I was a student at the Aspen Music Festival for four summers. I loved that place. I couldn't get enough of the mountains, the energy of my studio, lessons with my teacher Joaquin Valdepeñas, and the incredible music-making.

During my first summer though, I placed 19th out of 25 in the screened placement auditions. I remember walking up to the posted results, scanning for my number, and walking away feeling completely disheartened. My first screened audition :(

But as the festival went on, something shifted in me. Looking back, that placement lit a fire.

. . . . .

Over the weekend Golden Tempo, his jockey Jose Ortiz and trainer Cherie DeVaux won the Kentucky Derby. I saw all the social media posts after the fact and got drawn in: that a horse was in last place by more than 20 lengths going into the final turn...gained the ground in the last 30 seconds and won. That it was the first female trainer to win in the history of the Derby.

I dug into the story.

A few days before the race Golden Tempo was suffering from cracked heels (not a detrimental issue, just annoying and potentially distracting in a race). DeVaux let the horse go easy for a few days, no galloping, just easy jogs. It was a decision based on her intuition, and not one that most other trainers would make when preparing for the biggest race of their life.

At 23-1 odds, in a field of 18, most people weren't betting, much less watching him. The race began. Golden Tempo was dead last - but going into the "furlong" he and his rider locked in, turned up the fire and covered the ground! And won.

I had a flashback to that summer in Aspen. I recognized that fire.

Watch it here, it's so cool to see. 🐎

. . . . .
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Back to you. Look, I'm not saying our growth can be boiled down to one 2 minute race. But I want you to notice two things here: 1. There's an art to knowing what you need and 2. It's important to have that burning desire.

What happens when those two ingredients meet?

That placement kicked my butt. The fire it lit under me changed my whole approach:

I started getting up early to practice at the cabins by the pond, watching the mist rise above the water as the sun rose. I learned to design a practice routine. Now: The work in quiet solitude is still something in which I luxuriate and seek!

I began challenging myself physically, on the trails. Ever do the Ute Trail above the city of Aspen? Iykyk - and if you haven't, you feel both completely destroyed and quietly invincible, all within the same hour. Now: I still want to feel physically strong. I know what I am made of when things get hard.

I got serious about the mental side in a way I hadn't before. Don Greene, the author of a book called Audition Success, gave a talk and at the time it felt almost radical to sit in a room and talk about nerves, inner self-talk, and what actually happens in your body under pressure. I did the research.

I learned about visualization and meditation started using it. I took the practice methods my teachers had recommended and developed them into something that worked for me.

I didn't simply have the knowing or the idea of working hard - I started actually working hard, but in a way that was built around who I am. (Morning person, needing solitude, finding off-clarinet ways to build mental and physical strength).

The fire that gets lit in those moments is real, and it belongs to you. What you do with it is the everything. A few things that have made the difference for me, and for the musicians I work with:

• Get physical. Your body is not separate from your instrument or your mindset. Doing something that asks something of you physically will change how you show up mentally.
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• Go to the workshop. Read the book. The resources exist. Don Greene and others have done serious work on the psychology of performance. Don't just know these names, actually dig in. Create an edge invisible from the outside.
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• Build a practice that's actually yours. Tips and methods are starting points. Your job is to take what you're given and develop it into something that works for how you think and how you learn.​
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  Learn to work with your mind, not against it. Inner self-talk, visualization, nervous system awareness. Become a player who peaks under pressure. You can train this the same way you train your fingers.
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• Find your early morning. It doesn't have to be 5am. It's about finding the time and space that's yours.

For musicians who feel dead last, running behind, feel late to the game, or like you missed your best window, please know: you aren't failing.

The position you're in right now isn't the end of the story. It's where you're gaining ground!

Rooting for you,

Ixi

P.S. If you want a space that holds all of this, the mindset work, the practical tools, the environment that supports the work, that's what Thrive is. You can learn more and join us HERE.

The Practice with Purpose framework is $99 fo 2 6-month planners! It includes:

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What Music360 is focused on

Music360 isn't about abandoning your artistry for entrepreneurship. It's about recognizing that building a meaningful career IS an artistic practice. One that requires the same attention, craft, and integrity you bring to your music - in your whole life.

We're not loud. We don't chase trends. We don't promise overnight transformations.

We are a career hub, a safe place to dream, where you can stop performing your life and start living it.

If this resonates, you're ready for what we do.

Come join us!