I don’t know when I’ve stumbled across something good

My songwriting career started at the ripe age of twelve. And while my first few dozen songs weren't that good, they were still mine, and that's all that mattered. What's more, learning how to navigate the creative process as a songwriter was an invaluable experience in my artistic journey, one that still pays dividends today. One recurring question that composing music taught me to answer was, how will you know when you've stumbled across something good? This is a critical filter anyone who wants to get more out of life. Training yourself to listen to what wants to be written, so to speak, that’s what separates the prolific from the blocked. In the music world, that might mean listening for a certain melody, rhythm or lyrical idea that's worth following. Back in my teenage years, the response was always the same. It made my nipples hard. Not figuratively. My body would produce this legitimate physiological reaction to the music. Some dramatic minor seventh chord would belt out of my guitar, and then all of the sudden, wham, nipple erection. Well hello there, you sexy thing. Gotta love puberty, huh? More often than not, though, that biological indicator of interest would tell me exactly what the song wanted at the moment. It feels a bit cheeky to reveal this, but it makes perfect sense. Sexually speaking, our nipples are a highly erogenous zone. Those tingling sensations in our nipples travel to the same part of the brain that receives signals from our genitals. We're all hot and bothered because we're making something. Cue the smooth jazz soundtrack.