Headliner Mindset

BEXXIE - Developing The Mindset and Habits To Become a Full-Time Artist

Nik Cherwink

Bexxie is a producer and DJ who is getting millions of Spotify plays on her classic soulful house music tracks and was recently recognized as one of the Future of Dance Artists by 1001 Tracklists.

After getting burned out in 2012 and quitting her pursuit to become a professional artist and DJ, she decided to give it another shot a few years ago and is now living out her dream. In this episode we talk about the shift in mindset and habits that she made in order to ensure her success this second time around.

Follow Bexxie here:
https://www.instagram.com/bexxiemusic

And visit my site to join the mailing list, book a free coaching call or get in touch:
https://www.nikcherwink.com

Bexxie:

the times where I feel like I am like, pushing, or trying to control a situation, or trying to Like I said, kind of like, you know, that desperation energy, right? Of like, I need to sign to this label or whatever. That's when things aren't working out, you know? That's when I feel like things are like, they're not moving in the direction that I want them to. And I have to, you know, you can do the work, like, put yourself out there, like, send the demos off to the labels, all that stuff, but after that, it's out of your hands,

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What's up everybody? Welcome to the Headliner Mindset podcast. Today's guest is a house music producer and dj, who was recently recognized as one of the future of dance artists by 1,001 track lists, keeping that classic house music sound alive. Her songs are getting millions of plays on Spotify supported by some of their biggest playlists, and played out by huge artists like David Edta. And Sam felt this is bey.

Bexxie:

Hey everyone! So excited to be here. Thanks for having me, Nick.

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sure. Welcome to the show. I'm really, really pumped about this episode because the other day I was just, you know, scrolling through Instagram as we do, and you made a post saying how you had quit making music 10 years ago

Bexxie:

Yeah.

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that. You got back into it over the last couple of years and you were able to quit your nine to five job and you're doing it again and you're doing it full time and in your, in your comments, in the copy, you said, you know, what it was that you changed. And the very first thing that you said, number one was mindset. And immediately I reached out. I was like, yo, I'm good. I need to get you on the podcast because you're speaking my language. things that you also put, you said mindset. Consistency, confidence, and community. Those were the four things that you put. So I am really excited to hear about your story and I'm really excited for us to dig into those four things because they're things that I'm very passionate about. And there's things that, uh, you were just living proof about how those things are so important to being able to really, you know, make your dreams and goals happen. So.

Bexxie:

Yeah, I mean, so I guess I'll just start from the beginning, right? So, did quit music, and so I had started DJing when I was about 15. So a long time ago, because I'm 41 now. So this was like in the mid to late 90s. Um, so I started DJing back then, and I started like playing local shows and stuff like that, and then naturally just kind of progressed to producing, because I wanted to be able to play my own music and my sets, right? So I started producing, I even went to school for audio engineering too in college. And then, you know, I, I was doing DJing for a while, but like, it was never really consistent. And I wasn't doing it full time back then either, but like, I was, like, you know, getting to play, like, you know, all over the states and stuff, But, you know, life stuff happened, and probably around, like, 2012, I decided, like, that chapter of my life was over. Like, this dream that I had since I was a kid, basically. you know, I just thought, okay, this chap that chapter is over.

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what made you decide that you didn't want to do it anymore?

Bexxie:

I think, well, I was just doing some, like, I was working a corporate job. I was just feeling like, maybe just like a little, like, burnt out with it. And also, like, wanting to try some other things in my life. it was just, it wasn't like a, like, You know, put out any big posts online. Cause I don't even really think social was like that big back then, you know, or anything like that. But it was just kind of like, I remember I played like my last show, I think it was in Detroit. And then like after that, I was like, okay, I think I'm just like done now. Um,

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had, kind of lost just like the passion for it and were feeling

Bexxie:

yeah, I think, I think so. Yeah. basically, you know, from about 2012 to 2018. I was working a full time job. I would also like had my own business that I was doing on the side and kind of grew that and then, ended up selling that pistis and just continued to work a full time job. And then fast forward to like 2018, I think, you know, just something inside of me was like, You need to do music again and like, and I feel like, you know, listening to your podcast, I feel like we speak the same language with this stuff, but to me, it was kind of like either like my intuition or like, I don't know, the universe or something that was saying like, no, you need to do this again. And I was like, I don't know. Um, that's kind of scary. Like I already kind of closed that chapter in my life. You know, like, that was like a big deal for me to even kind of close that chapter and it was kind of scary to open it back up again. And so I was like, well, if I'm going to do this, like, let me start with some baby steps, you know? So I thought, I got a controller, like, you know, maybe like for a few hundred dollars, like nothing crazy. I didn't spend a ton of money because I didn't even have any equipment anymore at that point. Like I was completely starting from scratch. I got a controller, started to kind of You know, got some music off of Beatport, put a little mix together, and just was like mixing, you know, just in my apartment, and was like, yeah, like, really, really enjoying this again, like, okay, well, maybe I can like, you know, I'll go out to some like, local shows, meet some promoters, and like, maybe I can like, just, you know, play a show, and like, see how that feels, you know? So, I reached out to, um, a local promoter. Shout out to Robin. She put me on, um, like a Tuesday night, just opening slot. you know, and I, I got to play again for the first time in several years. And it was just like, yeah, I love this. Like, I forgot how much I missed this, you know? And I was like, okay, like I'm in and just kind of like, you know, went from there, just started playing more, just like some local shows and then decided to download a trial of Ableton. And then, you know, start dipping my toes back into production as well. And then from there it was like, yeah, like I want to produce music again. And then it was just like, maybe like 2019 or so at this point, I was like, yeah, like I, I want to make a go of this again. Like, and if I'm going to do this, like I need to do this like 1000%. Cause again, like I felt like it would just be so heartbreaking if, if I didn't, if I went into like kind of halfway. And it didn't work out, you know?

