People that are successful in consistently being inspired to create music stay stirred up about the projects they are working on. They are diligent to stay excited about what’s new, what’s fresh and innovative. You may be thinking to yourself, I’m too busy, am I missing something, I wish I could stay consistently passionate about music, but I just don’t feel that way. I don’t really know how to get myself stirred up.

Here’s a few ways you can stay in the game when it comes to being passionate and on fire for music.

1. Stay around people who are excited about music. Before long you will be excited and stirred up too. If you associate with a person who is a visionary, you will soon get a vision too. But if you stay around lifeless people who want to do nothing but complain, sit on the couch, eat chips and watch reality TV, than soon you will be doing the same things. At times, you will have to make a commitment to yourself to distance from friends and family to get a project done. Make a deadline for yourself and stick to it. Get into a schedule that suits your creativity.

2. Decide to take action about the negative way you feel instead of just wishing things were different. Realize that if you want to have victory over your feelings strongly enough, you will do whatever it takes to get it. If you do not want the victory, no one can motivate you to want it. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to stop whining, “I wish I had this,” or “I wish I didn’t have that. I wish I had more money. I wish I had the right connections. I wish my back didn’t hurt. I wish I didn’t have this bill. I wish…I wish…I wish…” You can be pitiful or you can be powerful, but you cannot be both. So take your pick.

3. Avoid passivity, procrastination, and laziness. A passive person waits to be moved by an outside force before he or she will take action. We are to be motivated and led by the inspiration within us, not by things on the outside. The best way we can guard against the spirit of passivity and laziness is to do what we need to do now, and do it with all of our might. When inspiration comes, harness it. Stop everything you are doing and capture the idea that is trying to come out.

4. In order to always be aglow and burning, we have to stay on fire. Keep your music production and writing process fun. Take short breaks to rest your ear, watch something funny on YouTube, go for a 15 minute drive. Take a walk in the park at night and give your ears a rest. When you sit down to create, inspiration is not always going to be there. You have to create the environment… you have to stir yourself up! Everyone is different. Some people keep toys around the studio, some play ping pong in between takes, I like to dim the lights, light a candle and vibe. It is up to you to be creative and inventive until you find what gets your creative juices flowing. These are just a few tips to start the process. Remember, there is no such thing as writer’s block or a lack in creativity. The first step to walking out of any block is to stir yourself up and keep motivated!