D Grant Smith

Yoda Speaks with Gary Gray

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I’m so excited to share this two-part podcast episode with you, during which I chatted with The Master himself: my dear friend and mentor, Gary Gray.

Gary is an award-winning composer/songwriter/producer/engineer – and helped me mix/master my album, Awakening.

Besides being an accomplished musician, Gary is the author of the “The Home Studio Bible,” and is considered one of the top mentors in the entertainment industry. It’s an honour and a privilege to be his student.

His clients include 20th Century Fox, The Disney Music Group, Hollywood Records, and of course yours truly!

One of the reasons Gary is regarded so highly in the industry is that he approaches each person as a whole, and does not just “teach.”

Whether you’re in the music industry or not, this is a Podcast you WON’T want to miss. Trust me!

Gary refers to life as being “brutiful” – a combination of brutal and beautiful. He has learned that humans tend to put up with a lot of the brutal side of life for small glimpses and short moments of the beautiful side of existence. How can we help each other tip the scale so that more and more of our day-to-day lives are less brutal – and more beautiful?

And on the painfully practical side of life – how do we determine when we are being fed myths and brainwashed in the entertainment industry? How can we know when we are being led down a path of truth in our own crafts and our own careers?

Gary developed a lifetime of wisdom by surviving through what he calls, “Years of Trial & Terror.” His goal is to help others avert the mistakes he made along the way by sharing his experience, wisdom and education. He made it a point to seek out the best mentors he could find in order to figure out the mystery of success and what it really means. He was extremely fortunate to acquire mentors such as Phil Collins, Phil Ramone, Quincy Jones, Chick Corea and other legendary greats.

Gary considers seeking happiness and self-success to be an unfortunate and ill-conceived target, brought about by the blind-leading-the-blind mentality in today’s “me me me” culture. The way Gary explains it, “I strive for myself, and for my students, to focus on one activity that, in my opinion, defines true success, and will absolutely lead to a deep and meaningful happiness that no one can take away from you: and that one activity is very simple: HELPING. Helping other people, helping your family, helping the community. Being responsible first to yourself, yes, but for the purpose of helping others as a primary activity in your life.”

How do you navigate your day-to-day life, full of stress, financial worries, non-stop texts, emails, social media posts and IMs, in such a way where you can and do help others and achieve true and meaningful success that many never experience? A secret that may surprise you – Gary believes that action is the best therapy, that productive successful accomplishment is the best meditation that exists, that watching someone else do better in life from your efforts is the best medicine ever invented, and that discipline and hard work are the best cure for the soul, the mind and the body.

As you can see, this is a podcast packed with gold. The way Gary puts it, “Every time I help someone, I find that that person ends up helping me just as much, if not more – and that I learn something new. The one thing I learn over and over again is that I always need to learn more!”

Tune in – and learn from one of the most inspiring people I know. Part 2 will be coming next month…stay tuned!

These podcasts exist to provide you with the knowledge, inspiration and motivation needed to pursue your dreams.

If you’d like to join the Daydream Believers online coaching community, have your say on what topics get covered during our podcasts – and have your questions answered by our expert guests, simply become a patron. You can sign up quickly and easily via the Patreon website here, or via their handy Patreon mobile app. You’ll also get access to the full range of my coaching packages and music production lessons. Plus you’ll get exclusive early access to all my musical output – and lots of lovely treats in between!

Thanks so much for visiting – really looking forward to welcoming you to the family!

Which Wolf Are You Feeding? with D Grant Smith

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I’m so excited to be welcoming back the awesome D Grant Smith to the podcast. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this extraordinary human being, D is a growth farmer (aka a coach who empowers people to be their best, love who they are and create strong connections).

The core principle he operates his life around is this: “Your heart and your mind is a garden. What you plant inside yourself with your thoughts, beliefs and patterns produce fruit in your actions, attitudes, and behaviours.”

Relationship building is a huge part of our success journey as creatives. You’ve probably heard D Grant talk about how to effectively build relationships with industry professionals, other musicians, and influencers to grow your career and create new pathways for success.

But what about the interpersonal relationships we have? What happens when the relationship with your someone special, partner or spouse goes in the wrong direction? Or what happens if it comes to an end? What do you do?

How do you balance your creative life with the internal struggle and emotional upheaval that the end of your closest relationship can create?

These questions are certainly worth exploring – heartbreak and loss are a part of the human experience. From his own period of going through deep personal loss, dealing with the blows of heartbreak and all the negativity that comes with it, D Grant will give you some powerful tools and ways to pick yourself up, put your best foot forward, and do the heart-work of healing so that your best is made manifest.

Here are the questions we addressed during the podcast that were submitted by members of the Daydream Believers community:

1. Xabiso: As a creative, I have chosen to put everything into mastering my craft especially because I got a bit of a late start. I am willing to sacrifice marriage and getting into a serious relationship because of this. Am I looking at things in the wrong way because I truly feel that this is right for me?

2. Matthew: Have you any advice on maintaining a realistic focus when things are going well. Advice on keeping a level head and remaining focussed and positive would be appreciated. When I realise things are wrong I find it easier to identify how to address things and get nervous when there isn’t an obvious issue to tackle!

If any of you would like to take D up on his very generous offer of a chat (I highly recommend you do!) Hid email address is: dgrant@dgrantsmith.com Mention that you’re getting in touch as a result of hearing the Daydream Believers podcast and he’ll know what to do!

These podcasts exist to provide you with the knowledge, inspiration and motivation needed to pursue your dreams.

If you’d like to join the Daydream Believers online coaching community, have your say on what topics get covered during our podcasts – and have your questions answered by our expert guests, simply become a patron. You can sign up quickly and easily via the Patreon website here, or via their handy Patreon mobile app. You’ll also get access to the full range of my coaching packages and music production lessons. Plus you’ll get exclusive early access to all my musical output – and lots of lovely treats in between!

Thanks so much for visiting – really looking forward to welcoming you to the family!