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Yeah. Well, first off, I love we do speak the same language, that little calling, that little voice, you know, your gut, your intuition, the universe, God, whatever you want to call it, there's that thing that's just in your heart, in your soul, and in the back of your mind that is always whispering at you, like telling you where to go, and It's fucking scary to listen to it, right?

Bexxie:

Yeah, yeah.

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no, I'm, I'm good. Like I got my business and my

Bexxie:

Exactly. Like,

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I'm chilling. Why are you telling me this? Yeah.

Bexxie:

want to like, we tend to want to ignore those things, right? Like, because it is, it's scary. Like you said, we're like, Yeah. I was like comfortable. I had, you know, already my job and all of that stuff, so it's like, Really? Am I going to start this back up again and like later in life to like I was in, you know, at that point, probably like my late thirties, too. So it's just kind of like, and I've been out of it for so long that it's like, I didn't know, like a lot about what the industry was like anymore at that point, you know, so much had changed.

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And you had to just start off by following the breadcrumbs, too. It's like, something's over here, I'm gonna explore it, let me just buy a little controller, let me just take a little opening slot, right? Like, follow the breadcrumbs, and then see where they lead you, and

Bexxie:

exactly.

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unlocked in you where you really decided that you wanted to really, really go for it. So I'm curious about that moment because it could have still just been like, Oh, a little casual thing that you're exploring. But what was that moment where you just said, no, I really want to do this and I want to take it seriously and go all in on it.

Bexxie:

Yeah, I mean, I don't think I can pinpoint the exact moment, but maybe just kind of like that kind of feeling of like, again, after I had started, you know, I played like a local show, maybe at that point, maybe played like a couple local shows, and then started like making, some tracks in Ableton. And then I think just from there, yeah, it was just like all of that passion just came. It was like the fear started to just, Dissipate that initial fear when that when it was like you need to be doing this again. I was like, well, I don't know

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Yeah.

Bexxie:

But I think once I started, you know, like you said following those breadcrumbs that fear just started to dissipate and that you know Dream and passion that I had that had always been there, you know, just just started to you know really really come through where it was just just really really clear to me like That this is what I needed to be doing.

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And I just got to point out, I love that this is, you're in your. You're in your late thirties at the time,

Bexxie:

Yeah,

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I'm 38 also I'm in my late thirties. So for all you fucking 23 year olds out there that are like, Oh my God, like it's too late. I should have started earlier. Like people that are like, just, you know, like turning 30, everyone freaks out when they turn 30. Like I'm about to be 30. Like I'm getting too old for this. Shut the fuck up, follow the breadcrumbs, follow your intuition, do the thing that lights you up. What's on the other side of the fear is the passion, the flow, the excitement, the opportunity, the abundance, the success. But you have to be willing to lean into the fear. You have to be willing to, like, take those little first steps and see what's there. how old you are, like, I'm so fucking young right now, like, we are still just getting warmed up, and I know that the age thing is such a headfuck that I see a lot of artists struggle with, thinking that, like, I should be at a certain point, and it's like, yo, you gotta, you gotta get over that, you know what I mean? Like, our life is gonna be so short at the end of the day, right? Like, we don't know how long we're gonna be here,

Bexxie:

absolutely.

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idea of where you should be at at a certain point in life is a social construct, which is really all bullshit. Like, if you're alive and your heart is beating and you got two legs and two arms, and even if you don't, I know someone that has the use of one fucking arm. Shout out Kilo House, and he's still out there producing and DJing. So there are no excuses for you not doing what your heart and your soul is calling you to do.

Bexxie:

Exactly. And yeah, I, I'm glad that you pointed that out because I do, that was something that I've started sort of sharing more recently on my social. Like, I wanted to be able to share one, my story and two, the fact that I started doing this kind of quote unquote later in life, right? Because I wanted people to know that you can do these things no matter what age you are, because I definitely felt that way even when I was younger. Like, I felt like at 18 and 25, like, oh, I have not, like, I haven't done enough. And like, like life's almost over. Like you, I don't, you know, like you just had that feeling back then. But now that I'm at this period of my life, I'm like, no, like it's totally possible to do it, you know? So,

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that it doesn't matter what age you were at That mindset can still be there. I haven't done enough. I'm 18. Oh my God, I haven't done enough. Oh my God, I'm 25. I should be further along, whatever. It's not the actual reality of how old you are and your situation. It's actually the mindset that you're carrying with you. It's the belief. That you're not exactly where you're supposed to be. It's the belief that you're supposed to be further along. It's the belief that you're too young, or you're too old, or you're too tall, or you're too short, you're too skinny, you're too, uh, white, or black, or brown, or whatever. Whatever fucking idea we're coming up with, it's like,

Bexxie:

Yep,

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We got to get that that mindset out of there. Now that was the first thing that you listed in your Instagram post was your mindset. So what changed as far as your mindset when you started the, we'll call this, you know, your, your, you know, phase two

