"Up on your feet! This is no time to tire!"
my master cried. "The man who lies asleep
will never waken fame, and his desireand all his life drift past him like a dream,
and the traces of his memory fade from time
like smoke in air, or ripples on a stream.Now, therefore, rise. Control your breath, and call
upon the strength of soul that wins all battles…"-Canto XXIV, translated by John Ciardi
Songwriting is challenging. If you’re like me, you’re even a little afraid of it.
But if you back down from that challenge for even a few consecutive days, you’re training yourself to give up.
Instead, train yourself to solve problems. To stick with it. To invest the necessary time and mental energy to write a complete song. To invest more time in starting another one, even if the last one didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped. To learn a little something about the craft of songwriting daily. To apply what you’ve learned.
And to make progress on your dream. Or to quote Dante’s guide Virgil:
“Show me that you mean to profit from your time.”