The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 165 Heidi Kay Begay: Amplify Your Voice

Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to The Mind Over Finger Podcast, episode number 165. Welcome to The Mind Over Finger Podcast, discussions on mindful music making, efficient practice, optimal performance, and building a purposeful life and fulfilling career. I'm your host, violinist and certified performance and life coach for musicians, Dr. René-Paul Gaultier. Hi everyone. I hope you're doing fantastic today. And speaking of fantastic, I have a fantastic guest on the show for you. In this episode, I'm speaking with Dr. Heidi K. Begay. Heidi is a flutist, educator, podcaster, course creator, and creative consultant for musicians. She's

Starting point is 00:00:51 passionate about guiding the modern day musician to find their unique voice, and she helps them reach new heights, feel empowered, and have a life they love both on and off the stage. Heidi is the owner of two thriving companies, which include JNK Media Productions and Flute360. She's the creator and host of two current podcasts. The first is Flute360, which has received over 100,000 downloads since 2018 and has served flutists worldwide through its 238-plus episodes. The second podcast includes The Pivoting Musician, which Heidi co-hosts with her colleague, Dr. Garrett Hope. Throughout her business, she serves her clientele through different offerings such as music lessons, coaching sessions, in her three digital courses, which include The Pivoting

Starting point is 00:01:44 Musician, The Podcasting Musician, and Generating Income as a Podcaster through Corporate Sponsorships. As you will hear, Heidi is a generous and dynamic creator, and we had such a great time chatting. We covered many topics, including her journey creating this very unique career, how others can do the same, the qualities that helped her grow her career and business, how she handles performance anxiety, the importance of self-trust when building your career and growing as a human, and much more. And a big takeaway for me from this conversation is the importance and the power of being adaptable and flexible with the circumstances that are laid out before us and how those qualities can take us to wonderful places. If you enjoyed this conversation, I want to invite you to catch episode 237 of Flute360 where Heidi interviews me and this was also a great discussion. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this conversation with Dr. Heidi K. Begay. Heidi is delightful, and I know she will charm you, and you're going to walk away feeling motivated and inspired. Let's go to the show. here we go heidi kpg it's so great to have you on the show finally oh my goodness renee the pleasure is all mine heidi you've been on my radar for very long and i've been a big fan for years now

Starting point is 00:03:26 And I love what you do. You have this wonderful educational platform with the podcast Flu 360. And also you have the podcasting musician course and your presence in the music community is enriching. I mean, the lives of so many, of course, but the community in general, I feel and you're paving the way for so many people. You're a huge inspiration. Oh, Renee, oh my goodness. The fact that those words are coming from you mean the world to me because like our Monday conversation, I said, someday when I grow up, I want to be Dr. Renee because I have the same thoughts and feelings about what you are doing as well. Thank you so much. So why don't we start where I start with all of my guests? Let's hear about you, everything.

Starting point is 00:04:16 Talk to us about your musical journey and how it has unfolded to what it is today. Oh, my goodness. I will try to wrap up my story in a nutshell, and I will do my very, very best. So I'm originally from Chicago, and we grew up in a musical home. My mom was a pianist and an organist. My dad was a percussionist. And by no means were they professional, but those were the seeds that really helped plant a love for the arts within my own life and within my brother's and my sister's lives as well. And so because of that, we were lovingly encouraged to take piano lessons starting around the age of five. And I was also a ballerina. I did that from two to 13. And at 13 years old, I tragically had an accident where I did a move on pointe shoes. I fell down and I broke, fractured my L5 vertebrae and a growth plate in my right arm.