Bexxie:

Yeah phase two yeah, so in the post like I talked about I feel like when I was younger I I didn't, again, like I was talking about just now, like maybe at 18 or 25, it's like, Oh, you have these kind of like mindset of like, Oh, I didn't do, I still haven't accomplished enough. I haven't done enough. And I think that was like a mindset thing. And I think back when I was younger, I just had these limitations that I had placed on myself or like insecurities or feeling of imposter syndrome. you know, I, I was doing some shows, like I said, I did do some things for sure, but, you know, opportunities might pop up where I would be too afraid to do them. So I would just like, you know, kind of self sabotage it or like just not, you know, respond to the inquiry or things like that because I just didn't feel like I was good enough, you know? So I think coming back into it now. I had, like I said, I had some life experiences. I feel like one, some of those things kind of built up my confidence in myself. You know, like I mentioned before, I did have a business that I like had on the side and I feel like that helped me kind of grow some skills that I apply to now. Right. As like an artist, because you do have to treat yourself as a business. Right. So there's that things, but then I also, you know, going into this started doing it. a lot of personal development work on myself, you know, around that time of like 2018, 2019, when, you know, I got that like voice inside that was telling me to do this. Also, during that same time, I was doing a lot of like, you know, just work on myself. And that was able to remove a lot of those subconscious. Beliefs and limitations that I had placed on myself just from things that had happened in childhood or, you know, young adulthood. So, yeah,

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So what kind of work were you actually doing? Take me through that.

Bexxie:

therapy definitely, you know, I was going to a therapist. I started looking into things like, inner child work and shadow work. you know, and these were things like programs that kind of took you through like guided meditations where you can kind of, again, reprogram a lot of those beliefs that are like in your subconscious, but those beliefs that you have. They, you know, they create your reality, right? So, being able to do some of those things and reprogram some of those, things that I had, I feel like really also helped. So, like, that helped my mindset going into it of, like, feeling like, oh, I can do these things, you know? Or I can, I can sign with these labels, or I can play these shows, you know? Things like that, you know? So, yeah.

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mentioned, like, guided meditation. What are some tools that you use to actually reprogram the mind and some of these unconscious limiting beliefs that we have?

Bexxie:

Yeah, so I don't know if you're familiar with Dr. Joe Dispenza's work. yeah, so like, some of his stuff, like his books. he's got some great meditations and some of them are just freely available on YouTube. I also do this other woman's work, Lacey Phillips. It's called To Be Magnetic. and I, like I said, I feel like between that and just the, you know, obviously the steps that I was taking between like actually learning the production, doing the production, doing all those things, but on the other hand of also doing this work kind of like helped magnify everything. Yeah, mm hmm.

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up and do, you know, we got to sit down and produce the music and build the brand and build the audience. Like there's all the external work, but also you can do all of that external work and then deep down not really believe. That you have what it takes and not really believe that you're good enough and not actually really believe that you're ever going to make it. So if you have that belief on the inside, it doesn't really matter what you do on the outside. So we've got and and vice versa, though. You also can't just sit there on the couch and do guided visualizations all day and do it. Joe dispense a meditation and be like, okay, cool. I'm good. My day is done. I sat here and meditated and now everything is going to come to me. You know, this is a great example of duality. It's the yin and the yang. It's the inner work and the outer work. You've got to be in the the feminine flow and receive the insights and the downloads from the universe. But then you also got to be in your masculine execution energy and put your fucking shoes on and go out this go outside and get the work done. Right? So

Bexxie:

Exactly. Exactly. You got to take the action to go with that, you know, like you said, you can't just sit around and do the meditation without actually putting in the the aligned action,

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bring up Joe Dispenza too. He's somebody that I really, really love. Highly recommend everyone read Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. That was, that's actually the only book I've read from him, but yeah, he's got a ton of great YouTube videos online that are free that you can listen to. His thing though, is really cool because. It really, I think, is bridging the gap between the spiritual side and the scientific side, where it's like, there's all these woo woo ideas of like, okay, manifest and think about you what you want and think about the vision of who you want to be. But he really breaks it down. He's like, No, this is also how your brain works. And these are like, this is how like the you know, neurochemistry and brain waves and frequency like he gets real scientific about it. And I think he is he's the guy I see that's like bridging the gap between science and spirituality.

Bexxie:

Yeah, absolutely. So it's like even if you aren't a spiritual person, I still feel like just having that science. You know, backing to it, like, makes a lot of sense, the way that he explains everything.

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I just posted a And uh, an Instagram reel into my, my discord for my group coaching program. And it was from a sports psychologist or just a, yeah, I guess a sports psychologist who was talking about how, you know, all of these great athletes, Kobe, Jordan, you know, all of them, all of them. Practice the inner game just as much as the outer game could, you know, Kobe would go and shoot free throws all day and do all that too. But then he would sit there and he would meditate and he would visualize himself winning games. Jordan would do the same thing, like all these guys, they're mentally rehearsing, right? And so, training your brain, training your mindset is just as important as training all the other stuff.

