It’s REALLY Important

Start With Why 

reading a book called “Start with Why,” by Simon Sinek, bestselling author on books about leadership. You can find him on TED talks, as well. In this book, the author repeatedly comes back to the theme: “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” 

I think perhaps the same is true of songwriting. People don’t listen to WHAT you do, they listen to WHY you do it. 

I heard someone once speak about it from the perspective of promoting yourself as an artist: “It’s about the story,” they said – meaning the artist’s story. WHO the artist is, not what they do. 

I think perhaps that if you don’t know WHY you write songs, nobody will care about your songs. Or perhaps you at least need to know why you wrote any particular song. 

If you don’t know WHY you perform, nobody will want to listen to you. Or perhaps you need to at least know WHY you perform any particular song, for any particular audience, in any particular venue, on any particular day. Narrow it down if you have to. But the bigger you know the “WHY” of what you do, the more your audience will be with you. 

That's my theory. Would love to hear your thoughts.

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