Becoming a Multi-Platinum Hit Songwriter with Josh Alexander (Part 1)

Jamie Berman  00:05

Let’s dive in, right y’all here, by popular request, I have a special guest today. I’m going to do the introduction to this special guest I have here today, Josh Alexander, himself. He is an artist, a composer and a multi platinum hit songwriter. He’s released a number of contemporary classical albums over the past few years, and has written songs for everyone from Demi Lovato to Selena Gomez to Weezer to Jessie J JoJo and many, many, many, many, many more, and he just so happens to be my husband, my favorite manifestation of my entire lifetime as of yet. So welcome Joshi,

Josh Alexander  01:39

so happy to be here,

Jamie Berman  01:41

and we also have little Millie here. If you’re watching on YouTube, you can see there’s absolutely no way she was not gonna get in on this and sit with the both of us. It wouldn’t be an interview without Millie. No, it would. It’s just saying it totally wouldn’t. So welcome Josh and thank you for finally making time to come on the

Josh Alexander  02:02

podcast. Not a question of time, you know, our schedules had to align. We have a big commute, you know, yeah, exactly.

Jamie Berman  02:09

He had to walk upstairs. No, but he has been very busy creating and manifesting something absolutely amazing that we’ll be talking about. So that’s why it took a little bit of time to get him here, but now that he’s here, it’s gonna be awesome. I cannot wait to ask all the questions. I know some of you even requested me asking him questions, so we will get to all of it. So first, before we dive into all the fun how you’ve manifested this amazing career in music, I thought it would be fun to talk about how we manifested each other. And in fact, a lot of my clients asked, How did that happen? So I guess I’ll share my side first, I did not consciously manifest. Josh, and when I say that, I mean, we’re always manifesting, right? Like all of us, whether we know it or not, we are manifesting, because it really just means creating. It’s what we are creating for ourselves, the lives that we’re creating, the people that we attract, what we call into our lives. We’re always manifesting, whether we’re aware of it or not. At the time, I was not consciously trying to manifest Josh. I was not trying to manifest a husband. I was just trying to have a good time. I had moved out to LA like, one year prior, and I had broken up with my ex boyfriend, and I was honestly just like, I want to have some fun. Like all of my friends were getting on the dating apps. It was kind of a new thing at that time, and I was like, I’m just gonna get out and meet some hot guys, and hopefully someone can teach me to surf like me, and I saw that Josh lived in Venice Beach, so it’s like, maybe he knows how to surf. And yeah, we connected online. And yeah, the rest is kind of history, because I wasn’t consciously trying to manifest a husband. But Joshy surprised me, and even though I had always said my whole life, I don’t really care to get married. I don’t really need a husband. I don’t husband. I don’t really want kids. Well, when I met you, that just changed. So we that’s my story.

Josh Alexander  04:09

That’s a really interesting you know, I think part of all this where I feel like, certainly in my life, I’ve had those instances where, as you said, you’re not consciously trying to call something in but on some level, your higher self, if you will, yeah, or you want to call your soul, whatever word you want to use, is desiring this, right? And I kind of think it’s really interesting when you think about all the things in one’s life that maybe you weren’t aware of at the surface level. But on a deeper level, you created true. And I think that’s it’s so for me, like some of the best things in life are those things that maybe you didn’t even know you wanted, and they’re like, these amazing little surprises that end up being some of the best things in your entire life, true. So that’s an amazing thing. So contrary to. Your sort of, you know, position. I think that was also probably a function of you were, you were 24 you know, you just came out so totally like, you know. But I think for me, I was in a, in a in a different place. I was around 28 almost 29 and I really wanted a deep relationship. I wanted something that I I hadn’t really had before. I had tastes of it, but like a holistic, really, you know, fully integrated loving relationship. And I kind of also wanted to, you know, date around a little bit and have some fun too. But I met Jamie on my third date. Yeah, so we met, I think we both got on the on the apps, as they say these days, and I was on there for three weeks, and I met Jamie, which is just crazy, but I really was intentional. I remember talking to anyone that I was close with saying, Man, you know, whatever I’m doing is not working. I really want to try something different. This was back when dating apps there was a little bit of a stigma around

Jamie Berman  06:03

they were a little, they were a little creepy, still, like, it was back in the days where it’s like, okay, text me like you would send all your friends that you’re, like, going out or whatever. Like, you know what? I mean, it was, like, it was pretty Tinder. I mean, we were on a cupid So, yeah, it was like, when it was starting to get popular, but it was still a little bit weird, yeah,

