Let’s face it, we all make mistakes. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much experience you have; you’re gonna goof up sooner or later. It just happens. We’d like to think that we get it all figured out eventually, but we don’t. That’s just how it goes, so get over it!

Well, that’s much easier said than done, or at least it is for me. Maybe it’s just because I’m a man and I hold pride closer to me than anything else, but it really hurts when I make a bad call. That moment when I have to admit that I didn’t know what I was doing and own up to my actions… Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel like I’m in control at all, and I don’t like it.

Maybe you feel the same way sometimes, but I can tell you from my own life experiences that the sooner you ditch this mindset, the better! Well, better in a sense that you will be on your way to a quicker recovery from said mistake. And if you pay close attention to your mistakes you will gain valuable wisdom (wisdom that will prevent you from making the same mistake again). Remember that mistakes are learning experiences too, and are necessary for personal growth.

I hope that by now you’ve caught on to my hints that I’m not just talking about musical mistakes. Of course this applies to musical situations on the stage, in the studio, or in the practice room. But there are other mistakes that can affect your musical career besides strictly musical mistakes. Let me share one of mine with you, and hopefully you won’t make the same one.

I was contracted once to produce a record for a very wealthy man who was funding an artist. He made a lot of big promises and threw out a lot of big numbers, and we started production without signing any contracts (mistake number one). I was blindsided by the idea of making a lot of money and advancing my career (mistake number two) that I immediately went to work (mistake number three) assuming that he would hold up his end of the bargain. Long story short: I got shafted. Three weeks later I had a finished product in hand, ready to collect, only to find that the guy decided he didn’t want to make a record anymore.

Not only did I waste a lot of time, but I felt like a complete fool, having called in a lot of favors with close friends to meet this insane deadline with promises of gigs and future recordings. I jumped the gun and didn’t talk enough business up top. Had I done that I probably would have realized that this guy was someone I didn’t want to work with.

Lesson to be learned: always take care of business first. Establish who will do what, who will get what cut, and who owns what. Another lesson: beware of sharks. They’re out there, and once they get you they’ve got you. There are vicious people out there who will chew you up and spit you out.  You’ll make it out in one piece, but you won’t leave empt handed; you’ll carry that scar with you for the rest of your life. All of these are lessons that I learned the hard way, but I’m thankful that I paid attention. Hopefully my experiences will prevent you from making the same one.

It’s funny that our experiences which shame us the most are the very ones that have helped us the most. Case in point, keep your eyes open and be alert at all times. You won’t always know the right answers, but you’ll learn them.

Eventually.