Starting point is 00:05:20 And so I had to make the tough decision to end my ballet career. And because of that, there's always a silver lining in tragedies. And I found the flute. And it was a really great transition to be able to then express myself through a musical instrument. and as we know like we still get to be very much in our bodies so as a ballerina you get to express yourself through movement through your body but then now I got to bring that over into my flute world too and also you know the the oral art side of things and so I found my voice I found something to really be able to express myself fully and from there I played in church religiously for three services every week growing up. And the reason why I mentioned that is because the women in that congregation within the worship team, Karis, Jennifer, and others, they really formed my musical abilities. I was writing desk hands. I was having to improvise sometimes, like on the

Starting point is 00:06:26 spot, we would have a plan for the church service, but then they'd be like, oh, wait, we're going to mix things up. And what a great training for a young teenager to be able to dive into such a musical world, you know, and then get to serve my congregation and the church and the community in that way. And so because of that, I really had a love for serving people through music that really lit up my world. And I decided to pursue this. So I went to summer flute camps, I took lessons, did the competitions, etc. And then fast forward to a really pivotal moment in my life. And at one of these camps, I met a woman and her name is Dr. Diane Boyd Schultz. And I bring her up specifically because at such a young age, she left such a huge impression on me. Her

Starting point is 00:07:19 poise, her knowledge, the way she played the flute, everything about her, I wanted to embody someday as a future educator and as a future musician. So at a very young age, I remember pointing and looking at her and saying, someday I want to be Dr. Heidi. I want to be just like Dr. Boyd, and I want to be Dr. Heidi one day. So because of that, I knew then in order to get that doctorate, the reason why people get doctorates is to teach at the academic level. So therefore, the rest of my path for the next 20 years was pretty much mapped out. Got the college degree, got the master's degree. I had a six-year gap between master's and doctorate where I taught 50 to 60 flute students

Starting point is 00:08:10 in the Fort Worth area. And we can circle back to that later because that was really the seedlings of my business. And then got the doctorate at Texas Tech. And my dissertation was actually flute 360. And I was very, very blessed to have such a strong committee who really encouraged me to kind of push the envelope and give me permission to do something that was not typical, something where I could get my hands onto a really neat project that could launch me into that academic path, you know, where a search committee could get really excited. like, Ooh, she's doing new publications and she's doing something different, or it could perhaps launch me into something else. And we didn't know it at the time, but it definitely launched me into something else. So full circle, that's where I am now with Flute360. And we can talk about

Starting point is 00:09:06 the organic growth and the trajectory of where it is now, but it brings us up to full speed of, I am the host and creator of Flute360. And those are my origin stories and the podcast's origin story. I love this. And I'm going to direct everyone to the podcast, not only because you have amazing resources on Flute360, but also we had a really fun conversation together, so they can catch that there. I love how this story, to use the word I used a few minutes ago, unfolds so organically. And we seem to have similarities in our path. I also had this gap between grad school and my doctorate. And I really feel, I don't know for you, but I feel like it gave me a very powerful purpose as I was doing my doctorate. So why don't you tell us right now,

Starting point is 00:10:04 how is Flute360 and all of the work that you do in podcasting musician, how is that impacting your life? Yes. Oh my goodness. In so many different ways. So I guess I need to take a step back and mention to the listeners that, you know, here's a little gem for you. If you don't get anything else out from today's conversation on my end, I want to highlight this and that is to be adaptable and to be flexible with the circumstances that are laid out before you. Because that literally, I wished somebody would have told that to me as I was pivoting from that academic path into being an entrepreneur, because it would have relieved a lot of stress that I was going through. Because through my origin story, you could add up the

Starting point is 00:10:55 years from 13 to 33, I was gung ho about that one academic job. Dr. Heidi, flute professor at X University. And my blinders were so stiff, Renee. And it was painful because if anybody knows me well, they know that I'm very driven. At the same time, I'm very stubborn, which can be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. And from 2018 to 2020, I was applying to all of these jobs. And as you know, no matter what your path is, there's going to be competition. Yes. And at 2020, I was finally recognized and offered a full-time job outside of Shanghai, China. And I was over the moon because I was like, yes, all of those years have paid off. I got the job that I wanted. And then fast forward, pandemic happened, bye-bye job.