Bexxie:

Exactly. Yeah, I've definitely heard about that, and I've, I've, I've done that myself, even just, like, with, like, visualizing, you know, things that I do want to manifest, like, but in that, like, deep down, like, meditation, meditative state, you know, because that's kind of the important, you know, Step of it too, is you need to get your into like a specific brainwave state, right? Yeah

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state. The whole idea is like, yeah, you got to meditate before you start doing the active visualization, you got to meditate first, allow your brain to really, really slow down or literally the brainwave frequency to slow down into a beta state. Um, as opposed to our more active conscious alpha state, once that, once your brainwaves slow down, then that visualization really just sinks in at like that deeper subconscious level. Oh, I love nerding out on this shit. this

Bexxie:

I don't be too

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like this is literally the stuff in my program. I'm going to just do a quick pitch for all of y'all that are interested in being a part of the headliner mindset group coaching program. Uh, I'll probably launch another round in a month or so, but we are just in week two right now. But this is where I start. I'm like, yo guys, write out your goals. And then every single day, uh, Write them out. Spend some time to visualize. Spend some time to, you know, practice gratitude. I look at it like working out at the gym. You know, if you want to be strong, if you want to be healthy, you know, you don't just go to the gym once a month. You don't just write your goals down like one time and then expect them to happen like every single day. We've got to exercise. And so you're exercising your skills in the studio. You're exercising your body when you go to the gym to stay healthy and keep that physical energy aligned. And then you also got to exercise. You know, you're you're you're You got to exercise your mindset. You've got to also exercise your, your heart and your emotions, bringing yourself into the energetic state that you want to be in. And I'm telling y'all like. out of, you know, working with thousands of artists over my career and seeing just the, the blatant statistic that like, you know, there's 90 percent of people are not actually doing this full time and actually really achieving their goals. So what is it about the 10%? And I, and I truly believe it is this, this mindset piece in that internal game that a lot of people have that some people have that a lot of people don't, you know?

Bexxie:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So like going back to the mindset thing in that post that I wrote, you know, like Like I said, I think going going back into it I was doing a lot of that inner work that kind of let me Approach this new phase in a more, you know, I think I mentioned like abundant mindset, right? And just a more positive mindset and just also just feeling yeah, just more confident in my abilities and kind of removing, again, a lot of those blocks and limitations that I had. And to your point, too, I feel like this kind of goes into the consistency piece of, like, being able to, you know, you can't just go to the gym once a month, right, and expect those results. So, the consistency part of it is doing all of these, you know, daily things that move you closer to your goals, right, and they kind of have to be built in As a habit, like going to the gym is a good example of that, right? It's like when you first start working out, you don't want to go to the gym, but once you start building it in, it just becomes like a daily part of your day or like your week, you know? So it's the same thing with, with producing music, you know, I try to just do something every day that's going to, work towards my goals that I have, like working on music or, you know, working on the social side of things or the personal development side of things, too. So, yeah.

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Yeah, how do you break those, uh, because there also oftentimes is an imbalance, uh, that I see of putting in the hours in the studio, which of course is always going to be the priority. Like you have to have great music, but we all know it's not everything. You also got to put in hours to creating social media and creating content. How do you, how do you balance that for yourself?

Bexxie:

so, it's interesting, too, because my, you know, the way that my schedule looks like now is totally different from when I started this, you know, new chapter, right, when I was still working a full time job. So, you know, I kind of have to, like, Every week I kind of look at what my week looks like because every, every week is kind of different now because I might be playing shows or, you know, I might be, I might have some time to like work on music or I might be doing, you know, like an interview like this or have meetings, things like that. So I kind of have to look at my week and kind of block out then, you know, and I have things that I do every week, like I do a weekly live stream and things like that. But. You know, I try to do like for social I do try to do like batching content as much as I can Sometimes it doesn't always work out that way and I I definitely try to slot in just like studio time for sure like chunks of time, but You know, even if I only have 30 minutes to do something Towards music like i'll still take that time to do something even if it's just like You know, working on, organizing samples or creating a sound or, you know, watching a tutorial, things like that.

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yeah, yeah, so what I'm hearing is time blocking, planning what you have

Bexxie:

Yeah.

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and then being really good with your time management, doing, you know, time blocking, like, taking advantage of every minute that you have, even if it's just 30 minutes, getting what you need to get done. Yeah.

Bexxie:

you definitely have to be, you know, disciplined. You have to like, you know, set a schedule and be disciplined to get it done. And when I find that I am procrastinating with something, Usually, for me, procrastination, and, and I think, you know, I think this goes to, like, the mindset stuff, too. Procrastination is usually just, like, fear in disguise of, like, afraid to be doing this thing for whatever reason, you know? so, if, if I'm finding I'm procrastinating on something, I kind of dig into, like, why is it that I'm procrastinating with it? And then that usually kind of helps kind of unblock that, you know?

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yeah. Interesting. Can you give an example of something maybe that's come up recently where you were, that you were procrastinating on that you dug into?

Bexxie:

For sure. So I think, you know, a lot of artists, I think we probably, you know, a social is a good example of like, you know, creating a real that like, maybe you're talking to the camera can be kind of scary, right? So something like that, where it's like, Okay, I know I want to create this real, I know that, you know, it's going to add some value to, you know, me. People that follow me. It's like even just like the real that you came across, right? Um, stuff like that. Like for me, it's like I'm procrastinating putting this together because I'm scared to put it out there because I'm scared about like one, just kind of like how, like how are people going to respond to this? Like I'm sharing more of myself, which is a little bit vulnerable, you know? So, so it's like kind of digging into that fear of like, why am I afraid to post this, you know? Um, yeah.

