I've come to know Scott over the past year or two as we travel journeys that are similar in many ways. Although I learned more about Scott's history in this conversation, we share a musical background - mine as a pianist and Scott's as a guitarist. As we talked about his philosophy and approach to teaching guitar, I could see how he has transferred and transformed his strengths and success in the teaching studio to his online platform, becreativeonpurpose.com where he welcomes all types of creatives.
Scott embodies many of the qualities that I think are essential for an artist to thrive. He is intentional about the work he is doing, who it is for and why it's meaningful. I know that his wisdom and generosity have made a difference in my life and with any luck, in this conversation I've offered him the chance to do the same for you.
In this episode we discuss:
- Matthew speaks with Scott on the Creative on Purpose Broadcast
- two teachers who made a difference in Scott’s life
- discovering Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations via his 7th grade Latin teacher
- the guitar teacher who knew exactly what Scott wanted and was able to get him there as quickly as possible
- “There were teachers that just were not going to allow me to settle for less than the best that I was capable of. And that was a completely new experience for me.”
- “I was going to do everything i could to listen to the aspirations and the intentions of the people I was teaching and try to get them to achieve their goals.”
- Music is a language. We learn language by using language.
- At the earliest possible moment we should do what we do in public in front of others, share our talents with an audience and attempt to collaborate with others
- We don’t work music, we play music
- Part of playing is embracing the idea that sometimes things may not work out just the way we want, sometimes we will embarrass ourselves and make mistakes, but this is the path towards excellence. As musicians we have the opportunity to enhance our lives by enhancing the lives of others through sharing this gift
- Standing up and being seen. Speaking up and being heard.
- If you’re not nervous, you don’t care. And if you don’t care, you don’t belong up on stage
- Anxiety can be viewed as a gentle tap on a shoulder reminding you that what you’re doing matters
- If you serve the song instead of trying to make the song serve you, things generally go better
- Take all of your ego concerns out of the equation and concentrate instead on the craft. That’s really where the magic happens, where we truly begin to improve our own well being and our sense of happiness and accomplishment in what we do
- Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
- The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
- Footprints on the Moon - Seth Godin
- What To Do When It’s Your Turn - Seth Godin
- The balance of teaching what a student wants to learn vs what you believe they need to know
- Setting the hook: helping the student learn something that they’re already invested in within the first few lessons
- It’s important for us all to see that we are teachers. If we can accept that, we can seek to be the best teachers that we can be and enhance and elevate the lives of others
- Guided Guitar Lessons
- Creative on Purpose
- altMBA - an intensive, 4-week online workshop designed by Seth Godin for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead.
- “Working with others in collaboration makes good work great work”
- There is a system and a process that I’ve used to thrive in creative endeavours that a lot of people find difficult
- We have to have integrity and we have to engage others with empathy, We’re charged with the idea of service to others, not just serving our own selfish needs, wants and desires.
- Endeavor - Scott’s new book. How you can identify, develop and start delivering work that matters to the people you care about.
- Sometimes i think it’s best that we don’t turn the things we’re most passionate about into our job or career.
- I think it’s the holy grail if your vocation ends up being your career.
- “Cultivate your well being by aligning your values, your talent and your tribe.”
- What it means to be human, and what it means to be happy
- The Stoic Creative - Scott’s first book
- Negotiating the tension between wanting to stand out and needing to fit in
- Fear only shows up when you’re putting yourself on the hook, because fear wants to keep you humble and hiding.
- The importance of curiosity and courage
Follow:
Creative on Purpose website podcast
Endeavor Book website