Josh Alexander  06:21

yeah. And so I was even a little like, you know, had some trepidations about, I don’t know, is it, but I was so motivated to to find someone who I really felt like that soulfully connected to. And I remember like, even talking to my mom being like, God, like, I just know she’s out there. And I feel like I know what I want. I could kind of feel it. It wasn’t like I saw an image or anything, but like, I could feel the energy, and when I met you, it was like, oh my god, like, like you embodied that like to a T. And even better, because you can, you can never really imagine all the complexities and the depth and the idiosyncrasies that a real person is. You just have this idea, but you definitely were like, oh, that’s what I was looking Yeah. So, so that was interesting, where, like, you weren’t consciously, you know, trying to create it. But for me, I very much was, but you were, you were beyond what I imagined. And it’s weird. I mean, I remember, like, the moment I decided, like, I really want a different kind of relationship. And I, you know, I was working super hard and the world music and songwriting, and I I barely got out. I was in the studio night and day, and I just wasn’t meeting people beyond my little sphere. And so when I really made the conscious decision to, like, I want that like, it was crazy how fast that happened. And I met you on my third day. So, I mean, it’s, it’s powerful.

Jamie Berman  07:44

I feel like that’s what happens for you. Like, when you energetically, get on board with something, sometimes it takes you a while, but when you like do, it happens really fast. Yeah,

Josh Alexander  07:56

I feel like that is my experience. Like, once I’m really, like, you said, once I’m really there, yeah, things kind of move and so that was, that was amazing. That

Jamie Berman  08:10

was like, Maui last year, like, Yeah, I had been calling that in for so long, which it’s amazing, because I manifested him even wanting to move there. He never wanted to move there. And I manifested it. You can manifest like that. Okay, anyway,

Josh Alexander  08:22

but, but let’s make a subtle distinction there. You can’t, man, I don’t believe you can create anything that someone else, on some level doesn’t also want. No, so you couldn’t make someone you know, do something they don’t want to do. They have to be there, and they have to, on some level, want that too, yeah. But so, and I think, you know, when you go into things like, you know, if you have a friend or someone that’s suffering or really struggling, they have to want to get better. That’s true. But I think if you can, you know, send them all the, all the good things. I think on some level, that really does help, because they also want it, yeah. They want to, yeah, you know, move out of whatever Yeah, issue they’re having. So anyway, totally.

Jamie Berman  09:03

But I mean, just going back to that, like what I was saying is, you know, I had been manifesting it for years, and Josh was always a little wobbly with it, kind of there. Kind of wanted it. We talked about it a ton. And I just remember, after a couple years of us looking and we’d even, I mean, lots of things we had almost put in our offers down, and lots happened with it, but I remember the moment you, like, energetically. Were like, I’m ready, yeah? Like, I could feel it from you. And literally, it was a week later that our condo, we got our condo, yeah, it was wild, actually, right? Like, exactly what we were envisioning. Like, came on board, it all worked out. And I just remember being like, finally you got on board, and then it happens immediately. So anyways, yeah, that’s kind of how some, some of it works for you. Yeah,

Josh Alexander  09:52

I’ve definitely experienced it. And then other things, you know, take

Jamie Berman  09:54

a lot longer. That’s true. That’s true, which we should talk about, because, yeah, I also that is something. That I really admire about you is your patience and your persistence when things don’t happen overnight and when things are I don’t want to say hard, it’s not hard, but it’s like it’s not happening fast, sure, and you stick with it, yeah, you know. And so I definitely want to dive into that, but I want to actually start with kind of you become, like your music career, and how that started? Yeah, yeah, how you knew you wanted to be a songwriter? What that just take us back, yeah.

Josh Alexander  10:35

Well, you know, as far as I can remember, I’ve loved music, and starting when I was about five or six, my parents had this little old upright with it was a theater piano. It had cigarette burns on the keys, and that’s what they could afford at the time. And I was pounded on that thing from the, I don’t know, maybe from the time I was four, and they could quickly see, okay, he has a, really, a, you know, an instinct for this. And so they started getting new lessons. And there were teachers that wouldn’t take someone that young, we were able to find someone. And that was just incredible. And I think from the moment I started taking that, it was, it’s just, it’s one of those things. And I’m sure, like, everyone has something like this, I feel to different degrees, like it was just something that felt like home for me, and it was this outlet that just felt like an extension of my emotions and my feelings, and I could, I could articulate things through that piano, through music that I really couldn’t, and still can’t, even to this day, On some level, through any other medium, music feels like, like another appendage for, you know, or like another voice, and, yeah, like you can speak things, and I feel like I’ve gotten better and better as I’ve gotten older with articulating and, you know, verbally