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And what another great example of leaning into the fear the same way that you had that intuitive hit and calling to get back into music, but it was a little bit scary or like, what do you mean this is going to pull me out of my comfort zone, but you followed it and now you're doing music full time. And this is just a great little mini example of that, of, Oh, you were maybe having a little bit of fear, hesitation to make this post. And then look what's come of that. I saw that post right away. I was like, fuck yeah, this girl's awesome. I got to connect with her. Now we're doing a podcast. Now hundreds of people are going to be listening to this podcast and getting inspired by you and your story all because you had the courage to lean into that fear and put yourself out there.

Bexxie:

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Like, you never know. Like, when you do put yourself out there like that, you really, you never know what opportunities are gonna pop up. Like you said, like, we connected, now we're talking. Like, this is, it's just so cool. You know? You just, you never know. So, yeah.

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so the third thing that you wrote about in that post was confidence.

Bexxie:

Mm hmm.

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what role has confidence played in phase two of your journey now?

Bexxie:

Yeah, I mean, I think the confidence piece, one, it came from, you know, I think, I think it's one of those things where it's like, once you're doing something quite a bit, kind of repetition, and you're seeing some results from it, it starts to give you confidence in yourself. Like, I first didn't feel comfortable calling myself a producer, you know, and I think like once I had like signed records and started releasing pretty consistently and things were starting to happen, I was like, wow, okay, I actually like, instead of feeling like this imposter syndrome, like I actually felt confident in my abilities as a producer. Because I started seeing, you know, just the kind of the results of the hard work that I have been putting in. I think the mindset and the consistency, I feel like all of these things kind of work together, right? So it's like, I definitely had to approach it with the mindset, and I had to be consistent in my actions to then feel confident in my abilities, you know?

Track 1:

Yeah. I always say that courage is more important than confidence. And courage is really what matters because I think a lot of people are waiting to have confidence before they do something like I want to feel once I feel more confident, then I'll start putting myself out there because if I felt confident, then it would be easy to put myself out there. It wouldn't feel uncomfortable. I would have confidence. I would feel good. I'd feel sure of myself like, okay, cool. But the problem is you don't ever do the thing. And so you don't ever build, build that confidence. You're sitting there waiting for some magical confidence fairy to come in and make you feel confident all of a sudden, like, no, that's not how you do it. What you have to do is recognize that, yeah, this is scary. Yeah. I have imposter syndrome because I've never fucking done it before. And, and it's uncomfortable. And so what you really need back to that fear piece is like. It's not about being fearless. It's about being courageous. It's not, it's not about there being no fear and about us feeling confident. It's about there being fear and us not feeling confident, but having courage and leaning in and doing the thing anyways. If you keep showing up and you keep leaning into the fear, you keep letting your courage be bigger than your fear. Then eventually all of a sudden, you know what, I'm starting to feel kind of confident. I've done this a couple of times. Like I realized, you know, I put myself out there and I didn't die and nobody, you

Bexxie:

yeah, exactly, exactly.

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whole world and whatever those deeper fears are. It's like, Oh, that wasn't that bad. That wasn't as bad as I made it up to be in my, in my mind. And then you just start, you start building confidence that way because of your courageousness.

Bexxie:

yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense, you know, putting it that way for sure. like I said, kind of the actions that I was taking, they were almost like, being brave, being courageous to even, you know, even put those actions in place first, that kind of built up that confidence. Because you're right, like, some people might look at it as like, well, I have to wait till I have this confidence that's just going to drop down. Like you said, some magical confidence vary before I can even do the things. But like, No, like, that's not how this works. You kind of, you have to do the things, you have to step into the fear, and then, you know, just that, that confidence builds.

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It's really been on my mind a lot lately because I feel like I've had some situations in my life. Um, they've just been messy, just like relationships and like friendships and shit. It's just been all a little bit messy. And I've been just realizing like, you know what? Yeah, life is messy and we don't always have the right answer and we don't always do it perfectly. But it's like our fear of getting it wrong, our fear of failing, our fear of things being, you know, messy or whatever, that's the biggest thing that will, that will hold us back. So it's like, you know, I always say we've got to just get in the arena and just do the damn thing and be okay with sucking, be okay with being bad, be okay with failing, be okay with like not getting it right, because we're not going to, we're not, we're not perfect. We're not robots, but you learn By doing it, you know, and some of these relationships I've learned, I mean, oh yeah, okay. I could have done, I could have done things a little bit differently in that, in that relationship. I could have said this differently. I could have communicated this better and like, okay, damn. Yeah, I fucked up and I'm learning and now our relationship is better and stronger because of it. But if I'm just trying to get it right all the time, I'm, you know, you're just going to be sitting on the sidelines. Yeah,

Bexxie:

like, for me, I think I, you know, I think a lot of artists who probably have this feeling of like needing to be perfect all the time or having like a Perfectionist mindset and I think that's what I had when I was younger too And that was also like a fear based thing where it's like I have to be perfect This mix has to be perfect The song has to be perfect like before I can even put it out into the world and that stopped me from doing the things to kind of push forward, right? And I think if you can kind of let go of that perfectionism, that's definitely just going to help you just, you know, go forward and do the goals that you have set out for yourself. And yeah, just the perfection is a thing. That's a big one for

