Recently, I had the fortune to attend David Cutler’s inaugural “Savvy Musician in Action” retreat where 57 musicians, entrepreneurs, and educators gathered to collaborate and learn about arts entrepreneurship. The knowledge and experience I gained are vast and will continue to influence my career.
This is the first post in a 5 part-series called Virtue Series, where I will detail the highlights of what I learned at the retreat: patience, teamwork/collaboration, originality & energy, inspiration & creativity, and networking & marketing. Each of these will be contextualized for the modern, aspiring musician. Look for each virtue to be published weekly, on Thursdays.
Patience
The core task arts entrepreneurs were faced with at the retreat was to develop a viable business model to fill a niche in the market. With only 2 days to develop, prototype, present and prove functionality of the business, teams were forced to operate rapidly. However, patience was absolutely imperative in finding the niche to be filled and how the business was to function effectively. The development of a poor idea due to impatience and hasty action is finite.
This virtue is true for all musicians, not just entrepreneurs. Patience and persistence in the practice room yields positive results. I have often witnessed that the jump in progress comes just after I nearly lose my patience. Next time you find yourself at your whit’s end, be patient and persist, a solution might be right around the corner.
What other benefits does patience have? How can you implement these in your career?
dougherty tuba 