Starting point is 00:11:51 So it circles back to this nugget of you need to be adaptable. So when that job went away, I cried my eyes out. I threw my temper tantrums. It was not a lovely sight. And my husband lovingly, who is my best friend, who is my spouse, and who is now my co-business owner, said, encouraged me. He challenged me. He said, okay, Heidi, you can go back to the drawing board and start pumping out 200 applications again for the next two years? Or why don't we pivot? And why don't we use your Flute360 podcast instead of an extension of your dissertation or a CV builder where a committee will notice it and hire you? You hire yourself. You're the job. Because here, we were noticing, and correct me if I'm wrong,

Starting point is 00:12:44 I'm sure you will resonate with this to some degree, the market is overly saturated with such highly skilled musicians. It's not even a numbers thing. It's a quality thing, which is a great problem. But all of these musicians are trying to shove themselves into that one door. And that gatekeeper is so ruthless, right? And so instead of saying like, why can't I get through that one door? Look around. I kind of see it as like a block of cheese, right? Instead of that one little sliver, look at the rest, look at the breadcrumbs and the opportunities that are all around you. So when he lovingly challenged myself to really look and see like, hey, there are opportunities around me because Flute360 was running in the background. So instead of seeing

Starting point is 00:13:34 what people were doing, they were hiring me off to the side as their coach, as their flute teacher, as somebody who could play for their newly composed composition. At the time, I saw it as these cute little gigs. He was like, they're not cute little gigs. This is where you need to be. I don't even know if I answered your question. This is my passion and this is my soapbox because those opportunities were all around me, but I wasn't willing to see it because I was in so much hurt and in so much pain. And that's what the podcast has done for me. It's given me a platform to open up those doors and circling back to what you said so lovingly on Monday, the inner doors and the outer doors. And I am so blessed to have such a platform where it did

Starting point is 00:14:29 amplify my voice and connect me to my tribe. It connected me to people who wanted to work with me. It connected me to people who are now my colleagues and friends and business owners, and I wouldn't be here without that platform. So I hope I answered your question to some degree, but I needed to give some sort of that backstory in order to be able to answer it. Yeah, absolutely. What a great answer. First of all, what a wonderful husband and partner.

Starting point is 00:14:59 Yeah. And I'm so glad that you shared this with us because that's one of the things I love about your work is that you mentioned breadcrumbs. You have followed those breadcrumbs and you have created something. You've taken agency over your life in a way that I think not many of us feel capable of. And I think it's important for all musicians, and I keep saying musicians, but this is true for all humans, though these are universal truths, is for people to see examples of what is possible so that it plants that seed in them as well as to what they can start seeing in their own lives and what they can start to create for themselves based on what they're skillful at or what their interests are. Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us. Oh, for sure. And I'm so happy and almost relieved that somebody like you with the position that you have and the wisdom that you have sees that through Fluid360. It's like, okay, this is evident. This is clear that this message is coming across. So I feel validated. One other question that I had for you in regards to Fluid360, because you're still an educator. For someone who's interested in maybe starting to take this path, what does that look like in everyday life? Oh, wow. That is a question. Yes. So I guess to give you a blanketed answer, I think first you need to be courageous to perhaps walk off of the traditional path if that's what you feel like

Starting point is 00:16:44 your calling is or your own path or whatever you want to call it. But there needs to be some sense of courage and there needs to be some sense of patience through the process because oh my goodness like when you even if you're shifting two to three degrees it can feel like a heavy burden because it almost feels like 180 where you know because you're so shaking you're so like I felt like I was so thrown off of that traditional path and that trajectory of being a flute professor. It felt like a whirlwind, but actually it was just shifting a few degrees, but sometimes that can feel overwhelming and it can feel like a lot. So as you're shifting and as you're trying to figure out what is best for you, there takes some courage. It takes some

Starting point is 00:17:35 courage and you have to be patient through the process. The other thing is you need to pull people into your orbit who have walked the walk. Yes, books are great. You can read all day and start applying those things. But I think seeking out a mentor, seeking out somebody who has been there can really guide you because they can jumpstart you much quicker from getting from point A to point B much, much quicker. So I guess those are some blanketed answers to the question, but then more specifically, like noticing the breadcrumbs and what does that look like for somebody's specific path? Again, going back to like the blinders, I was so stubborn and my blinders were so stiff. But if you can go to this, this piece of being courageous, be courageous enough