Track 1:

yeah. A thousand percent. I see that a lot. I see that a lot. So many people, I see so many people. I'm working with some clients right now. Right now, he's just got tracks stacked up and they're good, right? Like, dude, what are you doing? But it's, it's just like The fear of releasing and needing to do it the right way and getting it right and doing it perfectly It's like yo, you just got to get in the game, you know,

Bexxie:

Yeah,

Track 1:

get in the game. Like let's get out there and you know, that's why I love what I do I love being an artist coach and and really, you know a life coach a mindset coach because Just I I get to be somebody In your corner to be like, yo, let's go, let's set the deadline. Like you're not alone anymore. You got a partner in your corner. You got somebody to hold you accountable, somebody to challenge you, somebody to push you. And I think that leads, leads us to the fourth thing that you said was community, having other people in your circle, having other people in your corner. So tell me why community has been an important part of this journey for you.

Bexxie:

Yeah, so let me continue on to then with my story kind of like the next steps, right? Well, I think we kind of left off around like 2019. So, so early 2020 when I like, when I decided like, okay, I'm all in, right? you know, I was doing some production tutorials online, like just some online courses that you can kind of do, But I decided that I felt like I needed to, look into a music production school because I felt like, again, I'd been out of the game for so long. and I just felt like, one, I needed, you know, somebody to kind of like, Help me with like the process of of just like the music production process and getting my Mixes and everything to like a place where I just felt better about the quality of music I was making and also the business side of things. So in early 2020, I took cosmic academy I know you've mentioned icon in your podcast, right? Um, so cosmic, you know similar to icon, right? So it's an it's an online music production In arts development school, so I took that in early 2020 And with Cosmic is, you know, you kind of get this whole community that you get involved with of other producers that are going through the same things as you. And so, you know, also when I took the program, you know, you take like this five week boot camp, they call it. So when I got out of boot camp, it was lockdown. We like went right into lockdown. And so I'm like on my own living in my apartment just by myself with my dog and You know, so having that production school where we had like a community Online and like feedback sessions and stuff like that having that to be able to go to like having other producers Going through the same process that you are and just understanding where you're coming from and having people that you know They can give you feedback and like you can help them out like all of that stuff That was just a huge part of it for me because I feel like, you know, when you're producing, you know, if you're just a solo producer like myself, it can be a pretty lonely process, you know? And so, so that was just like a huge, huge part of it for me.

Track 1:

Yeah. I love that. You know, I've been hearing about Cosmic coming up more and more. I've followed them for a long time. one of my old clients is in it right now. Some of the, some of the people that are in my program were in Cosmic before as well. So I've heard really just great things about them. And, you know, that was also. Really the inspiration for me starting a group model because I've always just worked one on one with people and, and I love that because we can really, really dig in, we can get into those, those mindset blocks. And it's something, there is something special about having like a, a personal coach with you. You know, it's like the difference maybe between having a, a personal trainer versus going to a group workout class. Right. Um, but there's something really special about that community. And, uh, that was, that was a big inspiration for me outside of just sort of teaching. The content and the process that I want to teach to people. But I was just like, yo, I just want to get people in the same room, get people in the same group. And the coolest thing about it has been. You know, I have a discord for my program. It's just, there's a channel in there that's just called support and people are coming in and they're just like, yo, man, I'm, I'm having a rough day or I'm feeling blocked or I'm feeling, you know, burnt out. I'm feeling the imposter syndrome, whatever it is. And then there's five people in there that are like, yo, dude, I'm with you. I get it. Like I've been going through the same thing or just championing each other. And it's been beautiful for me. Cause especially always being like the coach where I'm kind of the one always doing that. Now I'm getting to see everybody do that for each other. And there's just something beautiful about having that community like we we need it regardless of what you're doing, regardless of if you are a producer or not. If you're a human, you need other people in

Bexxie:

Yeah, absolutely.

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We all have our own walk of life that we're going through. And we just need other people in our corner. We are we are pack animals. You know, that's how we were

Bexxie:

Yeah

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So I'm glad that you were able to find that.

Bexxie:

Yeah, and I'm not telling people like they have to go to you know A music production school or anything like that because there's definitely like communities just online that I'm sure you can find like there's discord You know just even just through like Instagram like even before cosmic I was kind of like, you know networking with other DJs and producers on there and like you can build up your own little community For sure, but I just think In whatever way, shape, or form that looks like. I just, I think that's an important part of the process.

Track 1:

Yes, well, the best way obviously is going to be to join the headliner mindset coaching group. So shoot me a DM if you guys are interested in the next round. but that's amazing. And so I want to hear a bit more about what you've created for yourself since you really went all in and you know, you were able to leave your corporate job or you were able to leave your, your nine to five. So let's talk about that. Cause I know that's a lot of people's. Big, you know, first real number one goal is just to become a full time artist. What did that transition look like for you? How did you start making money? How were you able to like, you know, navigate going full time?

Bexxie:

Yeah, totally. okay. So after Cosmic, I, like I said, just started like a just, you know, making a lot of music. I signed my first record out of boot camp, probably like a few months after that. And then just started consistently releasing music. And of course, you know during this time we're still, you know in lockdown, right? So I was just kind of heads down focused on producing putting out music you know building my brand too like being on social and all that stuff and probably around 2021 I had early 2021. I had a record come out called feel the energy that For whatever reason just completely blew up I don't even, I think it was just a combination of like, just consistently releasing music and, getting some support and then next thing I know, this record just gets added to all these Spotify editorials and just, just, yeah, just blew up. So,

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And that was almost accidental. Like you weren't really

Bexxie:

I like,

Track 1:

or manipulating that in any way.

