Remember those old Coke vs. Pepsi commercials, where they'd have a
person drink Coke then chew on a cracker to "cleanse the palate" then
have them drink Pepsi?

(By the way, I've always been a Coke person myself. Pepsi blaaah!)

Well, I have been having a certain cleansing of the palate the past
week or so.

I busted it and got alot of work done before Christmas, then we
surprised my daughter with a quick trip to Disney for her 16th birthday.

That combined with some nice downtime, and two solid days of nothing
but eating and watching Christmas movies, has cleared my plate mentally.

It has allowed me to look upon this new year with hope, excitement, a
fresh fire, and a positive attitude.

Those of you who know me, know I'm pretty positive anyway!

We've cleaned house a bit this year in the way we do business, where
we do business, and who we do business with.

It seems I have a tighter focus, a renewed vision, and a real vigor
for the main things I want to do and what we are really good at doing.

If this is something you'd like as well, here's what I recommend.

First prayer, devotion time, and journaling. This has seemed to be the
key for me to keep my wits about me, and my focus clear.

Anyone who's ever known me knows I am a night person, and definitely
NOT a morning person. But the time when I first wake up that I spend
doing devotion, and serious journaling keeps me grounded and gets all
the ideas out.

And by writing it down on paper rather than typing a blog or
something, I don't know, there is just something therapeutic and final
about it. Like it's organic or something.

It always leads to prayer, especially if I'm sitting on my porch or
gazing out a window at something blue or green (sky, trees). And if
you're like me, you need all the help you can get to remember to talk
to God.

Second, turn off email, or at least limit it to once per day. While I
was on vacation, I could check email but not send. It really helped me
to not have the temptation to "get involved" in things. During the
holidays our creative minds may not turn off, but maybe they will at
least be calm enough to rest.

Put your creative energy into writing, practicing, or organizing
instead of promotion, work emails, or blogging. Try watching movies,
just listening to music, or journaling instead of actively promoting
or interacting.

Let your mind have a break from the "work" of creation and artistry.
You'll be surprised how much freer you'll feel when you do come back
to "work".

The next thing is travel. Many of you have been traveling and that's
good. When you travel, especially with family, they get more of you
than usual. Constant "quantity" time that we don't always give each
other when we have four corners of the house to go to and attach
ourselves to our various entertainment boxes.

When we are with family and friends, instead of clients and
associates, we get grounded again. Our minds get simper. We play 20
questions, eat together, discuss things, and sing silly songs together.

Our lives get simpler, especially when we are out of town because the
normal grind is gone. No house to care for, bills to pay, or routine
to follow.

Many times we even get the right amount of sleep because there are no
computers to stay up with, no DVR to catch up on, and no dishes or
laundry to do.

I wished many times I DID have a computer or keyboard to follow ideas,
but the journal did just fine. It forces us to be creative in other ways.

Kind of like when we don't have the latest greatest software, sounds,
or instrument, but somehow we still make great art.

I expect 2009 to be a game-changing year for artists of all kinds.

I think independent artists will move this year not towards the
mainstream, but they WILL BE the mainstream.

I think revolutionary ideas will take hold this year, and there will
be real change (and no, not because of ObamaNation), but because the
music and art world has been moving that way for a long time.

So use this next week to prepare. Any downtime or days off you have,
try to cleanse your palate for the new year, and maybe the next big
LEAP in what God has for you.

And remember, Creative Soul can walk down those roads with you. Now
may be the perfect time to re-investigate working with Creative Soul
on your next project, or your first!

Have a great rest of the year and a tremendous New Year!

EC

--

Eric Copeland is a producer, arranger, and master juggler of projects
for Creative Soul, a music production, artist development, and
promotional company just outside Nashville, TN. For more on what
Creative Soul does and can do for your music and ministry, visit
http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com or http://www.CreativeSoulRecords.com

--

End of 2008 Song Arranging Special

Creative Soul is offering a special on our Masterscore Music arranging
services for the last week of the year. Usually a slow time, we're
offering $400 ($100 off our usual price of $500) for a complete music
arrangement of one of your songs.

To take advantage of this offer, go to our site at
http://www.MasterscoreMusic.com and email us! We'd be glad to help you
realize your dreams of taking your songs to the next level.
Have a great rest of the year and a tremendous New Year!

---

EC Speaks...Online...
New Video Clips on our Home, Consulting page.

If you haven't been to CreativeSoulOnline in a while, we've added some
new videos for you including new artist Michelle Ruben, and on the
Consulting page Eric has taken a few minutes to explain what's going
on today in the music industry and how it affects YOU the artist.

We start every artist with our full day Development Workshop here in
Nashville, once again held at a major studio in Nashville like
Darkhorse Recording.

Check it out at our Artist Development site at
http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com

---

Our Team

At Creative Soul, we only use the top players, engineers, and studios
here in Nashville, all who have played for a list of the top artists
in Christian music so long, it would make your head spin. Check out
what we mean at http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com/team.htm