I’m going to, just go through these three sections now, and then we’re gonna break them down and unpack some stuff that I hope will really, really be able to transform your daily approach to your writing. And that, of course, is what’s going to then impact hugely on your whichever form of success you are, looking to create in your life.
So, firstly, ignite your why. I’m gonna unpack all of these. Ignite your why. It says it exactly. it does exactly what it says on the tin. There it is. You have to go inside and become aware of what you’re really wanting, your right, what you’re wanting from your writing, why are you doing it? we often answer that question, and it’s actually what’s behind the need for the goal.
That is our why. Our goal could be, I want to have a, you know, a song that everyone in the world is singing. And so why is behind, the what of your goal? So behind why is behind what is your goal? Ignite your why. We’re gonna get into this and have a look. Ignite your why  then, and this is difficult. All of this stuff, none of this stuff is particularly easy, but it is simple. And if we can, maintain them, almost as mantra as, believe me, the efficacy with which it will bring to your process, and then your success will be profound.
Engage, patience, Â playing the long ball as a songwriter, Â sort of putting all your energy into your very best day, whilst completely surrendering the need for immediate success. Â That, in a nutshell, would completely revolutionize your, the levity with which you approach your writing, which brings your best writing.
’cause you’re not needing from it too much. You’re not grabbing at it. You’re allowing flow.  So whilst also  manifesting a daily process, which will create volume of catalog and quality of catalog, which then in turn leads to success, that takes resilience, and it’s playing the long ball rather than the needy desperation. I see it all the time, all the time. and it’s understandable.
It’s understandable. I’ve felt it myself many, many, many times. I still do. Â So the neediness avails us nothing. Â It makes us grab at things. Our ego kicks in, we get frightened, and fear will have its way. So engage, patience, engage, by the way, is an action. Â It does not mean sit back and go, Hey man, whatever. It means we engage patients. So we do our very best work, Â but we engage.
We actually employ patients. We say, no, I’m gonna be patient here. I’m gonna just write, do my best. Let go, carry on. We know this is a long process. A writer’s path is a journey. It’s a lifestyle and a, and a, a life’s passion that we follow. success will be along the way, but we are better always building the process than, setting targets. So, Â thirdly, practice process. So we can have a process, but we never do it.
 So it’s about employing and practicing the actual process.
Okay, so our why, Â again, so many of us, and certainly so many other writers that I’ve worked with, think that their why is just, you know, a global hit record, or I want a number one, or I want to sign to a massive record company, or I want to, you know, the, these are the kind of obvious ones, parts of which I’ve enjoyed and experienced.
 And, and, and they’re great and they are part of the journey, but they are not. I’ve discovered my why  when I, and the reason I discovered my why is when you don’t have it, you have to find it. And it doesn’t, it didn’t ignite in me when it was ju it wasn’t enough for me just to think, oh, come on.  It didn’t get me going again, passionately e mortally and, and with depth and the stirring my passion.
when I just thought of the potential success that I could have, if I applied myself to more music, it did not stir me. Â So, the way I found my why was when I was lost without it. Â And in fact, my why is to connect with other people. I want to move other people. If you raise your hands, if that’s some, if that, resonates with you guys, Â connecting, almost all of you connecting with other people, I, Â I, I get goosebumps right now.
’cause I know that feeling so strongly that when I write something that I want someone else to hear, to connect with, and to go, Â oh, me too. And he said that exactly the way I wanted to feel that emotion. That to me is why I do this. Not just listening to music that’s different. Why do I like music?
Why do I, why did I like music when I was a teenager? All of that.  But what’s my why from making music  connection?  Now, we will all have different levels of each of these in our wi and more. By the way, this is just a snapshot of wise. but I’m going to ask you later on to consider your wise. You can be take, please do take screenshots of, of this presentation you’re allowed to, and then print them out and get, you know, get this covered in notes and pens and, and pencils and,  and, you know, dig into yourself.
 Because the answers to some of these questions will give you the power to say no to so many things and yes to so many other things. And they will set you on the path, the correct path, whilst always remaining hugely flexible on your journey. And that will, then facilitate the process.
And then your life as a writer is in motion. It doesn’t necessarily, you’re not aiming at just at one moment, you are in motion. You know, there’s a saying, it doesn’t matter which di it doesn’t matter how far you’ve gone, just if you are heading in the right direction. And when you find your why and ignite it, and by ignite I mean  reaffirm it frequently, so you remember why you’re doing it. And it comes like a fuel, like the source of your natural and almost divine energy comes to you, whereby you go, oh, that’s that.
Yeah. And then you’ll write more. And you, we don’t have to wait for that feeling. I’m going to get, I’m gonna get into this in a minute. So your why will come from different sources. Connection from me is very strong. When I remember that I want to move people, and I can think of actual individual people. You, you’ll have heard me talk about that as a writer. I picture people and write to them or at them. Â So connection’s usually important. Financial security, we often, you know, it can really, really matter. Of course it does. Our financial security. so we can make money out of songwriting, fantastic.
If we practice this and get good, and we, we can connect with people and other people go, oh, I love that feeling when I listen to that song. That’s not what they’re thinking in those words, but that’s what’s happening. Then it can become a reality that we can have financial, income and leading towards financial security and even well through songwriting. So that’s a glorious aspect to, and I only say an aspect to writing. To writing. What a wonderful reward for writing, for doing something that I so personally need to do for connection.
So it’s secondary to me. it needs to be secondary. there’s a, there’s for, for the sake of my writing  respect, we all like doing something well, don’t we? And being seen to do something well. So  the respect that you gain for yourself  when you put in effort and watch yourself doing something. Well, unfortunately with writing, because we’re so tough on ourselves, everyone here, I don’t even need to ask for a show of hands.
Everyone is very tough on themselves with writing because it’s so damn hard. It is just so damn hard to say exact. It’s not hard to write anything, but to write something that that absolutely reflects ourselves and perhaps others that we’ve collaborated with. It is difficult. It’s joyfully difficult. but the result and the respect we can have for ourselves of a job well done in this area is huge. And there then, of others, the respect of others.
So respect can be a part. It might be your biggest why. It might be that someone didn’t respect you. You, it’s, you don’t wanna come from a negative place, but it might be that, you know, it’s the one area in your life that you can shine.  So that can be your why. And just simply the joy  of making music.  Never underestimate the playful power and the joy we get from, you’ll have heard me say before, you know that the music to me is that the gateway to divine beauty.
