paul999

After my 3 month absense I am so happy to be back! Here is the beginning of my trials that kept me away.

What it took to work myself to death and not only survive but thrive.

In the music business we too often measure our success by how little sleep we get. *That may be fun for a short period of time but after a while it starts to change who you are and how you view the world(at least it does for me). *

As I stated in a thread a while ago I knew I would not be able to hang around for a little while because my activities I was involved in were so demanding. *I have been involved in a major festival for the last 3 years and this year I decided to chair the festival committee. *I was functioning without a vice chair so I knew it would be extra demanding. *Add to that my teaching business hosts 6 2 hour concerts the weekend before plus I was also finishing my knew financial model that chooses to include local businesses and encouraging them to earn a profit while managing a part of the festival. *It was a massive workload!

The Job Ahead

This was one of the few times in my life that I looked myself in the eye and was not sure I had what it took to really do the job at hand. *This is a festival that had classic rock band Lover boy headlining, Pro wrestling, a circus, a massive car show, Fire fighters combat challenge, midway rides, an 80's concert (which I put a band together for), and a lazer light rave. *These are just a few highlights but as you can imagine I knew there would be collateral damage in my life. *To make matters worse if the festival looses money I was personally on the hook. *I don't know a ton of people crazy enough to back a $150,000+ festival personally especially when weather can kill a festival.

Collateral Damage

I decided that I needed to shut down the recording studio for 2 months while this festival happened. *Needless to say I have a ton of work to do now. *I also decided that all my "spare time" activities would change for the 2 months leading up to the festival including recording review time. *It all went into looking after every possible detail of this festival. *The anxiety and time involved left me less available for my relationship with my wife. *She was super understanding and is happy to have me back. *

The Plan

I needed to be able to Physically handle the operation as well as be able to make good quick decisions with a sharp mind. *For example I had 30 people reporting to me and they each had 5-15 people reporting to them. *We had 5 stages operating as well as multiple events simulainiously. *When things went wrong like public works not closing roads properly during the town wide parade I needed to make decisions that kept kids safe from traffic even though I'd only slept a maximum of 2 hours any night that week.(I started managing traffic while calling the police to direct traffic and getting military who happened to be there with vehicle displays managing another section of road). *

Eat Your Veggies.

I decided to become Vegan 3 months ago. *Not for moral reasons but because I now believe it is the healthiest way to live for me. *This diet coupled with eating every 2-3 hours provided me with enough energy to work hours a day doing physical labor like bringing in 3 truck loads of P.A. Gear, setting up laser light shows etc. and allowed my mind to stay sharp. *It was remarkable. *I lost about 10 pounds of unwanted body fat and am in better shape then I've been in for a decade. *

Follow Through

I must admit I am a little scared to start mixing on a grueling mix schedule this Monday after not doing a single mix for 2 months. *I am also very excited to get back at it. *

What I Learned

For 2 months I handeled every little detail that came my way, refusing to procrastinate. This attention to detail is what made the event possible. Making insanely detailed lists of volunteer and employee schedules, load in, set up schedules as well as tear down schedules all with timers on my ipad which I programed to tell me when to go do what weeks in advance. Everyone had a printed page telling them where to be and when to be there, when to set up tear down and load out down to every last detail. Usually I am a bit of a procrastinator. This showed me I don't have to be.

Keeping myself healthy really helped me thrive through this massive undertaking. *I've decided I'll never not take care of my health first anymore because when push comes to shove that is how we measure our wealth. *

Best
Paul