Hi Friend
This has been quite a week for productivity. I didn’t have any speaking events, so I was just heads down and focused. Our usual calls with the team and a lot of future-casting the direction we’re headed. I’m on the path to seeing myself differently, which opens up new possibilities.
This feels like a segment I should put it in the space after my writings, but I just can’t get enough of this dude. He wrote a song 8 years ago or so, that I found very useful for our training videos. I wanted to get the license to use it. When I found out how to contact him, I found a whole world that he’s created… and I was hooked!
His name is Matt Farley. Here is his Wikipedia page if you want to get saturated like I did. The guy has written OVER 24,000 songs! He records under a variety of funny names (like over 70). His songs are short, silly and ridiculous… and I’m here for it. He has written songs about almost every city in the US, Europe and Australia. Here’s the song map if you want to see.Check out your town. He also has a song with your name in it.
He basically sings facts, names, locations, animals and all kinds of other funny stuff. The songs are 1-2 minutes. It’s him, a keyboard and drum machine. His biggest money maker is about poop. My fascination isn’t just his massive creative output, but his philosophy of generating so much and discovering afterward if it’s any good.
PREDETERMINED DETRIMENT
I watched one interview where he said he just put stuff out, whether it was good or bad – not deciding either – only to discover later if someone else found it useful. I suspect you and I determine if something of ours is worthwhile or not, prior to creation or distribution, impacting our willingness to release it in the world. Or heck, even do it.
The guy is not a phenomenal musician or singer. His compositions are not complex. You might even say they’re rudimentary. The quality is certainly not excellent. Yet, he cranks them out for his own delight, discipline & cash, not letting any of those “prerequisites” matter. It’s an extreme example of the mantra “Done, is better than perfect.” On average he writes 20 songs a day!
SELF-IMPOSED RESTRICTIONS
You and I are creative beings. Whether we believe it or not, it’s true. It’s inherent in human nature to be creators. We’ve heard the stories about how it diminishes drastically from childhood till now. Yet it’s still within us. As our ego and fear-of-rejection grow, our willingness to express ourselves shrinks. We limit what we let others see, hear and feel from our inner being. ☹️
It’s incredibly unfortunate that our desire for approval cripples our originality. I suspect even more than fear of rejection, we fear our uniqueness is average, bland or unappealing. If we present it to the world and it’s confirmed by others, then we just might not recover from that hit. So, we never put it out into the world. “It” being our distinct, singular, unequaled expression.
Instigating Ideas…
1. Write a song this week.
2. Contemplate your own resistance to a creative endeavor.
3. Recognize and praise someone who is putting anything original out into the world.
4. Tell someone about a secret creative effort you’d like to express. (Your It).
What I love about Matt is an endless list. He’s basically redefined what a “song” is. Is that even possible? More importantly and possibly most, the guy seems full of joy doing this. What if releasing our inner creativity was key to our soul being at peace? What if our output of creativity wasn’t a masterpiece by world standards, but enhanced greatly our sense of being alive?
As I’m wrestling with thinking bigger and differently about myself, his approach to life is magnetically appealing. What if part of unlocking an ownership mindset is removing all expectations of our own unique offerings, from quality to usefulness, and just produce something from within?
OUTPUT = GENEROSITY
He puts his phone number in many songs and has it on his website. I called him to find out about licensing his song. He was generous, kind and funny. When we commit to generating something creatively, it squashes stinginess. The more we access ourselves and create, the more unselfish we become. I dare you to produce something, anything, this week.
I hope you spend a few minutes being entertained by Matt’s songs. More so, I hope you are inspired to attempt your own creative undertaking with no restrictions, expectations or requirements. Be free to create something, anything.