It’s 2019, guys! We’ve got a whole year ahead of us. That means a whole year of possibilities to achieve something truly great.

We all love a good New Years’ Resolution and I’ve got a few of my own. When it comes to making goals, I have some points of focus that I try to keep in mind when setting out to achieve them. I hope these help you with your 2019 goal-setting!

1. Keep It Simple

Keep your goals and your strategy as simple as possible. If we overcomplicate the process, the tediousness of achieving the goal can take over the goal itself. For example, instead of having the goal of recording my first album, my #1 goal this year is to start recording an album. By focusing on just the first step, this breaks apart the multiple (and complicated!) aspects of this monumental goal and makes it seem more doable. So, instead of setting the goal for yourself to enter a YAP or get signed on with an agent, make your goal to audition for major YAPs or audition for agents.

2. Admit Your Mistakes

As we go along the lengthy journey of pursuing a career in the arts, mistakes are bound to happen. It’s true for everyone. The deciding factor among those who actually have a career and those who don’t are the ones who learn from their mistakes. If things aren’t going as you’d like, something is wrong and it must change. Get rid of it, move on to what’s next, and start thinking outside of the box.

3. Fewer Goals Equals More

Instead of making 5 massive goals this year, set out for 1-2 big ones and 2-3 smaller ones. My goals look like this:

Major Goals

• Start the process of recording my first album
• When the baby comes, find a balance between work and family

Less Major Goals

• Learn the shit out of my new roles
• Spread my brand more into the European market
• Reach 10,000 Instagram followers

4. Your Time is Limited

I don’t mean to sound morbid but time does go by faster than you think and in an operatic career, it couldn’t be more true. Don’t waste your time on projects that don’t mean that much to you because the opportunity to pursue what really fulfills you could get overlooked. Be selective about your time spent and yes, there are obligations in the career but know that it’s okay to let opportunities pass that won’t fulfill or benefit you.

5. Persevere

When you’ve worked so hard and you think you can’t possibly work any harder, work even harder. Over time, there’s a turning point where your hard work begins to show and in the arts, the results can take years but keep at it. It’s the deciding factor for many careers, so let it be yours, too.

6. From The Heart

For every goal you set out for yourself, have an unreasonable amount of passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm for it. Yes, there are hard days and your motivation may seem thin at times, but our love for the arts is what gets us through those hard times. We serve an audience and we inspire others to have a visceral human experience through our performances, so as artists, we must lead with our hearts.

That’s my advice for starting 2019 off on the right foot! Be sure to check back in with your goals every couple of months to make sure you’re staying focused.

If your goals change over time, then that’s awesome!—you are discovering more and more about yourself and those initial goals you made for yourself helped you find better and more suitable goals.

 

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” – Steve Jobs

 

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