Jamie Berman  11:54

kind of amazing at that. Well,

Josh Alexander  11:56

thank you. But I will say there’s a there’s a depth, there’s a nuance, there’s something intangible, that for me, it’s just my thing, and I I’m so grateful, like I found this thing from a young age. So I started playing. I got into, you know, pop music. I got into, like, rock music. I was super into, like, hip hop and R B, and I was also really into classical music. I started playing classical from the time I was six years old, and all these things were like, all in my sphere. And, you know, played in bands with one of my best friend, Tyler. And you know, we did a ton of music together. And, you know, from the time I got to sort around, like, 14, 1516, it became clear that, like, the the really, like fire was like writing songs, yeah, and wanting to be like a, like an artist in the in more of a pop world. And so when it came time to graduate from high school, I was just like, I am going to LA Much to my parents, sort of

Jamie Berman  12:54

nervousness. It wasn’t even when it came time to graduate, wasn’t it, like, it was two years before you graduated, you’re like, I’m not going back to

Josh Alexander  13:01

school. Yeah, I couldn’t leave high school soon enough. I was, I was done. I I knew it. That’s something about me. It’s, I don’t know where you know. It’s just in my DNA, like, when I know I feel something, I am like, like, you said, I’m kind of like, that’s it. We’re doing it, yeah. And I remember around junior year, I was, I was done with high school, I still graduated. Mind you, that’s fine. You went to, like a special school to graduate, right? Yeah, it was like a, sort of like a home study school where you go once a week, and, you know, they’re now looking back as a an adult. There were pros and cons to that, but, but there was no turning me down from the way I felt at the time. And I was so passionate. And I think my parents could feel like, God bless them, because they they saw that passion. You know, I was doing trips to LA, I was acting in various things. I was, you know, they could feel it and they could see what I was doing. So when it came down and finally do it, I was like, okay, came down to LA, and I was just hell bent on making a career in pop music. And I thought I kind of wanted to be like an artist, like a pop artist. But ultimately, what that really led to was being a pop songwriter. And, you know, I enrolled in USC because my parents wanted me to, and I didn’t really want to do it, and they wanted me to have some place to go, yeah, so I wasn’t just alone in my apartment at 18, writing songs by myself, not knowing anybody. And because

Jamie Berman  14:19

that is So Josh, you would totally do that too, like you would not leave probably, besides, to go eat.

Josh Alexander  14:27

So they were smart. They encouraged me to do it. I did not want to do it, but I applied to USC. I ended up getting into USC, and within like two weeks, I had made a connection through my dad with Billy Steinberg, who’s been my mentor, really, for 20 years, and just a legendary songwriter. It’s written some of the most iconic songs, like Virgin, True Colors, eternal flame. Just incredible, really incredible. We love Billy. We love this so much. He’s been really just a gem to me and our whole family and I. Um, you know, started writing with Billy pretty soon, within two weeks of getting it to USC, I quit USC.

Jamie Berman  15:06

He went to college for two weeks.

Josh Alexander  15:08

I was like, This is why I’m here. I’m not going to college. I’m here to write

Jamie Berman  15:12

songs when you know, you know, yeah. I

Josh Alexander  15:14

mean, you know, you know. And yeah, and, and I started writing with Billy pretty soon after that. And then, you know, within a couple years, within a couple years, we had our first cuts together with a band called The Veronicas and Warner Brothers. Yep, great artists, and we just kind of took it from there, and we started writing more hits together, and had some number ones all around the world. It’s been an absolute blessing, and it’s been incredible. And I think related to what you’re talking about with, you know, how do you create conscious creation, right? And I think for me, I didn’t know anything about manifestation. I didn’t even know really what manifestation was when I was 20 years right? I don’t even know if I had heard the word manifestation. What I had heard about was meditation, okay, that’s very close to manifestation. Yeah, right. I’d heard about meditation, and my mom had turned me onto a book from a amazing Tibetan Buddhist nun called Pema Chodron, who I’m sure many of your audience knows, yeah. And that blew my mind. That was, like my first the reason I bring that up because that was like one of my first tastes of, if you want to call it spirituality, or something beyond just the visible, yeah? And I don’t know how like to put into words, but there was something that, like, it lit a spark in me, yeah? That was like, oh, you know. And I started, like, barely, I was barely meditating, but just reading. How old were you when you I was probably 20. Oh, wow. And it was a book called when things fall apart. Good, amazing book. Yeah, highly recommend, right? Yeah. And I just remember reading that, mean, like, whoa. It was just like a glimpse of something more, yeah. And I really didn’t adopt a formal, like meditation or any sort of, like spiritual practice for another decade, yeah. But it planted the seed, and then I kind of forgot about it, and I started all my career, and, yeah, it would be 10 years, really, right after I met you, yeah, until I really started getting back into it. But, but the really interesting thing about that was, what did I do every day I kept envisioning just because it felt like the right thing to do myself, writing Hit, hit records, moving people. This

