Do You Know What You Actually Want?

In this week’s newsletter, I cover:

Do You Know What You Actually Want?
My favourite things this week
Twenty-one Free Kontakt Instruments & Plugins
This week’s release - The Snack Box Kit

For some time now I have been wrestling with this question: do I know what I actually want to do compared to what I feel I should/have to be doing?

It feels like for so long I’ve been doing things that I feel I should be doing over what I actually want to be doing.

The problem that has arisen over the years is that I sometimes feel like I don’t know what I actually want to do.

I have spent so long “chasing” the next project or the next goal, that I have often put my immediate desires on hold.

I have focused so much on what needs to be done that I have almost constantly placed what I want to do in the future.

Pen sketch of a figure facing a wall labelled Stuff I have to do, with a house labelled Stuff I want to do beyond it

I once heard Michael Hyatt saying that he only ever has three things on his to-do list. At the time I heard that and thought, “well what’s the point of that?”

But now it’s become clear to me why that is important.

If you only have three must or should-dos on your list then that means when they are complete you can schedule in time to do something you want to do.

Time for fun.

That fun could be “work” but you have chosen consciously to work because you want to - you have tuned into doing something just for you.

I’ve started re-using my planner to help me stick to my list of three things I need to do and to schedule time just for me. This way I can better tune into doing things that I actually want to do.

🎧 I’m Listening To…

When a piece of music resonates with me it often stops me in my tracks. Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender has had me in a trance now for days. It’s given me that teenage obsession where all you want to do is put the track on a loop constantly; dancing, crying and jumping all at once. This track strikes a nostalgic chord with me, I love it.

🖼 I’m Reading…

Black and white comic panel from The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil showing a man touching his growing beard

As you probably already know I am a big fan of Stephen Collins so it will come as no surprise that I am reading The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil. His illustrations are stunning and the idea of his protagonist’s inner darkness manifesting as an evil beard is hilarious.

📺 I’m Watching…

Promotional collage for Amazon Prime's The Boys showing the main cast around the show's dripping title

I know this has been running for a while now, but when I was out for a few drinks with two of my school friends they recommended that I watch Amazon Prime’s The Boys. Needless to say, I am hooked, despite it being intensely graphic and gory. The idea of superheroes being not just flawed human beings but absolute deviants being protected by PR is genius.

🌟 New From Rich

21 amazing free Kontakt instruments for creating Epic Music

I created this post as a resource for you all so that you can get started with your epic music compositions without having to adjust your budget for other libraries.

21 Best Free Kontakt Instruments & PluginsI am always on the lookout for free Kontakt instruments and effects plugins to add new sounds and flavours to my music. In this post, I share with you the 21 best free Kontakt instruments & plugins. Free Orchestral Kontakt Instruments Decent-sounding orchestral samples are one of those things tha…

Improve Your Second Act - Trailer Music Tutorial

Ok so I shared this post before BUT I had not published the YouTube video on the same subject. So, if you are looking to improve your second Act, check out these 5 simple steps.

5 Simple Steps to a Better Act 2Your second Act needs to bring pace, power, and build. Let me show you what you need to do to achieve that.

❝ Quote of the week:

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” - Søren Kierkegaard

Want to advertise in The Quiet Whisper? → Book here

Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video courses

The Ultimate Trailer Music Bundle → Learn everything there is to learn about Trailer Music

The Trailer Music Course → The perfect course to get you started writing trailer music

Trailer Music for Beginners → Learn to create trailer music with nothing but FREE samples

🎁 This Week’s Release

I am a massive fan of Keith Kenniff’s moniker Helios. One of the things I love most about his music is how often he uses found sounds to make part or all of his drum kit sounds.

I was inspired by this so I grabbed my mic and laptop and headed to my kitchen where I grabbed some cereal boxes, snack boxes, and our cutlery tray. I recorded these to get rough and crunchy snare-type sounds.

To get the kick sound I simply recorded myself thumping the kitchen table with my fist.

Et Viola, the Snack Box Kit was born.

The Quiet Whisper