Home sweet home, as they say. I am back in Dublin after two-week break in Italy. It was wonderful. I don’t think I have switched off this completely in a long time. So now my batteries are fully charged and I am ready to get back to work, which I’ll be doing later today as I am back in The Porterhouse with Sliotar.

I must say I do feel inspired at the moment, which is extremely important when you work requires creativity. Right now I feel like I can take on the world 😀 So watch out, there will be a lot of new content on the way.

So are there a lesson to be learned while unplugging your self from your work and the realities of every day life? Yes there are.

1. Growing up I spent quite a bit time on sea around the islands of the coast of Finland. I had forgotten how much I like being on the sea 🙂

2. I learned the importance of letting go from time to time. In the past four months I have been taking care of my self extremely well 😀 And on these holidays, all the rules were thrown out the window. It has been helpful in more ways than I would have thought.

3. And as a result of the above point, I learned how much happier I have been taking such a good care of my self and right now I am more determined to keep at it (apart from occasional holidays.)

4. I learned what a great workout climbing steps and hills is 😀

I still kept the blog posts coming, although the scheduling of them I allowed my self a little leeway. Many of my so-called “schedules” are self set and there to make sure I won’t start slipping. But as I was exploring the little streets of stunningly beautiful Italian island villages, I did realise that day here or there does not “break the bank.” Still as you know, I am a big believer in consistency, so it is time to get back to work 😉

This weeks song Cold Ground was a personal one, bit it seem to have resonated with many of you. I had my doubts about posting it because of the personal nature of it, but I soon realised that was just my mind playing tricks with me. The song came from my heart and should be shared 🙂 Check it out here:

Cold Ground

Here are some of my tips on visiting Rome:

Italy part 1. Rome

It is easy to realise the importance of clearing your mind from time to time, while you are on holidays. But in the middle of a hectic work schedule It can be easy to forget:

Quick tip 181 Clear your mind

I think the reason behind your songwriting is very important. Read my views on the subject here:

On songwriting 12 Why do you write songs?

I see passion all around me. I see it if I go out for a dinner, in the food, in the service. I see it in other artists work, I see it in a way people do their work. It is a great thing to see, but at the same time the lack of it can be disappointing. Let passion drive you:

Quick tip 182 Let passion drive you

I did put some automation to test for my online promotion on this trip. So I decided to share with you some of my thoughts on why you should use it as well:

Automation

One of the main points I wanted to implement, when I started my journey of sharing a song a week was to make sure I engage with the audience. Here are some of my views on why every artist should do it:

Quick tip 183 Engage with your followers

One of the nights on my holiday we were unexpectedly entertained by a local musician. There were some customers on the table next to us and I over heard their dissatisfaction of the music and how it killed their conversation. This got me thinking about how sometimes live music can be in the right place, but in the wrong time:

Right place, wrong time

We often like to blame “time not being right” for not doing something. Here are my views not he subject, and why you should be willing to act when more favourable time arrives:

Quick tip 184 When the time comes, act

In this second part to my tips to visiting Rome, I looked into some tips on where you should stay and how to get around the city:

Italy part 2. Rome

The last Quick tip of the week looks into how your mind-set affects everything you do:

Quick tip 185 It all starts in your mind

And that’s a wrap for another week 🙂 Once again I hope you enjoyed the posts and share them with the world. Just a few quick things before I let you go. Don’t forget that you can download this weeks song for free from my Bandcamp page HERE, as well as a lot more music. Also If you do enjoy what I do, the music and the blog posts, please consider supporting me at my Patreon page HERE. The more successful the Patreon page becomes, the more cool stuff we can make happen together 🙂 You guys rock!

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE