two years ago, I started a song that I couldn’t finish.

it came from a writing session with a good friend of mine in London.

I’d put together a quick instrumental idea beforehand, played it to him, and we spent a couple of hours writing a hook and a verse.

and that was pretty much it.

I went back home to Toronto knowing there was something special there.

every few months I’d open the project again.

change the arrangement.

try some new sounds.

add something.

take something away.

then eventually close it without really moving forward.

I couldn’t figure out how to get it over the line.

I didn’t have an idea problem.

I had a decision making problem.

fast forward two years and I knew this song deserved another shot.

so I opened the project again.

same song.

same original idea.

but this time, something was different.

I was.

I had more confidence in my ears.

I knew what needed changing and what needed leaving alone.

I could make a decision, trust it, and move forward.

and pretty quickly, the song that had been sitting unfinished for two years became a finished record.

the song, sacrifice, has been out for a month now and is one of the songs from my upcoming album people seem to be connecting with the most.

it’s picked up radio support and landed on some great playlists.

which is funny considering how long it spent sitting unfinished on my computer.

but I see artists and producers get stuck in this exact loop all the time.

you’ve got the idea.

you know you have something special.

maybe the song is even 80% finished.

but every time you open the project, there’s another decision to question.

another sound to change.

another version to bounce.

eventually you’re not really finishing the song anymore.

you’re just creating more options.

and more options don’t necessarily make a better record.

at some point, creating has to become deciding.

that’s a skill.

knowing what deserves more work.

knowing what needs simplifying.

and knowing which instinct to trust.

you develop that through experience, mistakes, finishing music and getting feedback from people you trust.

because eventually, the thing holding a record back isn’t your ability.

it’s indecision and having enough confidence in your choices to keep moving forward.

that’s what I didn’t have when I first started this song.

two years later, I did.

but you shouldn’t need to spend two years figuring that out.

the better you get at making decisions, the faster you finish records.

and the more music you actually get out into the world.

that’s a skill worth improving.

not just knowing how to make music.

but knowing how to finish it.