Reignite Your Career Journey: Join the AriaReady Community
Hello! David here… Before I begin this blog, I feel I owe each of you an apology. My efforts to rebrand AriaReady after Carol's death were guided by my promise to “do my best to prepare this business for the next generation of aspiring singers."
Last year, I accomplished very little toward keeping that promise to Carol or the one I made to you during my introductory video when we launched the new AriaReady website (AriaReady.net).
My health is now on the mend, and I’m here with the first of our monthly blogs to help you set up for the career you’re building. Several of Carol’s former students and I are working to rebuild AriaReady in a way that could, if successful, provide grants to young singers to support their dreams of becoming opera singers.
I’m starting this blog with part of the introduction from the first edition of her book AriaReady: The Business of Singing. And there’s no better place to start than here…
Belief in yourself and your abilities is key to having a successful career and a balanced life. You are the only one who can truly make you happy and successful. It’s not what you do that defines who you are. Instead, it is who you are that defines what you do.
Carol Kirkpatrick, 2001
Preparing for a career in any field is an important process. Preparing for a career as an opera singer presents challenges beyond those of most chosen fields.
Not only must most aspiring singers follow the standard procedure for securing a regular paying job to sustain, support, and allow for the preparation of a career in singing, but he/she must also find the additional time, energy, resources, and commitment to do so.
The doubts and insecurities that may arise from such a daunting task are often fatal stumbling blocks for many aspiring singers – but they need not be for you. These fears can be counteracted by being prepared and having a working knowledge of what comes next.
"AriaReady" does more than tell you what to do. It offers a step-by-step guide to building a solid foundation for your career, and we explain why it is essential. You will learn how to manage the steps toward success best.
You must know what the game is, what the rules are, and, most importantly, how the game is played. Only then can you make a choice to play or not. The road can be exciting or intimidating. However, once you have the tools and skills and know where you are going, you will find it exhilarating.
The quality of the road you travel depends not only on you but also on the strength of your relationships.
It was not Carol’s intent for AriaReady to hold your hand through every single step of your journey. But it was designed to be there for you, as it has for hundreds of others, as you begin and for the all-important first several stages or steps that set you on your path.
And we will continue to share some of the "Nitty-Gritty" of creating and maintaining pivotal relationships as you navigate the roadmap to your future.
Because your relationships can often stop you dead in your tracks, or they can be the "glue" that binds your dreams and goals together.
So, that is where we'll begin your journey… with your relationships.
The reality is that if you say, "I would like to make my living as an opera singer, " you're really at the second step of your journey.
So, I suggest we back up just a bit so you can learn how to better understand who you are and why you feel this is your career path.
The question is… Are Ya Ready?
I, or one of Carol’s former students, will deliver shortish blogs at least monthly, if not more, talking about the tools & skills AriaReady provides as we work to revamp the modules of our workshops and bootcamps so you can experience them online. We expect to release them one at a time to get your feedback on what works better for you and adjust as we go.
We’ll also have several of our original AriaReady “Help” sheets so you can start building your “Traveling Tool Kit” to help you navigate your career journey. These include The Singer’s Mantra, The Typical Stages of a Career in Opera, How to “Read” Others, and many more.
Before you can successfully map out the business strategies and tactics of building a career, you must first take the time to understand the product you will be marketing and selling.
That product is, of course, you as the singer-performer.
Knowing and understanding yourself from the inside out allows you to see the big picture and helps you better understand how all the many parts fit together.
Would you like to be given the tools and skills to help you start the process of discovering your authentic and unique self, who you are, what your core values and belief systems are, how you are motivated, how to recognize your habits and patterns so you can reinforce the ones that work and adjust the ones that don’t? When you understand these things about yourself, you improve your communication skills with others and your internal conversations with yourself.
Once you know these things about yourself, you can integrate them into building your Personal Brand, career, and life situations.
Knowing who you are will allow you to assess what you have to offer and how to use it to your best advantage. It means not hiding behind excuses or even the lies told to you by others or yourself. Have you ever experienced the negative thoughts that go through your head when auditioning or performing?
Some examples might be: “I should have worn black, it’s much more slimming; the accompanist is going too slow or too fast; what are the next words; the people I am singing for are not paying any attention to me at all, they’re all on their phones; I am not impressing them; Oh, God, here comes the high note.”
All of these negative thoughts will be riddled with emotion. Emotions that first show up as internal dialogue or your “inner voice.” In the AriaReady world, we call that voice “Your Brat.” It’s when you hear your Brat that you start to tense up physically. By then, it’s too late; the old mind-body game has taken over.
This kind of reaction removes you from the opportunity to focus on and experience what is actually happening. This pestering inner voice can ultimately sabotage you and your career.
Lastly, I have a question for you to consider between now and our next month’s blog. Can you begin to recognize and be aware of the times "Your Brat" jumps into your daily life, stopping you from creating a clearer pathway for focusing on your goals and experiences?
That’s it for now. Remember, these are just some of what we will share, discuss, and help you learn to incorporate into your daily habits.
(As Carol was so fond of saying)
Avanti,
DNA