The beach is my favourite place to think. Living in Derby, the opportunity to see the sea doesn’t arise very often, but I’ve just come back from our annual holiday in Cornwall where I turned off all devices and spent as much time as possible letting my feet and my mind wander along the coast.
The combination of tranquility, nature, the sound of the sea and general happy vibe (anyone who’s there is there because they want to be) means that there is literally nothing I love better than walking along a beach.
I day dream a lot. My wife will testify that I live in my own head most of the time! It’s a wonderful place – a place full of music and beauty and sunsets and things that are possible.
I honestly think that one of the most important things for anyone, creative or not, is to dream. It’s therapeutic and inspirational. Everything I am doing now, I’m doing because I dreamed it up and then simply did it. It’s a simple way to life and suits me just fine.
The only problem for me is that I don’t often find inspiration in front of a computer. I do love my studio, and I love that other people love it here, but occasionally you have to down tools and go for a walk somewhere where no one can disturb you. When I’m away, I find I can get a better overview of what I’m doing and come up better plans.
For anyone creative – songwriters, musicians, producers, artists, whatever you are, I urge you to stop what you’re doing every once in a while, turn your phone notifications off and go and wander somewhere beautiful, preferably on your own. Don’t be afraid to dream big.
After all, if you don’t have a dream, how are you going to have a dream come true?
NB: There was no way of me writing this without sounding like either a motivational life coach or an old hippy. I make no apologies for sounding like either!