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Hey — here's your weekly Rx. No filler, I promise.
Words Worth Keeping
"Man plans, and God laughs."
— Old Yiddish proverb. Ask me how I know.
The plan, and then the actual plan.
This Week
Here's how the week was supposed to go:
- Cover principal trumpet on a couple of pieces at the LA Phil
- Record a double session for a movie soundtrack in Hollywood
- Two live classes in my online audition community
- Pack my trunk for the UK tour
Nice.
Here's how it's actually going: a family member fell and landed in the hospital. Now I'm on a 6 AM flight to New York. My airtight plan? In the garbage.
A change in plans I can handle. I know how to pivot. What makes this one hard is the speed — a whole locked-in week flipping to zero fast enough to give you whiplash.
The Prescription
I usually share an insight or pose a tough question here. This week? No tidy answer — I'm still working this one out myself. So here's what I keep coming back to since my plans blew up.
One: drop the guilt. Bailing on what you promised — a program, a session, a section that now has to scramble — feels like letting everyone down. It's not. Here's the twist: the people who never flake are the ones who feel worst when they have to. They've earned all the trust in the world and still feel like they blew it. If that's you — you didn't. (And yeah — I'm talking to myself here too. Chris, go read that again, dude.)
Two: ask for help. Out loud. Early. More than feels comfortable. My manager, to find a sub. My section, to cover. My family, to hold things down while I'm gone. None of that happens if I stay quiet. People can't help with a problem they don't know you have. So I said it out loud.
Sometimes asking for help isn't the backup plan. It's the only one.
And the real reminder under all of it: we're never really in control of anything. It's a nice posture to hold — it's just not true.
I don't have this solved. So flip it on me: hit reply, tell me what YOU do when it all goes sideways. Genuinely.
Happy practicing,
Chris @ Honesty Pill Coaching
Something land? Something miss? Hit reply. I read them.
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