#281:I want to make music

What do you want to do NOW? Not forever.

Jul 10, 2025

I’ve been asking myself: “What do I want to do with my life?”

But the question is too big.

I remember Ben at Sanctus giving a brilliant piece of advice. He was recounting a therapy session, or a theme he saw across plenty of sessions.

People come with topics like “I don’t know what I want to do with my life” “I want to find my purpose”. It’s huge. It’s massive. It’s too big. You can’t eat it.

How could you possibly figure out what you want to do with your whole entire life in a 50 minute therapy session or by writing in your journal for 30 mins? Impossible. Not happening.

I’ve been there though. In the uncertain places post-Startup and post-Exit. I’ve been thinking “what will I do next” “what will I do with my life?”

Even when I was doing something like building a masters course from scratch, I was so worried about the next thing that I wasn’t enjoying the current thing (story of my life).

I’ve noticed it again. This desire to control, to understand, to plan and to predict. And this time, I’m not falling for it.

I can’t answer “what do I want to do with my life?”

Instead, I can start to answer and move towards what I want to do with my life NOW. Turning the lens of now onto everything is helpful. Landing down into the present. Taking ourselves out of our heads and into the feet of the moment.

What now in the present moment? Rather than what later in the future?

All I know about now is that I want to make music. Not actually, but metaphorically. I want to make music. I want to make music with others.

I want to riff. I want to listen to the song and say how it feels. I want to help write the next line. I want to be in the room with creative people making stuff happen. Making sounds. Writing hits, or trying to.

I want to make music, with founders. I’m doing some of it and I want to do more of it.

I’ve made a lot of music in my life. Some hits, some flops. I often think back to my Sanctus mission as one album. I sang a couple of hit songs over and over again. Some Angels, some Rudebox.

There are some songs I’m playing now, but actually - I’m having more impact by getting in the studio with other artists, helping them make music.

Define their brand, unblock, think bigger, play bigger, make moves, make breakthroughs. It’s fun and I love making music with people.

Will I do this forever? Is this “me”? Is this who I will become? Do I have to start calling myself a “Founder Coach” on LinkedIn and create scarcity marketing funnels. I don’t know. I hope not.

All I know is that right now. I want to make music and help others sing their song, write their album or perform on stage. All in the realm of startups and brand.

I love Rick Rubin. Be full Rick Rubin, for business.

The lesson here for me is about presence. Focusing on now, not later. No tying myself up in knots trying to plan for my whole life. Focusing on feel, what feels good now, doing more of that and trusting the right path will emerge for me. Plus trusting that I’ll only take the paths that lead me to where my heart truly wants to go.

Ironically this is what I end up doing with founders too, getting out of the head, out of the worry - into the now. What’s actually happening? Where is the energy? What next? What now?

This is my riff for today.

I’m going to keep making music.

Cheers,
James x