Starting point is 00:18:23 and be willing enough to take a risk just to let the blinders loosely open up a little bit, right? It's good to have goals. It's good to have direction because without it, then we don't have steps one, two, and three towards our target. But if things are shifting around us, we need to be aware of those changes in order to then say, okay, you know, that first initial goal isn't really working out the way I had intended, but that's okay. Like, what can we, like, let's open up those blinders just a little bit more and notice those breadcrumbs. And it goes back to the mentor. If you can't see it for yourself, ask a mentor, ask somebody to give you insight, something that perhaps you are missing that you can't see. And we need others. And we were talking

Starting point is 00:19:14 about that again. There's so many parallels to our Monday conversation. We were talking about that earlier. Sometimes we can't see those breadcrumbs in front of us because either we are in a season of hurt and pain, right? Sometimes it's hard to see that hand right in front of us when it's staring us right in the face, but we can't even see it because we're hurting or whatever the case may be. So a mentor can really point out those breadcrumbs if it's challenging for us to see it. But then the second part of this answer, that was a big first part, but then the second part of this answer is this Venn diagram that I always point people to. And that is, what are you passionate about? What are you good at? And what can you get paid to do? And that middle, that

Starting point is 00:20:02 intersection of those three circles is where you need to be. So yes, I'm an educator. And even though I'm not teaching at the university level, I still get to use my skill sets in a very unique way. And I'm still teaching graduate students and doctoral students who have graduated or they're trying to get into programs in their like gap year. So I'm still getting to kind of hold this role of academic professor. And I'm saying that very loosely because I don't want to disrespect anybody, but it's not within those four traditional walls, you know? so and that was a big aha moment for me too it's like oh okay again it didn't pan out the way I wanted it to but this is what I'm passionate about I'm passionate about amazing flute repertoire and

Starting point is 00:20:53 helping students move the needle forward helping them win auditions helping them get into graduate school I can get paid for that and it's what I'm good at so that was a lot of answers to your question, but hopefully somebody can follow through and see my thought process along the way. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing all of this. I can really see how someone could, first of all, yes, follow what you just said, but also see that when you do expand those blinders that you mentioned, then you can really start to see what is possible beyond those traditional walls that you mentioned. I think we live in such an exciting time where those gatekeepers that you mentioned don't have the same hold on things as they used to because now anyone can create anything they

Starting point is 00:21:45 want. They don't all know this yet, but I think that's part of our mission, you and me, to have people see this, that actually they can create anything that they want out there. And And, you know, I'm so happy that you mentioned these qualities. You talked about courage earlier. You mentioned adaptability, which is so important. I think that in this case, yes, we do need to be a little bit stubborn. And the last one I would say is that sense of believing in self despite the obstacles. And that's something that a mentor can help us with.

Starting point is 00:22:23 I know that for me, and I'm guessing it's similar for you, what my coaches and mentors did is keep my belief alive while I was maybe lacking it. So I think that I absolutely agree with you. And we talked about this on Monday. It's hard not to repeat ourselves, but that having this personal guidance from someone is so crucial. Oh, 110%. Yes. And actually, one of my first coaches during that pivoting or pivotal season for me as I was pivoting from academia to being a musicpreneur was actually Dr. Garrett Hope. And now we are friends, we're colleagues, and we're business owners. And that all happened in less than two

Starting point is 00:23:13 years of meeting each other. So you just never know what's going to unfold from those relationships. Oh, yeah. It's these human connections create magic. Oh, for sure. Heidi, I'm pivoting right now a little bit because in March on the podcast, I am covering performance anxiety. And as we're talking today, you just published something on social media about performance anxiety. So I would love for my listeners to hear your take on performance anxiety and maybe some strategies that you have for them. Oh, for sure. Yes.

