Hey a,

I need to tell you something I haven't shared publicly yet. I hope it resonates with you.

In early 2025, I've been wrestling with one of the hardest transitions of my life.

We moved from Berlin to Valencia - me, my wife, our two little kids, and our dog. Sounds like an incredible adventure, like the ones you see in your Instagram feed, right?

Here's what actually happened:

Everything cost 3x more than planned. 

The Spanish bureaucracy took 10x longer than any sane person would expect (some paperwork still isn't done after six months). And I'm talking about major stuff like public health care...

And obviously, I had to shut down my entire business and studio in Germany. And here in Valencia? Still no studio location in sight (to be fair, I'm quite used to working on headphones as I was traveling a lot before anyway).

But here's what really sucked:

For the first time in years, I couldn't make videos consistently. Not because I didn't want to - I literally couldn't.

I was standing at the edge of serious burnout for months.

I'm not telling you this to play victim (you know me, that's not how I operate) - I'm telling you because I think we need more honesty in this space.

Everyone's selling you the dream of the perfect creative life. The optimized workflow. The morning routine that changes everything.

But real life doesn't work that way.

Sometimes everything falls apart at once, and your carefully built systems crumble like a house of cards.

So how did I survive it? How am I still here, writing to you, slowly getting back to creating?

First, I protected what actually matters.

When everything was chaos, I made sure my connections with my wife, kids, and close friends stayed intact.

If the business collapsed, if the move failed, if everything went to hell - this would be my safe harbor.

Your music might be important, but it's not more important than the people who love you.

Second, I stopped lying to myself about timelines and what's achievable right now.

I threw out my aggressive goals. No more "I'll post a video every week." No more grinding until 3 AM while the family is sleeping, pretending that's "normal" when running a business.

I simply reminded myself to think in decades, not days.

What can I build in 10 years? That question changes everything. Suddenly, losing 6 months doesn't feel like failure anymore.

Third, I gave myself permission to escape.

Windsurfing is my true passion besides music. Valencia isn't the ideal spot, but we do have some great days from time to time.

So even in the middle of bureaucratic hell, even with a massive to-do list, I'd disappear for a few hours when the conditions were right.

Selfish? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely.

You can't create from an empty tank. Those hours on the water were fueling me with energy and giving me a renewed sense of purpose.

Finally, I wasn't too proud to ask for help.

This one's hard for me to admit.

After procrastinating on it for quite a while, I started working with a therapist again (hadn't needed one since dealing with serious depression in my 20s).

Luckily, this time it was more about prevention than anything else, but nevertheless, it was an important decision and one that I'll never regret.

On top of that, I joined a business mentorship program - yeah, even mentors need mentors.

Because trying to figure everything out alone when you're drowning isn't strength. It's simply stupid.

Here's what I want you to take from this:

Your struggles with finishing tracks? Your creative blocks? That feeling of being stuck?

It's not because you're weak. It's because you're human.

The path isn't always forward. Sometimes it's sideways. Sometimes it's backwards.

Sometimes you're just trying not to fall off completely.

And that's okay, too.

Fast-forward to today: What has changed?

Now, being on the other side of this transition, I feel nothing but deep gratitude.

I still love producing music and sharing my learnings with you. And I'm just as obsessed with this passion as always.

But I'm different now. More patient. More realistic. More human.

Maybe that's exactly what I needed to learn.

Your music matters. But you matter more.

Philip

PS: If you're going through your own transition or struggle right now, just know you're not alone. Sometimes the best thing we can do is keep showing up, even imperfectly. That track you're struggling to finish? It's still worth finishing. That dream you have? It's still worth pursuing. Just maybe give yourself a bit more time than you think you need.

PPS: Don't worry, the mentorship program has been running solidly even back then because I enjoy every second I spend with the people inside our community. So if you'd like to get help with your struggles, here's a group of kind-hearted yet ambitious producers waiting for you. Say hello and book a free discovery call here. You won't regret it.