Serhii Says — Rachel Efron

Lovelies,

There are times it's dangerous to ask for feedback. Yes, we're banging our heads against the walls of a project and would love nothing more than to be helped. But really we're passing through a Vulnerable Moment. Any thoughts other than our own would confuse us, if not derail us altogether.

The problem with making an app is that the Vulnerable Moment is years long.

I realized this during my bi-weekly schooling by my trusted advisor, Ukrainian business manager, Serhii. Typically our meetings go like this: I share my latest self-doubt, he laughs at me, and I feel better. For example, last week I told him I'd discovered a competing creativity app and realized it was the one the world needed, he laughed his head off, and I understood that's not how user acquisition works.

This week I told him I'd hired the wrong person for App Store marketing. He listened to my reasoning and agreed. But then he added, "Rachel, you must know that for the first three years, everyone you hire will be the wrong person. You don't yet know what Muzi is and you're the only one who can figure it out. There's nothing you can outsource."

Whoa.

Naturally, I said, "But I have no idea how to make or release an app! There's nothing I CAN'T outsource!"

To which he, naturally, replied, "That's true too. You must ask for help. And you must know that no one can help."

So yeah, this month's wisdom comes not from me, but straight from the (apparently) zen monk that is my trusted advisor, Serhii. And I think his little "one hand clapping" koan is at the heart of every Vulnerable Moment. It's a beautiful thing to collect others' ideas about our work. But we must know, also, that they are, by definition, wrong. They are merely lights, pointed this way and that, and occasionally illuminating some facet of truth, OUR truth, that we haven't yet seen.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go hire some other wrong people.

With love,

Rachel

For all the time Narada and I spend writing songs, we never kick back and chat ABOUT writing songs. Well this month I made him Muzi's Featured Artist and we finally got to the bottom of it!

From his beginnings with Mahavishnu to an inspiring phone call from Aretha Franklin, you won't want to miss his amazing stories and perspectives.

Enjoy these excerpts or watch the whole video here.

R: Do you move quickly or take your time?

N: I've learned that the spirit, in my case, will react very quickly. And if I'm not quick to catch it, it can dissipate. Inspiration is here for us 24/7. We can reach up and grab a bird of inspiration at any time. So I know that. I can write anytime.

R: Were you always pointed toward music and creativity?

N: As a little boy I loved to bang on pots and pans and play along with Nina Simone records -- on a pie tin and a box on a high chair. Try to figure out what that person’s playing and play along with them. It was always my happiness.

Q: You've been such an important voice in so many eras. How do you write music that interacts with tastes as they change?

N: I take whatever song the heart wants to give and mash it into the production style of the times. Because I don’t want to just make album tracks. I want top ten.
I want number one.

Q: What have you learned about your creative process?

N: I learned a lot living in New York with Mahavishnu Orchestra. If you have an hour, you can make a hit in an hour. If you have a half hour, you can make a hit in a half hour. If someone said, you got five minutes to go write a hit, we could do it.