Starting point is 00:23:55 And I've been talking about this more lately, Renee, because a lot of my Flute360 listeners are so candid and so sweet to share with me through DMs and emails that this is something that they are dealing with. And I know that you know, as a podcast host, we try to really keep our ears open and start that dialogue up with our listeners so that's something that i've been talking about more lately because of what 360 years are going through and yes my heart goes out to anybody who deals with performance anxiety because i still deal with it to a certain degree it is a lot better on my end from this professional standpoint from where it was probably 15 10 20 years ago when i was in

Starting point is 00:24:44 college renee the performance anxiety was so strong i was shaking so much that i couldn't even keep my flute stable on my chin it was so bad it was incredibly horrible so fast forward to now what has really helped me and this is why i teach hey musicians come over into this podcasting world because it's an untapped market for those opportunities and to build your career But on the musical artistic side, podcasting has blossomed my artistry. It has helped me to decrease my performance anxiety. It has helped me to boost my confidence on stage or in the studio when I'm teaching. And that's why I'm so passionate about teaching people to get into the podcasting space.

Starting point is 00:25:35 Because what Flute360 has taught me is it has boosted my self-awareness. It has decreased my performance anxiety because what's happening is every week I'm putting out an episode, or I'm a guest on other people's shows. And when I get into this recording space with the Rene's, you know, moments before, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm talking with Dr. Rene. Oh my goodness. And, you know, we play, I do, I don't know if the listeners do this, but we put these people, these guests, these musicians, pillars in our community on these pedestals because you've accomplished so much. But when I get into these conversations and we talk about setbacks and pains and hurdles and accomplishments and wins, I'm like, oh my goodness, this is just another human being and we are we are sharing our stories we're storytellers we are in a relationship we're building these relationships we're having a human interaction and that was my aha moment for my

Starting point is 00:26:38 performance anxiety you're you're sharing your music with your listeners these are just people right there's nothing you know whether it's a search committee an audition panel people in the concert hall these are people you're sharing something special with them you're sharing their your music with them in this very intimate way i'm not performing and i'm using air quotes in case you can't see the video you're not really performing per se you're sharing you're a storyteller and so the podcast helped me to realize that i have a voice physically i can articulate a voice and I have opinions, and how does that transfer over to my flute playing? I can say something through my instrument. People want to hear what I have to say, right? And then

Starting point is 00:27:31 that I don't have to necessarily put the Rene's up on pedestals because they are human beings. So when I go to see these, you know, maybe famous judges on the panel for a competition, and I see their faces, I'm like, oh my goodness, that is so-and-so. Oh my goodness. It doesn't phase me as much now because I am constantly talking with those people of such a high caliber day after day. And there's so many layers to this onion, Renee, that I can keep pulling back. But that's why my performance anxiety has decreased because I'm in front of a microphone, I'm in front of a video cam corner and I watch these things back. I listen back to the episodes. I watch these videos through YouTube and that self-awareness is heightened because of the

Starting point is 00:28:25 recordings. Then I get to notice like my body language and do you know what I mean? Literally, there's such a huge ripple effect here. And so anyways, if there is anyone who's dealing with performance anxiety, I really recommend that you practice away from your instruments and uncover the person within to really notice and to find the core of who you are, to really be confident and comfortable in your own skin. If you can do that and you know who you are, what you have to say with intention, and you want to share that with your audience, oh my goodness, then when you put your violin, clarinet, flute to your face or to your shoulder, oh my goodness, that instrument is just amplifying the work that you have done on yourself. So well put. Really, really well put.

Starting point is 00:29:26 And I have to say, I hear you, because right before we started, I have to sit here and interview Dr. Heidi after she so masterfully interviewed me just a few days ago. The bar is really high. So I can't say that I was not thinking about that a little bit. But it's such a beautiful way to put it. And I 100% agree. It's very interesting when we not only understand that the people receiving what we're offering are humans, but we are also a human and we're able to handle any emotions that come our way. Then I feel like it takes so much of this extra stress away when we remember that it's a human experience that we're sharing with others. Yes, completely. And one last thing that I will say that I thought of as you were describing that is the recording regimen that I have comes over into my practice room very beautifully as well, too. So I will be very vulnerable and honest, even though you and I had talked on Monday, and you did such a good job being my guest, I got nervous coming into today's conversation. I'm like, oh my goodness, I have been wanting to be on her podcast forever, and here it is.

