Do you have songwriting goals, or just songwriting dreams? Your answer matters because goals call us to action while dreams call us to wait.

Just look at the language, and we’ll talk about each.

“I reached my goal.”

“My dream came true.”

We use words like “reached” or “achieved” in association with goals. These are action words, meaning we DID something to achieve our goal.

Dreams “come true” as if it’s something that happens TO you instead of something that YOU do.

You have a much better chance of successfully reaching a goal than you do of having a dream come true.

Why?  Read on below.

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Goals are measurable and have a deadline. You know if you’ve reached a goal by the time the deadline has passed. If a goal is vague or has no deadline, it’s just a dream, and you can spend the rest of your life dreaming about “someday.”

Dreams are great. I can’t imagine living without having dreams. I’m a dreamer. But dreams without goals?

Those are just wishes.

Instead of just wishing, you should be setting S.M.A.R.T. goals if you want your best chance to be successful.

S.M.A.R.T. goals are: Specific. Measurable. Actionable. Reasonable. Time-bound.

Specific.

A goal needs to be specific, not vague. For example, “Do more songwriting stuff” is not specific. However, “Finish more songs” is more specific.

Measurable.

Make your goal measurable so you can track your progress and know if and when you reach it. For example, “Finish more songs” is not measurable. “Finish 12 songs” is measurable.

Actionable.

A SMART goal is actionable. This means you have the ability to affect the outcome. You can do something about it. Setting a goal for something you can’t do anything about is like setting a goal for the sun to come up tomorrow or for it not to rain tonight. “I will finish 12 songs” is something you can do something about.

Reasonable.

A goal should be something that requires effort (and is worth the effort), but it shouldn’t be unreasonable. For example, “Finish 12 songs on my lunch break” is just not reasonable. A more reasonable goal might be, “Finish 12 songs over the next 3 months.”

Time-bound.

Your goal should have a deadline. Without one, it’s too easy to keep putting off the work. Without a deadline, it’s easy to tell yourself you’ll get around to it “someday.”

Not only that, without a deadline, how will you know if you’ve actually accomplished your goal? “Finish 12 songs,” could take the rest of your life. “Finish 12 songs in the next 3 months” lets you know in three months if you accomplished your goal. It also gives you a sense of urgency.

Setting SMART goals can take you from a vague non-goal of “Do more songwriting stuff” to the SMART goal of “Finish 12 songs in the next three months.”

Here are some other examples of SMART goals:

“Record 5 new demos this year.”

“Select and join a PRO by the end of August.”

“Book my first cowriting session by the end of the month.”

“Attend one songwriting conference next year.”

“Play one song for a publisher by the end of September.”

When your goals are SMART, you’ll get more done and be more successful. And that’ll make you look REALLY smart.

What do you think?  What are YOUR thoughts on goal-setting?  What are some of your songwriting goals? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

If one of your goals is to get a song in front of a publisher, I want to help make that happen.

Songwriting Pro’s next Play For A Publisher event is coming right up, and our guest is John Ozier of Ole’ Music!  John has worked closely with several #1 hit songwriters, and he’s been getting songs recorded by major artists.  If YOU have the songs, HE knows what to do with them!

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS AND SEND IN YOUR SONG!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US, a #1 in Canada & a top 10 in Texas… so far.