Bexxie:

No, no, like I was just I literally I made this track Like, in bed on my laptop and I didn't think anybody would even be into it. I just wanted to like, I just kind of had this idea in my head of what I wanted to make that evening. And that's what kind of came out. again, just being from like the 90s, like Raver, like, in me, a lot of my music is really like 90s influence. So this was like very much that. it just, yeah, just organically just kind of like, just, yeah, it just started doing really well, like with streaming and stuff. And so from there, like, a lot of opportunities started popping up, just other labels started reaching out, things like that. you know, and then, you know, Also during this time, I think things started opening up with like, you know, from the pandemic. So shows started happening again. And with shows kind of like, you know, the local scene, they started putting me on like bigger shows, like direct support slots and things like that. Cause they could see like, you know, that I've been putting out records and stuff. So they wanted to kind of give me a chance to support some bigger headliners that were coming through. And then, you know, just again, more opportunities were popping up. I started. Releasing on like record labels like thrive. you know, I got to remix Lpg ob and kalina xander's carriers, which was so cool. So it's such a huge fan of them and like and then The next piece of it too. So like shows started kind of coming and then one of the anrs at anjuna beats Reached out to one of the guys at cosmic academy And they were looking for house music, to, you know, they were trying to like add some house artists to their, to the label. so they suggested me because I had been, you know, putting in the work, I had been consistently releasing. And so they like threw my name in the ring and we sent over some demos. And so they took one of the demos. And next thing I know, I'm like, and Anjuna was a label that I, it wasn't even on my radar because they were, You know, to me, I thought more of like trancy Melodic type stuff and I you know, like some more house tech house but you know, they they took a chance on me, which is really cool and put out one of my tracks And then yeah, I just kind of like started releasing, you know some records with them And they started putting me on on shows And, next thing you know, then I've got, like, an agent that's wanted to work with me. and I'm just, like, booking more and more shows. So, like, again, I'm kind of saying this in, like, kind of a linear process to kind of show, like, kind of everything that kind of went into it, kind of leading up to all these things, right? So I'm still working my full time job. you know, there's a lot of artists, too, right? so I'm starting to like play more shows on the weekend and I'm working full time and I'm trying to just like do that, like balance music and work. And then also kind of full circle moment. I started also like, you know, teaching students at cosmic Academy, you know, working with them one on one. So it's like, I'm doing teach, like I'm teaching, I'm doing the shows, I'm releasing music and I'm working full time. Now I was really blessed and privileged to have a job that was like, you know, pretty flexible. Right. And they also understood that I was doing this. So, there is that as well. But then, like, fast forward to, you know, now we're in early 2023. I book a 23 day tour with Supporting Seven Lions. And this is like a bus tour, too. So you're not just, like, flying to shows. You're, like, on a bus, you know, for six weeks. For me, it was six weeks. Yeah. and so, so at this point, I was like, Okay. I can't do my full time job anymore. Just physically, like, this just isn't gonna be possible. so I had to put, so I put my notice in and they were very, very supportive about it and I loved my team. I did really love my job and, like, you know, if I was still able to do all of it at once, I probably would, but I just knew, like, I was starting to burn out just with everything that I was doing. and then this tour came, you know, this opportunity popped up. And I was like, I feel like this is My like the universe is like really pushing me now It's been like it was giving me all these little signs like yes, you can quit your job You can do this, but I kept going. No. No, like i'm not ready yet. It was like the fear, you know I'm, not ready yet But this came and it was like, okay now I really have to do this And it was so scary to put my my notice in, you know, i'd never done that before it's been exactly a year now cause it was March 1st was my first day, you know, full time. So Yeah. Thank you.

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Once you went full time, because that's a very bold decision to make. That moment that you put in your two weeks and you say, I'm gonna go all in. I truly believe that when you do that, The universe sees your courage and starts to reward it in sort of mysterious and miraculous ways. Did you have any experience of that? Of like, once you actually really fully made that decision, did things start to open up for you? Kind of energetically, right? Yeah.

Bexxie:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Like that fear, that initial fear that I had to, you know, even just like, you Tell my boss that I was leaving like and after I had done that And that's and like just the like initial like, oh my god, what have I done feeling? Like after I quit and then going on the tour and stuff a lot of that started to dissipate and yeah, just like You know then yeah, like you said energetically things just started opening up because also just again I was doing so much that I was afraid if I didn't do that, if I didn't quit, I, like, my music would suffer too. Like, I just wouldn't have time to do it too. So it's like, I needed to create that space too, so that I had the time to just continue what I was doing that I had been working so hard for too. I'd also like to point out too, one thing, just kind of going into, you know, making that leap too, is that, and I mentioned this on another post that I have on Instagram, but I did put like a financial plan in place to like where I, I like saved up, you know, like a little like I call like an emergency fund of like, probably like nine months to 12 months, like so almost a year of just like bare bones necessities to pay my bills and feed myself, you know, each month. I put that together as well. So for me, like I felt like having that financial safety net in place to kind of help. as well to make that leap.

