Sandra Winter Music

INSPIRATION

You may know that I did a project last year at a local nursing home, where I interviewed nine residents and wrote songs for each of them. First of all, just being with these folks and hearing their stories was really inspiring. Then when I wrote the songs, recorded them and performed them for the residents at the nursing home, I was really touched by their response. One woman said, “You made me know that I’m not forgotten.” To me, this one comment made the whole project worth all the time and effort.

There have been times in my life when I was so busy chasing after money (because I thought I had to have the money BEFORE I could pursue my dream of making a living as a singer / songwriter) that I didn’t see all the wonderful things that were right in front of me.

I had to step outside the box of that thinking and start looking for ways I could serve others in order to open up to bigger possibilities for myself. It’s amazing how, when my focus shifted more to service, I started to see new opportunities and new connections that are still working in my life today.

So if you’re feeling stuck, or if you’re dealing with challenging circumstances, or if you’re just really busy working on your dreams, don’t forget to stop every once in a while and ask who you might help today, or how you might make a difference in someone’s day. The rewards far outweigh whatever short-term sacrifices you might make, I guarantee it!

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE AND FAN CONTEST

I have a performance coming up here in NYC on June 14 at Isabella Geriatric Center, the nursing home I mentioned in my Inspiration above and I would love to have that performance be JAM PACKED. So here’s the deal:

The fan who invites the most people to this performance will get a recording of all the songs from the Soul Song Project, which I’ll be singing on the 14th.  I know not all of you are in New York City, but please be sure and invite any and all friends you have who are in the NYC Metro Area. An as an EXTRA SPECIAL bonus, the person whose invitation brings the most AUDIENCE MEMBERS will also receive a DVD of a performance of the Soul Song Project earlier this year.

What? You say you’re not a fan yet?????

Well, get yourself signed up by filling out the form to the right and you will get all the info on how to participate.

For those of you who are already fans, you’ll also be getting news soon, if you haven’t already.

Here’s the info for the Concert:

The Soul Song Project Concert
Isabella Geriatric Center
515 Audubon Avenue (at 190th Street, Upper Manhattan)
June 14, 2014
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Cost: FREE

You can RSVP and find out more by going to my Facebook Event Page here: http://tinyurl.com/SSPConcert.

I hope you can make it on June 14th to this very special event.

That’s it for now. Please email me if you have any questions, okay? Hope to see you on the 14th!

Harmoniously yours,

Hard to believe it’s been over two weeks since I started my second 28 Day Commitment to myself! It’s definitely been eventful!

I traveled to Virginia with my church choir to sing at a conference. (You can just make me out there on the back row in the picture.)

I did a lot of networking and have been following up with people since I got back.

I also completed a custom song I was working on and sent it off. It’s such a satisfying feeling to complete a project that is so from the heart! Here’s a pic of the cover for the CD:

Been working on my keyboard lessons and practicing vocals pretty much every day.

So here’s my challenge to you: are there areas of your life that you want to transform?

If there are, you might want to consider making a 28 Day commitment yourself. It doesn’t have to be as intense as mine is (4 hours a day, five days a week and 2 hours on Saturdays). But it’s amazing what happens when you make the commitment and tell close family and friends about it. People rally around you and cheer you on. And resources appear where and when you might not expect them.

Give it a try and let me know when you do it. I’ll be happy to support you!

Harmoniously yours,

It’s been almost 28 Days since I made my 28-Day Commitment to working on my music every day, and I am very proud to say that I haven’t missed a day! I have worked a minimum of 4 hours every day vocalizing, learning keyboards, working on this website and reaching out to potential partners and clients. Has every day been easy? No.

But in the last 28 days, I have accomplished the following:

• Created a landing page and re-launched this website
• Performed 7 of my songs at my church (and sold 5 CDs!)
• Created postcards to hand out at networking events
• Signed up for a voice class and worked on my voice and songs every day
• Signed up for an online keyboard instruction course and have practiced regularly
• Spent time regularly reaching out to potential customers and partners
• Brainstormed business ideas with friends and partners
• Figured out the chords for two of my songs
• Wrote 2 new songs

While it hasn’t all been easy and while there have been days that were challenging, I am proud to say that with a lot of support, I have stayed in action and kept my eyes on the prize. When I complete my first 28 days on Monday, April 7, I plan to take a day or two to regroup and set new intentions for the next 28 days.

As my music coach says, my 28 days aren’t winding down, they’re just winding UP!

So what are YOU willing to commit to over the next 28 days? As I have experienced, know that it’s possible for you to achieve amazing results just by making that commitment to YOURSELF first. Go for it!

I just returned from an amazing, transformative weekend as part of Tiamo De Vettori’s Music Prosperity Mastery event. It was a jam-packed weekend, filled not only with tons of tools and strategies designed to help musicians grow their music businesses but also to help those of us who lost sight of our soul’s vision along the way.

  I don’t know about you, but I know way too many musicians who have had their hearts broken while trying to succeed as musicians in the conventional way — which is to work really hard to grow your fan base, play gigs for little to no money, make your own CDs and try to sell them at gigs or wherever you can, all the while hoping for your big break. Even for those (like me) who say they’re not interested in playing in huge venues or winning Grammys, it seems the only way to be able to truly support yourself as a musician is to go the conventional route and hope to be discovered.

Well, according to Tiamo, this isn’t necessarily so, and he’s living proof that there is a better way.

Over the course of the weekend, I got back in touch with a big vision I had years ago of creating a Concert for World Healing and am re-committing to that. In addition, I am re-committing to growing my music business in a new way that is actually profitable and less soul-draining than the way I was trying to do it before.

I will be using these blog posts to keep you posted about that, as well as to share what I’m learning along the way.

Hope you will come along with me for the ride.

Peace,