slow, so I’m catching up on sleep, going to the gym, and cooking at home. All good things 🙂
I’ve plateaued at 230lbs on the Leg Press for the 3rd week in a row; 3x12
That’s all for this week, friends. Talk to you next Friday =)