Stay in your lane.
If there is one thing I’ve learned since starting the GuitarBorn journey, it’s that there will always be challenges. It’s never going to be a smooth ride from point A to B. Anyone out there thinking of pursuing or even just leaning into their creative passions a bit more, should expect the same thing. As cliché and over used the word “passion” is, when we refer to “passion” in this project, we are describing a feeling, or thing, that drives us to the point of suffering, or willingly sacrificing comforts in our life to make room for it.
Our team has just overcome its latest of conflicts and we would be foolish to think it won’t happen again. The best thing we can do is not only learn from mistakes and challenges, but also create safeguards to mitigate future risks. It doesn’t mean you stop or take the foot off the gas, it just means that we should always leave room to take a step back and make micro-adjustments, re-collaborate and right the ship. These challenges are blessings we should embrace.
As co-leader of this project, I’ve been preaching to the crew that we will all need to “stay in our lanes” to be successful. Stick to not only what we are good at, but the duties that been assigned to us. And do them to the best of our ability. Creative input, feedback and collaboration are always encouraged and actually a requirement, but not at the expense of our primary duties.
My job is to create the best performance/concert possible. I need to showcase this guitar to the highest level I can. Yes, I’m also leading project, but in order to be successful, I need to bring in people who I know and trust to get the job done. I’ve come to the realization that this will likely mean I need to bring in more people even at the expense of using up the rest of the grant money to make it happen. Sure, I can be a Producer, make production schedules, call sheets, organize the budget, and all those documentary specific duties so I feel like I have full control, but then I’ll never be able to grow as a classical guitarist in the way I expect from myself. Those expectations are already daunting enough. We need to sacrifice some of our personal motivations and needs for the sake of the entire crew and the success of the project.
A bigger crew will no doubt bring new challenges and conflicts that we should all expect, but in the long run, it will mitigate risks and allow us to all hone in on those talents and passions that have driven us here in the first place. I’m extremely excited for the next chapter of GuitarBorn. As a way to celebrate, I’ve changed the strings on my current classical guitar. It was a long time running. It’s like a fresh start.
-- Noel
