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You know it can happen. If not to you, you probably know a DJ who’s just not into it anymore. You might even think to yourself that you’ll never lose that passion for DJing.

Yet, it can happen to anyone.

Think about when you first started out. You had big dreams of making it in the industry, enough that you could at least earn a good living wage from your talent. To make money doing what we love is what all of us want for ourselves.

So, how could it possibly go wrong?

Watching DJs who clearly are less talented or less experienced than you are win gigs over you can certainly chip away at your self confidence. You start asking yourself, what’s wrong with me? Why are clients so willing to hire DJs based solely on how cheap their rates are?

DJs are performers. As such, you are constantly the focus of (not so) well meaning advice from club managers, clients, audiences, and even other DJs. How many times can a DJ listen to people suggesting that he or she improve, play something different, talk more, talk less, take less pay, work more hours before said DJ starts to wonder if it’s all really worth it?

So, there you are, prepping your equipment for a gig and wishing you were doing anything but. That passion you thought would be with you for life has somehow evaporated. Now what?

Here are some tips to help you rekindle that love for your art.

  • Take a break. If possible, don’t work any gigs for a little while. Instead, go out and listen to other DJs do their thing. Recognize what you like about their work and what you don’t.
  • Mix it up. Forget about your usual way of doing transitions, mixing … whatever your usual tricks are. Try being completely random.
  • Create the passion. Not every part of our work is going to be fun. It’s not always possible to do what you love 100% of the time. Sometimes, you have to figure out how to love what you do. In other words, learn how to make the best of unpleasant situations.

Your turn. Tell me what you do to rekindle that passion for DJing.