Activate the instruments you haven’t employed to any useful purpose

Multitrack recording first developed in the fifties.

Rather than playing songs live on only four tracks, artists could now cut multiple sound sources at different times to create a cohesive whole on their albums.

By the late sixties and seventies, the vast majority of studios had made the switch from four track to sixteen track tape. Slots were available for nearly every voice or instrument. Artists were now using the studio as a compositional tool, rather than simply a means to capture their performance.

This recording process is the perfect metaphor for how to think about human identity and potential.

Because when we’re young, we’re only playing music on a few tracks. But as we grow and evolve, giving ourselves more and more permission to make use of everything we are, the track number increases.

The wall of sound gets richer, creating a more cohesive whole for our lives. And our options for how to create a fulfilling life are only limited by our imagination’s ability to create scenarios that excite us.

Think of it like a game to see what part of yourself can bring to a given endeavor.

Say you’re searching for a new job. You filter your search around opportunities that will give you the freedom to use the talents you might never exercise anywhere else.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel and wait for people to discover what’s special about you. Let people know how many instruments you can play.

Or say you’re starting a new job. In the first month as you get to know your team, identify problems in the company that your talents might help solve. Figure out which songs people need help playing, and match their musical needs with your instrumentation.

See if you can express each of your gifts to make a difference in all parts of your organization.

Lastly, say you’re thinking of launching a new business venture. Of all the projects you could start, focus on the one that would allow you to more fully express the core part of your identity that your past endeavors never could.

Build something that will activate the instruments you haven’t employed to any useful purpose thus far in your career. That way you can bring the full weight of your creativity to bear on the project and create the most leverage for your business.

All of these examples are multitrack recording for your work. It’s how you create a cohesive hole. Not only maximizing the amount of value you can create, but the amount of fulfillment you can feel. And it all starts with permission. Creating a conception of yourself that frees, rather than constrains you.

I think about my own career growth over the last two decades, and multitracking is the accomplishments that makes me most proud.

At age twenty, my songs only had a four tracks. At age forty, the songs have dozens. At age sixty, who knows what kind of recording equipment will be available?

Till then, my personal wall of sound will only become richer and more orchestral in its aesthetic.

Talk about good vibrations.

How many tracks are you playing on?