Starting point is 00:30:54 So whether it's your show or somebody else's show, or it's my own show, and I get to be host, five minutes before the recording, I ground myself every single time. And this is what I'm talking about practicing away from your instrument. Because what ends up happening in those five minutes, I remind myself of who I am, how I can contribute to the community, my big picture, the big vision that I'm after. Because we get tied up, at least for me, I get so wound up sometimes with all the details. How many ums did I do? How many ahs did I do? How many you knows and likes? And we get so frazzled and get so nervous about the details. But within those five minutes, if I can take 10 steps back and be like, okay, this is my mission. This is my vision

Starting point is 00:31:44 and remind myself, I am talking with my friend, Renee, that there is nothing to be afraid of. I can make mistakes. I remind myself that all the time, Renee. I'm like, you're allowed to make mistakes. You're allowed to go there. You're allowed to be dorky, witty, Heidi, and talk with her hands and be a little too much. I have to remind myself of that so that way I can have fun in that session. So now transfer that over into the practice room or the stage. So when I go to perform and I go into a competition or I go into recital, those five minutes before,

Starting point is 00:32:22 naturally, because I do it all the time through my podcasting world, naturally, I remind myself of why I'm there on the stage. so do you see like it if a if a person is not into podcasting that is okay find another hobby find another thing in your life that you're passionate about that you can practice on a daily or weekly basis and find those lessons and find those gems and bring them over into your music world and i hope that helps oh yeah that's great thank you so much for this yeah it's very um actionable advice oh thank you Heidi I want to keep talking with you forever but I want to be respectful of your time but I will be contacting you so that you and I can hang out

Starting point is 00:33:12 more outside of the podcast I really do hope we meet in person at some point it's gonna be um I think a great time for sure but oh yes how about a round of rapid fire questions before I let you go. All right, I'm ready. I'm going to pull my list here. You'd think I'd know them by memory after all this time, but I don't. I'd love to hear what makes practicing most enjoyable for you these days. The fact that I get to connect with my ideas and my body and just the beautiful sounds that the flute produces. It's really magical. I love that. It brings it back to really what's essential. We talked a little bit about this again, but for the people who are maybe contemplating a career like yours, or they are a business owner and they are maybe hosting a podcast or

Starting point is 00:34:10 handling an educational platform like you, can you tell us a little bit what your life looks like? Oh, yes. So I will be very candid. The first two to three years, there's a lot of busy work to get something like this established but once the systems are in place then it just works like a well-oiled machine so be again be courageous be patient in the process and seek out those mentors but it in the first couple years it was very very busy now not that i'm not busy but now the seasons have changed the business is pivoting and i get to pivot and grow with it So just know that what you establish, whether it's a podcast or your business, it's moving and growing with you. There's going to be different seasons of it. So again, be adaptable and flexible to move with those changes. Great advice. What's a habit that you have that you think contributed to your success?

Starting point is 00:35:14 I am driven it goes back to that that comment I had made earlier I am driven and um I'll get her done like I'll get the work done if it needs to be and um I think that quality really sets me up for success and you know when you're saying this something brings this makes me think of something which is when you were talking about how you were a little stubborn and you had these blinders on I think that at times, that's exactly what we need. I think at times we need to put them on and we need to be stubborn. And I don't think that being stubborn is such a bad thing. I mean, it's all within circumstances. But I think what is wonderful about you is that you were able to have them on when it was required, and then you were able to take them off. And I'm sure that you still have this ability right now that when there's work to be done, you have this ability to put them back on, to focus on what is urgent and important right now. Yes. Yes. And that focus, sometimes I will be, again, very vulnerable. Sometimes it comes easy. Sometimes it doesn't. So for example, like I'm rebuilding out my corporate sponsorship class

