Allow me to paraphrase a recent interview with Shawn Colvin about her upcoming CD and Memoir release in early June, titled All Fall Down, and Diamond in the Rough respectively. She’s so cool. The interviewer noted he’d been reading memoirs of Keith Richards and Greg Allman, and that there was more detail than he really needed to hear at points in their books. Would she have some of the same in her tome?
Ah TMI, Shawn chuckles, and pauses to think. Yes, maybe some of that, but hopefully not too much. Then the interviewer asks – is it similar to writing a song, writing a memoir? And Shawn guffaws,“No!” Not at all. A life story is a huge beast to tame. She had to get out her old school tools, for example, the outline. It was a massive amount of information to cover. With a song, you see, there are all these “constraints” that you work with – the rhythm, the lyrics, the melody – the structure contains you. These constraints determine how you express your mini story. Lot less info can fit there than a life story. Very different.
I’ve learned it’s about 100 words and 3 minutes that you have to work with when you write a song. You want some imagery. You don’t need perfect rhymes, but many use that. The bridge – that slightly differently chord and rhythm structure that stands at the crossroad/pinnacle of the song – is important. Ah creativity. Ah constraints. Ah life. Let’s see how this fits together with money savvy.
MONEY TRACKING AND SONG WRITING
Hmmm… My musician/money coach wheels were turning and intrigued. Constraints. Kind of sounds like a budget, aka (pc language) spending plan. Or tracking receipts, and quarterly profit and loss awareness for business owners. Or debt management. Yes, this could be a useful analogy.
A song wants to express a story. In living, we want to express our soul’s song, the beauty in our hearts. You know that feeling when you’re at your fullest expression of something, when you’ve given your ALL for that hour/day/moment? You usually don’t get there without experiencing some learning, some practice, some work within boundaries – yep, constraints.
When I think of writing and expressing the song of your song in this life, money is a key structure. This money song might have a few constraints: living within your means for example. Maybe that is the rhythmic structure. It’s the ground of your soul song. That in itself is sobering – better to befriend this rhythmic structure than fight it or ignore it, eh?
The soul song of your life – well that’s a memoir-sized beast to tame, yes. Each day though, is a unique opportunity to create a clever, or expressive little ditty. Money wise, that might look like using your financial energy well. Spending on what is important to you, what reflects your values. Having discipline (befriending constraints) when it comes to sticking to your money plans (song structure). Otherwise you become that unruly member of the jam band who is not playing well with others.
Our fixed expenses – the monthly mortgage/rent, the utilities, the car/loans/insurance payments, the food at home and when eating out – all of these expected expenses can be looked at as your current life song’s constraints. That’s the rhythm you’re get to play with. Getting that rhythm steady, manageable, tamed – is one step.
Want to add lyrics? A bridge? Maybe lyrics would be starting to shape your financial energy in a way that brings more soul expression. Working at more of what you love, giving from where your genius lives. A bridge might be reaching a pinnacle, or taking a leap into the next level of soul expression.
SIMPLE GUIDE TO LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS (LWYM)
Getting the living within your means rhythm down is a great ground to establish and visit. How you do this may change – you can use paper tracking, you can use money management software, you can use MINT.com etc. It can be a challenge when you’re a business owner and aren’t exactly sure what you’ll earn month to month, yet not impossible.
LWYM basics come down to knowing what income you require to live each month, and keeping an eye on the expenses that aren’t nailed down. I got my training in this when I was dealing with a more “constrained” salary and really had to watch my spending. It was quite an evolution.
At first, it’s not the most pleasant thing to have that regular money meeting, to make the weekly plan, to track the receipts and see what’s left, to say no to something you’d like to do but can’t afford. But after a while, it helped me get really mindful about money flow. It was so satisfying to plan for something financially and pull it off. And once I was learned my money song rhythm, I didn’t need to watch it so closely. I’d intuitively manage it, and come down to being exactly on plan, almost to the penny. That felt like angel winking time.
You can start to play with this very simply by putting yourself on a daily budget/spending plan, for the expenses outside the fixed zone. So gas doesn’t come from this, but the latte would. Just make it 10, 20, 50 bucks a day, depending on your income. See how you do at the end of the week if you work to stay in line with this money song rhythm. Want to save for a vacation? Then you can see how easy it is to save, or “tighten your belt”, when there’s a clear and fun thing ahead inspiring you.
ART AND THE MONEY SONG
An old supervisor of mine at my internship at the mental hospital noted, “Discipline is attention to the craft”. All artists and healers know growing your skills and genius takes discipline. Taming the money dragons requires similar “attention to the craft”. When you realize this constraint is the ground of creating a beauteous and difference-making soul genius song – well, a little resistance to the money meeting can be easily overcome. Before you know it, you’ll be winking in the company of angels.
Blessings to your soul and money song,
Denise
PS Speaking of songs, Shawn Colvin’s “Change is on the Way” from the new CD – rocks.