• Mind Your Mind 201: The Eagle-Minded Musician

    in Motivational Minutes,Self-Improvement

    Today, we’ll be learning about a unique bird – the eagle.

    We kicked off our “Mind Your Mind” series in a previous post where we did a contrast between the memory and imagination.

    To take us further in this series is an exposition on the eagle.

    There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky…” Proverbs 30:18,19 [NIV]

    The eagle is a bird that has fascinated many minds for ages. It is associated with certain virtues like strength, hope, salvation, nobility, uniqueness, and vision to name a few.

    All these good virtues associated with the eagle are the reasons it is dominant in the coat of arms of many nations of the earth – Germany, Russia, Nigeria, Poland, to name a few. Heck, the great seal of the United States of America has an image of the eagle.

    There are mythical and religious symbolization of the eagle both in Christianity, Islam, and other religions of the world.

    Let’s get started by looking at the features of the eagle

    Distinct Features Of The Eagle

    Majestic Texas Bald Eagle in flight against a white backgroundEven though there are various species of eagles, two common species are the golden and bald eagles.

    Body mass: The eagle weighs lighter than it looks (12 pounds on the average), with a body length of 3 feet (although it can encompass 7 feet when it stretches out its wings.)

    Appearance: Golden eagles typically have larger bodies and shorter wingspans compared to bald eagles. Owing to their white head and tail feathers, bald eagles are easier to spot versus golden eagles. The eagle has a strong beak, talon and feathers.

    Sight: The eagle is gifted with powerful eyesight. From its nest on high, it can sight the earth underneath with a perception that is eight times better than that of an average human being.

    Life Span: When you’re talking about longevity, the eagle can live as long as 40 to 50 years if it is reared within confines and can even have an extended life span up to 80 years if it renews itself (talk for another day).

    Put together, the eagle can prey easily with a minimum effort because it is gifted with sight and flight. The eagle can travel as far as 400 miles a day.

    The Eagle-Minded Musician

    We as musicians can foster an eagle mindset. It’s a mindset and anyone can foster it. It’s as simple as being aware of the qualities of the eagle and applying them to your musicianship.

    If you develop the eagle mindset, you can be an outstanding musician the same way the eagle stands out in the midst of other birds.

    The Eagle is Visionary

    The strong qualities of the eagle is its powerful eyesight and extended field of vision. Science has proven that the eyes of an eagle can see an ant crawling on the ground from the roof of a 10-story building.

    An eagle-minded musician has a powerful sense of vision and therefore can see opportunities where everyone else doesn’t.

    He has a different perspective to chords, progressions, and songs. He sees things differently and can flip them around. For example, when everyone thinks he’s in the key of D, he’s seeing things differently from the key of F – an entirely different perspective

    Whenever the eagle-minded musician sees what he wants, he goes for it.

    He isn’t easily carried away with many options. He knows how he wants to sound on his instrument, he’s pictured it in his mind and therefore you’ll see him eschewing anything that doesn’t conform to the picture he’s crafted.

    Any musician who can see in a second’s notice that what he’s going to play won’t work out properly and then changes it to something related has an eagle mind. It takes an eagle mindset to weigh options of what to play and determine the best.

    The Eagle is a Leader

    You can hardly see the eagle give up, especially when it has to do with preying. This is one leadership streak of the eagle that we must imbibe. The eagle displays so much tenacity, courage, determination, and bravery that you can hardly find in other birds.

    Eagle-minded musicians are leaders in their sphere and they don’t easily give up. They have the stamina to practice for hours without giving up and they have the courage that what they are seeking would be found.

    They’ll always have a way of surmounting challenges, blazing new trails, setting the pace, and breaking records. They stop at nothing until they hit their target.

    The Eagle is Attractive

    The eagle is an admirable bird. It’s rare qualities has endear it to so many people, religions, and nations.

    Eagle minded musicians attract everyone with their rare attitude and lifestyle.

    I visited this site so many years ago when I couldn’t tell my left from my right. I was attracted to the rare attributes of our founder and president when I eventually studied GospelKeys 202 – Mastering Worship Chords.

    I was attracted to his simplicity and sincerity, laced with the passion for growth in other people. I was attracted to the ray of hope he gave to all of us all who because of one reason or the other felt left out of the sheet music clique. Story of my life!

    Question is “even with the number of internet sites, why do millions of people come back to this site on yearly basis?” It can only be attraction.

    An eagle musician wins the admiration of a lot of people a lot of the time. When he shows up, he doesn’t struggle to stand out from other musicians – his rare qualities stands him out of the flock.

    The Eagle is a High Flier

    I have never seen an eagle flying slightly overhead. I know this may happen but on very rare occasions. Eagles can fly as high as 15,000 feet high at 65 miles per hour. Can you beat that?

    The eagle-minded musician doesn’t settle for the least – No! He thinks 15,000 feet higher than his contemporaries. His ideas are so high and futuristic – it practically takes years before people will find out what he’s doing and why he’s doing it.

    Final Words

    Like i said in the beginning, everyone can have this mindset.

    Are you lost in the ground, in the midst of chicken, ducks, and geese? I wrote this post with you in mind. Join the league of visionary, attractive, leading, high-flying musicians by imbibing the eagle mindset today.

    My prayer for you today is that you begin to evolve an eagle-mindset thought process that will revolutionize your playing over night.

    Amen!

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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