Starting point is 00:36:29 and that is priority work that needs to be at the top of my list. But because I'm a little nervous and I'm a little scared of recording different things for that class, I keep putting it on the back burner and I'm like, oh, but look at all the emails that I have. And I'm like, no, Heidi, you're doing work, which is good. But are you doing the right work? And so sometimes that focus comes easy and sometimes it does not. And as you said, that what you do in your business comes in with you in the practice room. It's kind of a similar analogy. Are you doing the right work right now? Are you practicing the right thing? oh yes and now i'm starting to contemplate what i am practicing and what i should be practicing i love this how about as i said you're still an educator and you're still perform i believe do you have a favorite tool in the practice room oh my goodness my voice memo app i cannot stress

Starting point is 00:37:33 this enough and again i'm taking this nugget from my podcasting world you need to record record record oh my goodness because you remember this back in the 90s we had our answer machines and you would hit the button and say after the beep you know record your message when you come home and you see like that flashing light say you call yourself right and i'm using old-fashioned telephone instead of my niece says my niece holds up the phone like uh like a selfie like uh facetime but i'm like oh my gosh no the phone is like this um but anyways the the point of that is you could call yourself and leave a voice message, right? And you hit play on that machine and you hear your voice and you're like, oh, ick, I didn't know I sound like that, right?

Starting point is 00:38:20 So we sometimes avoid listening to ourselves as musicians because in our world, it's painful, right? Because we always are willing to progress. And again, I'm using this word very, very loosely, perfect, right? Because we know like what good technique is. We know what good tone is. We know all of these things, right? And so when we hear ourselves back, we start getting really, we overanalyze, right? But if you can, again, be courageous, I guess that's the theme for today. Be courageous to record yourself in the practice room, right? Objectively give yourself some, you know, some critiques that are going to move the needle forward in your playing from this healthy standpoint. Don't beat yourself up. You know what I mean? Like be very intentional with

Starting point is 00:39:16 that recording. If you record something, be intentional when you listen back, what are you listening for? Right? And if you can be in that space of listening objectively, then it can be a really fun process. And it's like almost like receiving one, two, three free lessons if you do that for yourself. Yes. I want to say a million things, but this is your interview, so I won't stay quiet. But I agree with everything that you just said. Absolutely. Now, I'm curious, a piece of advice that was given to you that you would like to pass on to the listeners? Oh my goodness. How do you choose one? Oh my goodness. So many. And I'm circling back to my husband because when we were first married, I was noticing that, man, we are so

Starting point is 00:40:15 different people. And I was a very young bride. I got married at 23. And as a naive 23-year-old, I was under this impression, like, why isn't he look more like me? Why aren't we more similar, right? But now fast forward to 15 years being married to Eric, I embrace those differences. And he constantly sculpts me, he constantly, you know, and this is a biblical thing, iron sharpens iron. And he constantly is molding me and I'm so grateful for that. And so one piece of advice that Eric always gives me day in and day out is to trust yourself. You know more than you probably give yourself credit for. And if you can trust yourself, then you're going to be more confident to try things that

Starting point is 00:41:07 perhaps seem scary or far-fetched for you and for your career. Um, so that's something that I would like to offer the listeners is to trust yourself and to, um, you know, put yourself out there in those uncomfortable situations. Um, because you can, that's, that's where growth is, right? That's how we grow. That's, um, where we get to obtain new experiences and that makes life so colorful, doesn't it? Yeah. So beautifully put. Thank you. I won't add anything to this because it stands on its own without my input. Oh, I would love to hear your input though. Your thoughts and your wisdom are just ages, light years beyond mine. So anything that you want to add for sure. How about a quick call to action so something that the listeners could implement today in their musical lives but not necessarily in their practice or it could be in their practice as well of course but yeah can you say that one more time sure so any a quick actionable tip that the listeners could implement

Starting point is 00:42:22 in their life in their life just like a general blanketed thing um start up and or join a mastermind or a masterclass. So like if you are thinking about pursuing like this business path, or you know, you want to be that orchestral musician or whatever your niche is, pull people who are again doing the thing walking the walk, who are you know, I'm going to use the business side just because that's my example. And that's my world right now. Pull people into a mastermind, who are budding business owners who are

