What Three Weeks in New York Taught Me About Business, Art, and Being
I just wrapped up three weeks in New York—over a dozen meetings with great friends, past clients, new clients, and engineers who are all figuring out their next moves. There's something about being in a different city, away from your usual routines, that makes conversations go deeper. Maybe it's because you're both committed to being there, or maybe it's just the energy of the city itself. Either way, I came back with a head full of thoughts that I need to get down on paper.
On Identity & Brand Work
Something about branding and doing the work to uncover yourself and the difficulty of that and getting to simplicity being the biggest challenges that you usually can't do alone and definitely not at the rate I could because it's about finding the magic in yourself which is often overlooked for grander more "interesting" things. "I'm a photographer" or more basic things like "I love music."
Your entire brand should be something you're proud to wear or have on your computer screen or have turned into a piece of hardware and displayed in your studio.
Narratives always reign supreme. When we wonder what doesn't change regardless of state, physique, or partner, it is our own narratives about ourselves. They always start with "I..." and they're usually cruel. People can mistake talking aggressively to themselves as psyching themselves up, but really it's a downer in disguise—abusive internal narratives.
When we say, "Well, I've grown," we're usually right. But our ability to negotiate with narratives is ongoing, and I say negotiate because they will forever appear and need to be conversed with. The whole "dissolving the ego" thing is confusing because we need some container. I guess we just choose which container we will decide to protect. Is it the branded self? The baby? The teen? The body? They can switch, but it's better if we keep things consistent.
People struggle with how to present accolades they've won and earned. They spend careers trying to achieve them, then do, then don't want to tell anyone—because the record wasn't the record they thought would or should win a Grammy. But these are just signals. Thinking about your audience and not yourself for a moment will allow you to realize that your audience of artists and managers and people who NEED to know if you're a worthy investment would prefer some gauge of that. A Grammy or other accolade can help them in their decision-making process. This is a signal, not THE signal. So much more matters after this point, but it's a good qualifier.
On AI & The Future of Work
AI is an incredible rendering tool if you have the ability to think and understand domains and have self-awareness of what makes your thinking unique and useful and are continuing to improve yourself. Let's also talk about learning to interact with another being—not a human, but another being that understands a slightly different part of your language.
There will be waves of AI adoption. There will not be a moment but rather many moments. Each will affect people in different ways. I do believe there will be the 50% layoffs that many predict. I also think we will be expected to do more with less. The quality bar will raise. The slop bar will deepen.
On Business Fundamentals
You can have a great brand but a shit product and shit service and shit process and I will not return.
So many people ignore the nuance of their business in favor of the output. But a business encompasses so many elements and people love a compelling story that weaves those elements and output and person behind it.
There are basics like how much money you need, how much time you have, and how much work you can do that should be defined early and often and navigated and packaged if you want to run any type of business. Don't leave these simple things in the fog.
The myth of the elusive, aloof artist who makes it big has ruined any sense of business in this industry. I would love the narrative to shift to business principles at least being acceptable. I am not aiming for "cool"—even just acceptable and interesting. Learning your craft is fun, but after a few decades, why not shift gears and learn something that supports your craft rather than skills and tools to do that craft?
I'll eventually compile a list of jobs engineers can get that allow for the flexibility needed to say yes to projects but provide somewhat more predictable income in the meantime. Right now, I'm seeing a lot of people who are married and their significant other is providing a lot of the income. This isn't good or bad, but I usually see deep down people WANT to contribute... plus saying you're trying and nothing changing after a few years can incur some doubt from your partner. It's why many clients' partners encourage working with me.
On Boundaries & Process
Saying no to clients doesn't need to sound like the word "no." It can sound more like them saying yes to guidelines you're setting in advance. Other times they may be upset when they don't get what they want. If you keep saying no to certain things, it's very possible it's a process problem presenting as a boundary later down the chain.
Set constraints to things that you think are out of control and watch those things regain control and focus. Think big and limit big. If you think big for too long, you will not get anything done. And if you think too detailed for too long, you'll have a well-defined segment of a shitty sculpture.
On Creative Practice & Mastery
You could get too good at doing your thing that it stops being good to other people. It loses the edge of you being on the edge, trying to discover what makes your thing a thing. We like a tightrope performance and also want to get off the rope. There always exists a tension. We call it balance very often. And it is.
Great art can't always be appreciated. Sometimes you have to leave the museum and clear your head.
Even the most seemingly basic art has layers of complexity woven into it that make it strong and make it present as simple. Good feedback is recognizing this and speaking to it.
On Relationships & Connection
Play with your friends. Like we did as kids. Find time for real play. Make up skits and jokes and bits. If you never have, you're missing out on the richness of these relationships.
Spend as much time as you can with friends who put you at ease. Where the conversation is easy. Where the respect and love is shared. Where you are all striving for your absolute best.
Don't give into the pressure of performing in public. But don't be a bore either. Another thing to balance.
Connecting people can be tricky. Getting thank-yous do not always happen—people don't always want to work for it. Your jealousy holds the key to your desire, though your desires might just be making you think the grass is greener. You can achieve anything you set forth, but setting forth across so many things at once will not allow you to achieve much or anything significant. The skill of starting and the skill of persisting are more valuable than reaching out to someone in your network.
Just because people don't acknowledge you doesn't mean they don't value you. You have every right to say something and ask for that acknowledgment—just know they will feel on the spot, and that can reveal a lot about a person.
How beautiful is it to be told you matter to chosen family. I've dealt with highs and lows of my blood family and am selective about the people super close. I am open to all but very close with a select few, and something I really value about those select few is our shared deep appreciation of each other.
On Purpose & Meaning
What was the last concert experience you went to where you cried, or smiled endlessly, or sang every word? I think those moments are very important—especially as music makers—to have at least once a year, but ideally more. It's important to remember the feeling of why you do it and not just obsess over the technical nature of records.
Do you have a sense of why you're doing what you do? Is there a reason bigger than helping yourself in this moment or week or month? If not, dream of a few more reasons and strive for those, and I think you'll be more satisfied and clearer on your pursuit.
I asked my friend's daughter her three favorite things about her dad, and she told me three different moments they spend together. It was beautiful.
On Life & Growth
Grief and loss is not an easy thing to go through—whether it is with a parent or a puppy or a friend, whether they are dead or no longer speak to you. But it is a period of processing and can feel quite jagged at first. Hope is recognizing it rounds over time.
Our ability to maintain discomfort for prolonged periods of time is... good? Bad? Neither? I think it's necessary depending on the pursuit. But also, a text can be uncomfortable, as can resetting your entire life.
What Really Matters
Sitting outside of a cafe drinking coffee and reflecting, I kept thinking about a conversation with one of my friends. I asked his daughter what her three favorite things about her dad were, and she told me about three different moments they spend together. Not things he bought her or achievements he’d unlocked—just moments of connection.
That hit me hard, especially thinking about all the engineers I work with who are grinding so hard to “make it” that they’re missing the people right in front of them. The late nights in the studio, the weekends spent on revisions, the family dinners cut short for client calls.
I’m not saying don’t chase your dreams. Chase them hard. But remember that your kids won’t remember the Grammy you didn’t win or the client you didn’t land. They’ll remember whether you were present for the moments that mattered to them.
There is always a way. But make sure the way you choose leaves room for what really fills you up.
What resonated with you from these reflections? I’d love to hear about your own moments of clarity—the conversations or experiences that shifted how you think about your work and life. Hit reply and let me know what’s on your mind.