Track 1:

I'm glad you, I'm glad you brought that up. Yeah. That, you know, again, this is also running a business, right? It's not just, we're not just chasing a dream and just, you know, only following our heart. We also have to have our, our, our, brain and our intellect, you know, engaged and let's actually think out a strategy and come up with that side of it. So yeah, what is your, what's your business plan? You know, it's funny. It's like, it is like your life plan. Cause like you are your business also, but it really is like, it's a business plan too. So glad to see that, that you did that super important. when I hear your story, And all of the cool things that happened and all of these opportunities that opened up for you, I get the impression that A lot of it was happening very organically and very naturally. It doesn't sound like you were coming from an energetic place of desperation, of like, I, I, I'm trying to get signed to Injunabeats, and I'm trying to, I'm trying to get the agent, and I'm like, you know, pushing to make all of these happen. It sounds almost more like you were pulled onto this path, and that a lot of these doors really opened up for you very naturally.

Bexxie:

that's a good point that you're making too, because the times where I feel like I am like, pushing, or trying to control a situation, or trying to Like I said, kind of like, you know, that desperation energy, right? Of like, I need to sign to this label or whatever. That's when things aren't working out, you know? That's when I feel like things are like, they're not moving in the direction that I want them to. And I have to, you know, you can do the work, like, put yourself out there, like, send the demos off to the labels, all that stuff, but after that, it's out of your hands, you know, and whatever Opportunities are going to come along. They're going to come along and they're kind of like, when I think back to like kind of the, you know, all the different steps that kind of got me to where I am, it's like you said, it was all kind of like organically just kind of flowing, you know, and the times they weren't, it's because I was in that other energy, you

Track 1:

Well, it kind of brings us back to what we were talking about, the Joe Dispenza process of visualization. It's like, he has you meditate first, and he has you slow your thoughts down, slow your brainwaves down. It's in, it's when we actually slow down that, The manifestation stuff really, really works. And so I think a lot of it is the energy. If like, if your energy is very heightened and it's, and it's tight, right? Then how much is going to flow when we're in like a tight energy? Like I need this, I want this, I have to make it happen. I'm going to make it happen. I'm going to build it. Work 15 hours a day to make this thing happen. Well, like what energetic state are you living in? You know, if, if we are living, if everything is energy and we're in this, you know, sort of natural flow of giving and receiving, then you need to be in like a relaxed state, you know? Um, I think that that's, that's such an important thing and we could really go down the rabbit hole there, but that's where, like, All even just like with music, you know, if you're gonna like probably make your best stuff when you come in and like you're in A good vibe you're in a good zone. Maybe not if you're making heavy metal like I'm a big metal head So maybe maybe you want to like pound an energy drink and get really fucking tight, you know I guess it depends on maybe like the dubstep artists out there. Maybe it's different, you know, but but in terms of just You know, you're really, we're like manifesting a lot of these opportunities. You weren't forcing them to happen. You were just in your zone. You were doing what you could, but you were doing it from an energetic state of really just like non attachment and flow and even like peacefulness. It sounds like.

Bexxie:

yeah. Non attachment's a good, that's a good word for sure. Because you do kind of have to like, like I said, it's like, okay, you can make the tracks, send out the demos, but then you kind of have to detach yourself from the outcomes, right? And I found that like, the, Like, I think Anjuna is a good example of it. Again, like that was not a label I was expecting to work with just because I just didn't think our, like they would even, you know, like my sound probably didn't, I thought didn't make sense. Right. From what I knew of Anjuna. But when that opportunity happened, like it was unexpected. I wasn't, you know, like, and then all of these other things started happening because of it, you know? And making music is a good example too, like you were saying, it's like, if you're, you know, I find the times where it's like, I'm trying to make a track that isn't quite like, maybe I'm like, Oh, like, just, this isn't feeling right for me, like authentic to me, but I'm just like, pushing on and trying to make it anyways because I think it's the thing I should be making. That's when things aren't flowing and that's like, and I feel like that energy goes into the music and then like, and you know, people respond to that,

Track 1:

A thousand percent. Like, I like it. You said You were just like sitting in your bed, kind of, you know, just chilling, making the song that went on to become, you know, the game changing song for you. Like, you weren't trying to write a hit. You were just in your bed,

Bexxie:

Yeah,

Track 1:

being, being super chill and having fun. Yeah.

Bexxie:

Yeah, exactly.

Track 1:

Yeah, man, I am, I'm so inspired by your story and I'm so inspired by how. In alignment you are. This is very, very confirming for me just to see you being the embodiment of so much of the stuff that I teach, like all of my clients that know, you know, that are listening right now is like, Oh yeah, that, you know, like that mindset piece, that consistency piece, that confidence piece, that community piece, you know, all things that I really, I really dig into. And so just to see you, uh, Putting it all into practice and see the results that you're creating for yourself from it. It's a, it's very confirming and I'm, I'm very happy for you. I'm very excited for

Bexxie:

Oh, thank you. so

Track 1:

Yeah, this has been so cool to, to, to meet you on a fun, what a fun way to get connected. And, uh, I'm so grateful that you took the time out of your day to, to hop on and share your story with everybody.

Bexxie:

Yeah, well, thank you. Thanks again so much for having me. And happy that like, yeah, it just feels like my story kind of helps and validates, you know, what you're teaching your students as well. So, just again, just really, really excited to be here and thanks again.

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