Starting point is 00:43:05 going through the same ups and downs that you are experiencing. Because if you can build a support system for yourself and build that support system around you, and while you're building X thing, it's going to be more manageable, and it's going to be more fun and more inspiring and motivating. So the first thing I would say is start up or join a mastermind and for those who don't know what a mastermind is it basically is like a master class that we know so well in the music world but without your instrument you get to kind of go round robin and everybody gets like 20 minutes in the hot seat

Starting point is 00:43:44 a really good organization to a great mastermind could be everybody gets 20 minutes and within the first couple of minutes, you are basically describing your wins. You are then picking one pain point and you give that pain point to your peers and you say, Hey, I'm having a hard time scaling my business. Then everyone goes around and they say, Oh, this is what I would do. And then Jane says, this is what I would do. Joe gives input, et cetera. That is such a powerful tool. That's one action step. And then another action step is, um, or a masterclass. If you have no, um, interest in starting up a mastermind for whatever reason, um, put together a practice study group, um, or a practice, um, you know, you, you get it some sort of practice group,

Starting point is 00:44:41 a masterclass, some sort of, again, the whole point is a support system within your niche, whether it's articulating pains and wins or actually playing through your instrument and getting that feedback that you're seeking. I think it's a fabulous advice. That's actually never, no one ever brought this one on the show. And I think it's so powerful. And we saw this during the pandemic where as we were physically separated, we came together, but without this limitation of geography, because we all learn how to use Zoom and meet very quickly on Zoom. And I feel like now we have access like never before to anyone we want. I mean, should they agree of course but i i love this idea to just find like-minded inspiring colleagues with whom

Starting point is 00:45:40 you can exchange like this very powerful thank you so much oh for sure heidi give us all of the details everything all of your wonderful wonderful offerings with flute 360 and the podcasting musician and you were mentioning just another course now about sponsorship tell us where can we find you? What do you offer and how we can get in touch with you? Oh, yes. Thank you for asking. So one, I will say that I am extremely approachable. A lot of times people, I don't know if people think that like, you know, I bite or, you know, claw or whatever the case may be, but I am extremely approachable. So whether you want to email me or reach out through my website, please do so because like what Renee and I were talking about earlier, we can't do it alone. And I

Starting point is 00:46:31 absolutely love building new relationships and fostering relationships that are already in my orbit. So I'm in a lot of different places, but to make it very simple, everything can be found through HeidiKBegay.com. So that's my website. It's my full name, H-E-I-D-I-K-A-Y-B-E-G-A-Y.com. And there you can access my podcasts, my courses, and connect with me on social media. Oh, that's wonderful. Heidi, thank you so much for coming on the show. I am so happy it gave me an excuse to spend some time with you. And you'll be hearing from me again. Oh, please. Because if you don't, then you're going to be hearing from me. That sounds great. But you've shared so much valuable information and wisdom with the listeners today. I'm very, very grateful. I hope they all hop to Flute360 and catch your wisdom there as well. And once again, I'm just very grateful to have you on the show.

Starting point is 00:47:37 Thank you, Renee. thank you guys so much for listening i hope you enjoyed this episode of the mind over finger podcast if this content was helpful for you please share with everyone you think could benefit from it take a screenshot share on social media and tag me i'm mind over finger everywhere so reach out send me a DM and let me know how this content helped you. Let's keep the conversation going. As always, I have all the information related to this episode in the show notes. You can find them via your podcast app or by visiting mindoverfinger.com where you can also find more free resources on efficient practice and performance preparation, links to sign up to my free workshops

Starting point is 00:48:33 and information on how to work with me. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to receive your free guide to a productive mindful practice, transcripts from the Mind Over Finger podcast episodes delivered to your inbox every week, and more. Also, join the Mind Over Finger Facebook community, my private group, for access to my live videos and to exchange with a community of like-minded musicians.

Starting point is 00:49:00 So, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast And if you have specific questions for me or my guests that you would like answered in an episode, share them with me using the link in the show notes or send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook. That's it for today. Again, thank you and à bientôt.

The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 165 Heidi Kay Begay: Amplify Your Voice

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