Editor’s Note: This month’s Blog Post of the Month was selected by the newest V11 contributor, Renee. Thanks Renee! Happy new year to all!

In What Are You Pretending to NOT Know? Bob Baker has a great positive message for everyone to take into the New Year- “you know way more than you give yourself credit for.”

In his article Baker points out that many times we know exactly what our problems are and how to fix them, but that we instead talk ourselves into looking the other way or believing the situation is out of our control. This article addresses a situation I often find myself in- that I am creating mental roadblocks for myself on the road to success.

I like that this article reminds me that if I give myself a little more credit and have more confidence in myself, that I already possess the skills I need to accomplish my goals.

So when you set your 2010 goals, keep in mind Bob Baker’s advice: Stop making excuses, take responsibility for your self and know that you have the skills to succeed!

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What a great event last week! Just wanted to thank SF Music Tech for putting together another productive event. As always, it was a pleasure meeting so many new folks in the industry.

And to the panelists on Getting to Popular, and especially Francis Ten of West Indian Girl, I think we did a great job of *starting* to get the discussion going. Looking forward to more….

For those that missed it, check out java.net’s notes, or listen to the video.

As for the Volume 11 website, as you may have seen, we have updated the layout to better express what Volume 11 has become – a music business news site for independent musicians (and their business partners). Dan calls this Volume 11 1.0.

In the future we will be adding some diversity to the writing, through new and guest writers. Should be educational!

Until then, have a great rest of 2009… and remember to thank all those that have helped you get to where you are!

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November’s Blog Post of the Month comes from Hypebot’s Associate Editor Kyle Bylin. The Elsewhere Musician: Making Connections in a Fragmented World highlights two key points: (1) all musicians (and especially the “successful” ones) must continuously work harder on the business side of things, and (2) the trend of shorter album cycles.

From Bylin:

Leisure time once spent doing creative things — where an artist could take time away from it all — has turned into work that ranges from learning how to market themselves online and off, answering an endless barrage of messages from fans, bloggers, and managers, and trying to keep all of their profiles, blogs, and social media tools relevant and up-to-date.

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