What is the secret to success? This is something I have been thinking about since breaking ties with a business investor and my former business and music partner nearly a year ago. I knew their versions of success met with the requirements of a capitalist society, but they were not sitting well with my own…
Tag: business venture
2015 in review
It’s been a year of transitions (they seem to all kind of be that way), and I am so very thankful to all who have followed along and supported me in the journey. I am in the process of recreating my songwriting business and continue to discover and create the kind of songwriting I wish…
More about Story-to-Song
A friend recently asked me if I could explain the Story-to-Song process to them in a little more detail. I had asked if they might like to work on a song, and they wondered what kind of story makes a good song. This question seems to come up time and again in my songwriting work,…
Semaine no. 1
Last week was Malcolm and my official first week of work as startup entrepreneurs in proximity to one another. We are not starting off fresh as spring daisies, but we are present and passionate. For the past several years, Malcolm and I have been working together from a distance with very intermittent opportunities to work…
Carte Postale no. 6: Tic Toc to Prescott
Malcolm has spent the past several days in Colorado, visiting with friends from our cohort at Prescott College. From Denver to Boulder to Durango, he tasted espresso and sat in a beautiful cathedral and beyond. Update on animals: back in Rockport, on a morning before I departed, across the street perched the largest bird I…
Carte Postale no. 5: A church and a missile in the middle
This evening, I type Malcolm’s travel missives with one hand while I ice my swollen pinky. Malcolm: Morning in Iowa. Tranquil church and a museum for the Strategic Air Command. Not sure what this says about the world or my interests. The 90 year old in me loves the stained glass and the 11 year…
Carte Postale no. 1: The West Awaits
I know that Malcolm was a member of a band for a period of his life because he told me once not to worry about people not liking me as a performer. Did anyone throw rocks at you? he asked me. No, I responded. Then you’re fine, he said. Rocks? Seriously? I asked. And there…
(Don’t just) Wade in the Water
I vividly remember my AP Psychology class in high school. The main reason I remember is because my teacher was so very inspired and impassioned with the subject. I loved going to his class, where I felt that my presence was valued and I was almost always pleasantly surprised by the information I gleaned from…
It takes two, and often many more
After our mentor meeting the other night, I felt blue and more than a bit discouraged. I sent a quick message to Malcolm, suggesting a brief debriefing. Not thirty minutes later, we were communicating across space and time, and what an incredible comfort. Since meeting Malcolm and beginning to work together, I have experienced a…
Two steps forward
There was a Paula Abdul song that was particularly popular when I was growing up. The chorus went something like, “Two steps forward; two steps back. We go together cuz opposites attract.” And so on, and so forth. Thinking on these lines now, I find myself puzzled. I thought the term was two steps forward,…
Marieke is Guiding Song 