Do you ever read a book and apply it to your life or your hobby. I went to see my son, Jeremy and his family on my vacation. He had a book that he suggested that I read. It is call The Ride of a Lifetime. The book was written by Robert Iger. Robert was a former CEO of Disney. Obviously, he knows a lot about how to be a great leader. I was able to use his format and come up with ideas to write  better songs. 

Four ideas to write better songs

1. Tell a great story. I love story songs. I especially love story songs when they are based on true stories. Kinda like Lifetime movies but different. The reason I am a  big fan of country music is I am a story lover and a story teller. 

2. Innovate or die-  As a songwriter we are always looking for a new or a fresh way to tell a story. Another way to say, I love you. Or to write from a different perspective. I wrote a song about the crucifixion of Jesus. It was written from the point of view of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. I chose the thief who Jesus told today you will be with me in Paradise. Paradise is also the name of the song. We got to be original. 

3. Pursue perfection- Mediocrity doesn't sell. My boss at my job is not impressed when I give a mediocre day of work. Why would we expect our songs to do anything if we haven't came them our best effort. 

4. Be yourself- Why would we ever want to be someone else. We all have our own perspective on life. I love songwriters who are real. I am always looking for the fake songwriters. They write about things they don't know about or have never experienced. It would be like me trying to write a drinking song. I don't drink and never have. What type of drinking song would I write. (Probably, a terrible one.)  I could write a song about a small town, about  being a county boy, about falling in love, about divorce, a  out getting cheated on, and my cat. (It was hard to type that. I like dogs better but right now we only have a cat.) These are things I know about. Be real. People can tell if you're the real diamond or a cubic zirconia. 

I only listed four but I'll share more later. Keep writing.