Episode 5: The “Sweet Spot” - Unlearning Perfectionism in your Classical Music Career
Release Date: 02/24/2025
S2EP7: Networking - Making Lasting Connections
The Limitless Musician
When you think of networking, do sleazy sales people and shallow conversations come to mind? In this episode, explore the reasons networking feels so unnatural, especially for classical musicians. While some are more comfortable networking, explore the reasons you are often set up to dread having to network or climb professional circles. Learn how social media can be both a drain AND a tool for making genuine connections, and how to shift your focus from “What can I gain from others?” to “What can I give to others?” Main Points: How music connects you with others and also makes...
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S2EP6: Balancing Kaleidoscope Music Careers with Gill Derer (@gill.flutes)
The Limitless Musician
Tune in for a candid conversation with Nathalie Simper and Gill Derer, a classical musician who has the epitome of a kaleidoscope career. From her experiences of becoming an “accidental” social media influencer, creating performance opportunities for herself, and balancing the many hats she wears, Gill shares the lessons she’s learned along the way (as well as the lessons she’s excited to continue learning). Main Points: How becoming a social media influencer found Gill The expectation VS. reality of being a modern classical musician The pivotal moment in Gill’s...
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S2 Bonus: Planning for a Profitable Studio with Carmen Chavez
The Limitless Musician
Have you ever had a plan for building a private studio but didn’t know how to move forward? In this bonus episode, Texas flutist Carmen Chavez shares her experience of graduating with a master in music performance with the challenges of a global pandemic. Carmen shares the gaps in knowledge she needed to fill and how The Music Teacher’s Playbook, KE Creative’s coaching program for private music teachers, helped her go from 1 student to a full and thriving studio. To learn more about The Music Teacher’s Playbook: See EVERYTHING included in Playbook Request more info Hear...
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S2EP5: Vulnerability in Being Yourself
The Limitless Musician
In this heartfelt solo episode, Nathalie reflects on the side of authenticity that most classical musicians avoid talking about. Sharing her own experiences of burnout and rediscovering purpose beyond a career, she explores how reconnecting with yourself often means walking away from what you already know. Through this discussion, gain insight on vulnerability as a vessel for growth instead of weakness. Nathalie also shares her favorite resources that helped shape her approach to authenticity. Main Points: The idea versus the reality of “being yourself” Why most people avoid being...
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S2EP4: Embracing Authenticity, Part 2
The Limitless Musician
Following the previous episode on being your true self in professional spaces, co-hosts Nathalie and Katherine dive into what living and working authentically means for them. Listen to their stories of struggling with the pressures of following a “traditional” path of musicianship, and the turning points that helped them redefine who they are on their own terms. From setting boundaries to making space for all that makes up your identity, this conversation highlights the power of self-discovery and creating opportunities that align with who you truly are. Main Points: Why the...
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S3EP3: Embracing Authenticity as a Modern Musician
The Limitless Musician
In this solo episode, Nathalie breaks down how professional authenticity and basic human survival instincts can be at odds. If you’ve ever felt like you had to craft a perfected professional version of yourself in order to be successful in your music career, this episode is for you. Learn about why musicians tend to struggle more than others to fit in, and how to create an environment that helps the real you THRIVE instead of just SURVIVE. Main Points: How presenting different versions of yourself is rooted in the need to survive Why classical musicians walk certain career paths even...
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S2EP2: Creating Community - Live Session
The Limitless Musician
Co-hosts Dr. Katherine Emeneth and Nathalie Simper pull back the curtain on some of the secrets to their private studio cultures! Get a walk through of how to infuse your quirks into your studio, encourage students to bond, and how to make recitals, masterclasses, and more a reality. Main Points: Why most private teachers are nervous to shape their studio culture How Katherine’s and Nathalie’s studios embody similar values in different ways Low, medium, and high effort ideas to make connections between you, your students, and your local community How to make studio events...
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S2EP1: Learn to Reflect, Reset, and Realign with Reasonable Goal Setting
The Limitless Musician
We’re starting Season 2 with a bang! In this solo episode, host Nathalie Simper dives into the connection between the habits you form and the possibilities of successfully reaching your goals. Learn how to actively shape your process of goal setting and reaching so that you can spend more time growing and less time playing the blame game. Main Points: How past experiences shape the way you approach goal setting and resolutions Why reasonable goals often seem impossible to accomplish Understanding the difference between the “ideal” timeline and the “real” timeline Adopting a...
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BONUS: Digital Courses in Classical Music
The Limitless Musician
Have you ever thought of creating your own digital course but had zero ideas on where to start? Host Nathalie and co-host Katherine dive into the world of digital courses and the missing elements you need to make a digital course profitable. With Katherine’s decade of experience with The Music Teacher’s Playbook, listen to the myths, limits, and breakthroughs that can help you share your expertise to the right audience. Main Points: The truth about digital course creations and why they’re not always “passive” income The business components that most musicians miss How knowing...
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Episode 10: The Limit DOES Exist - Challenging Limits to Redefine Your Success
The Limitless Musician
For the final episode of Season 1, host Nathalie breaks how knowing that career limits exist can be the first step to engineering the career you’ve always wanted. The long accepted “truths” that classical musicians will always be burned out and financially unstable are challenged in a way that gets you unstuck and finding clarity in which moves to make next. Lastly, you’ll hear tips on how to name, challenge, and break the mental limits in your personal and musical life. Main Points: How music degrees and tradition reinforce narrow definitions of success The ways you...
info_outlineIn this solo episode, Nathalie talks about perfectionism and its roots in the classical music industry from performance to your way of thinking. Reflect on how perfectionism holds you back in your music career, how human nature can break the perfectionist mindset, and what you can do to unlearn the rigid mindset that makes you stand in your own way.
Main Points:
- How you are conditioned to be a perfectionist musician
- Challenging the perceived “truths” about practice makes perfect and other misconceptions
- The difference between psychological inflexibility and psychological flexibility
- Building your own mental prison - and how to break it down
- Five steps to finding your “sweet spot” to overcoming perfectionism and embracing adaptability
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