LFP 057 | Success Traits You Can Use Today

Hi I’m Rebecca Fuller, the expert and instructor here at Learn Flute Online. In today’s episode, we’re going to explore some important success traits you can use to become even better at playing the flute.

Hello, and welcome to this episode where as I said in the intro, we’re going to explore some important success traits that you can use today to become even better at playing the flute. Sound good? I hope so, because that’s what’s on tap- and I’ll tell you that it’s a fun subject for me to explore with you anyway. I’ve always been into the subjects of motivation and success in learning, so it’s a natural topic for me, and I hope you enjoy what we’re going to talk about.

So, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen any of these success charts that occasionally float around the internet as pretty little memes, or some sort of tactic to get you to click on some ad or whatever, but the reason I mention this is because every once in awhile I see something that catches my eye. In fact, I have a couple of these printed out and left on my desk for months at a time while I glance at the items listed- just kind of keeps certain traits front and center for me.

Today, I’d like to bring to mind for you that learning how to play an instrument is not just about taking the flute out each day and popping through some sheet music,.. Nope nope. Hopefully you’ve either been listening to me or studying with me long enough to know that mindset has every bit as much to do with learning as the action of following through with the itemized lessons.

So, let’s get started with this little list of things I’ve compiled for us all today to help us learn what it takes to have in our personality so that we can have ready-made success daily in pretty much all of our endeavors.

Here we go with number 1:

Which is- The ability to ‘let go’ and ‘move on’.

Hmm. What do you think about that? I think we’ve touched on this subject a little bit in a past episode where I talked about some of my students staying stuck in their minds so much that when they make a mistake, they can’t seem to even move on until they’ve hashed over it and beat themselves up – publicly, or at their lesson. To the point where thirty minutes will pass and we haven’t covered much material yet.

It’s important to know how to recognize a mistake and how to  have the ability to continue moving through a piece so that it gets put together in a form that flows.

I kind of wish I had brought someone in here today to talk through this list with me because I think it could be very insightful to have a full-on conversation about each one. But, that’s okay- if you take notes and then talk about it over dinner today with a friend or family member, that would be really quite awesome.

Number two:

This one is to learn how to have a ‘passion for improvement’. I absolutely love this one because it is so important to learn to be coachable, and to basically have a thirst for making things better constantly. I have all boys in my own little family, and one thing I’ve noticed is that they have all done such a great job keeping themselves thirsty for finding the next step in whatever they are trying to accomplish. I love watching them grow and improve in sports, music, career, or life in general.

And, now would be a great moment for you to look inward at your own self and wonder if you keep that spirit of having a passion for improvement alive daily. Not just a little desire, but a full-blown passion is what we’re looking for. You’ll go far in any subject with even just this one little trait.

Let’s look at number three now:

This one is a fun one, it’s that successful people generally are the ones who keep an inventory of accomplishments. Huh, think about that for a second- now, I’m not necessarily talking about someone who runs around wearing their marathon medals, pageant crowns, or certificates they’ve earned, but really- those who are considered high level achievers tend to be those who keep track of the goals that they’ve made and accomplished, and they celebrate them also!

Now, I’ll mention to you that I do have an area in my office where all of my own marathon medals are displayed, and I do look at them often. There are several reasons for this: the first being that glancing over each one reminds me of how impossible I felt the challenge was going to be, and then with some incredible dogged-perseverance, I did what it took to train properly and execute running a full twenty six point two miles- all in a row – on purpose even! 

 I know not everybody gets it, but for me, it has usually been more about finding out what I can do, and then marveling in the fact that I actually did that something that looked kind of impossible. It’s totally empowering!

Ok- let’s look at number four now:

This one is that successful people are the ones taking the responsibility for getting things done. Now, I think you all know the person who is whining and complaining about everything every time you talk to them. It’s exhausting, and I always have to wonder, if things are really that bad for them, why in the world don’t they do something about it? I mean, we are a capable species. Honestly, if there’s something out there you or I really want to do, and it looks like other humans have found a way to also get it done, then all we have to do is take responsibility to actually find the way to do it, and it will happen.

As far as learning to play the flute, which is obviously on your list of things to accomplish in your life, let’s see how these four traits can be used to find success yourself.

Number one was the ability to let go and move on. It’s a higher level player who can learn to play beginning to end on a piece. That’s exactly why I’ve given you accompaniments to go along with each and every piece I teach you. Learn to play and perform these pieces. Memorize them, and work on the keep it moving forward skill. You’ll be on a higher level for sure when you can do that.

Number two is to keep and foster a passion for improvement. We can have attention to detail as we look onward and upward. If we get stuck on a certain skill, it’s okay as long as we realize that it’s the daily improvement that we are hoping for. 

Now, in learning how to play a technical instrument such as the flute, it’s possible that you may not be able to see the small little incremental improvements daily – you need to take bigger chunks of time and you’ll see it then. For example, you can video or audio record yourself weekly, and over several weeks, you’ll begin to see how awesome the process really is! Keep that passion alive for improvement. It’ll be so great!

Number three is to keep your journal or notebook of assignments and successes. The way I have the lessons set up makes it so easy to go back through almost like a checklist and see what you’ve been up to. Wow Wow. It’s like a display of medals on the wall. Your badge of encouragement if you will. Look back often, play everything you’ve learned, and marvel at your successful skills.

The last one we talked about in this episode is to take responsibility for getting things done yourself. You can’t just come in to the lessons and watch me do it and expect that immediately you’ll be able to move fluently throughout the pieces being taught. It’s just not enough. Although I wish it were. You have to go through the movements yourself, and plenty of times also to make the skills stick. Taking responsibility to actually do what it takes is a big huge step towards being a super successful musician!

Whew! What fun that was today. I actually have more things on my list that can really help us all be successful, but I think we’ll stop there today and let it marinate for a while.

I’m glad you’re here learning with us all. What successes will you celebrate this week?

Let me know in the comment box – let’s keep it up!

This was episode fifty seven of the Learn Flute Podcast – which will help you learn in conjunction with the lessons I have set for you in the membership areas of Learn Flute Online.

Good luck, and Bye Now!