Jamie Berman  17:23

was before you knew about manifestation or visualization or anything. So okay, so what do you mean by you visualize? So

Josh Alexander  17:30

I would talk about it every day, you know, to anyone who would listen. And you know, certainly talk my parents. You’re off about talk to friends about it. Just be like, God, man. I really feel like I can write a hit song. And then, of course, started working with Billy, it started to feel that much more real. And yeah, I had this incredible example of someone that had written such huge, you know, records, and it touched millions of people. And I started to feel like, God, you know, the melodies I’m writing, the chords I’m writing, like these sound like what I’m hearing on the radio. This was before, of course, Spotify. It’s gonna age me for a second, but yeah, and Apple and all that stuff. But I was, I just was listening to everything, you know, I was just in it. I eat, breathed and sleep, and I just kept feeling like, God, like what I writing sounds like, what I hearing like. I feel like I’m writing at the level of things that I’m hearing like. On my best day, I felt like I could compete with the top people. And I just kept feeling that, and I kept believing that. And I got talking to people about him, like, I feel like I could do this, yeah, I feel like I could see my son. And I I kept saying, I remember this was like, I just want to be a part of this industry. Yeah, I just want to be a part of this industry. I would say that, you know. And I kept kind of like, like, speaking it, yeah, into existence, yeah. And I would even like, you know, imagine, I mean, you could call it daydream. I think that’s what maybe for. It starts with a lot of people. I just would like, kind of zone out and picture what it picture what it would be like to hear my song on the radio, yeah. You know, there was like a countdown here in LA on Kiss FM, and it was like this, I think it was called 989, okay, I would listen to that every day, and I would listen to the top nine songs. I would see God, man, I could hear one of my songs on on this top nine at night. I would see it. I would see it. And fast forward about four years. I got my first song on that Kiss FM, nine at night. And it was like it was a surreal experience, because I’d been seeing that so long in my head, not knowing what I was doing, yeah, but it just felt right. It felt like what I should be doing, yeah.

Jamie Berman  19:28

What? Yeah. What was that experience like? The first time you heard your song on the radio?

Josh Alexander  19:33

I started screaming in my house. I had a little boombox, and I put it on, and our song was actually a song we Billy and I had written with a songwriter named Ruth Ann Cunningham, and we had written it for amazing artists called JoJo and the song was called too little too late, and which

Jamie Berman  19:51

many of you probably know, we had had a

Josh Alexander  19:55

big hit with a group called tattoo a couple years before. Written with the Veronica, yeah, Billy and I, but that was, uh, internationally. So this was the first time I actually got to hear my song coming out in America. Wow. And it had just come out, and we heard that Kiss FM, you know, one of the biggest radio stations in LA, which is where I was living, was starting to play it. So I was like, Man, I better tune into this top 99 I was still listening to it, yeah, but maybe not every night at that point. So I turned in it, turned it in, and the song just came out. And I remember there’s like a now, something like number six, from number seven, we have a new song from JoJo too little too late. And I literally it was like this surge of like electricity went through my buddy. I just heard this scream. I just started, like, yelling, yeah.

Jamie Berman  20:41

I was like, Whoa, there we would have been screaming together. That’s what we do. When we celebrate.

Josh Alexander  20:46

It’s like, it was such, so amazing, yeah, it was so fun, yeah, such a joyful, you know, you know, how hard, and it’s hard, yeah, you know, like, anything like,

Jamie Berman  20:56

that’s what I think we should talk about, too, because it sounds like, oh yeah, I will just like, you know, didn’t go to USC and got signed with Billy, and then four years later, had a song. But like, four years, oh yeah, is you think about it, four years is a long time to be writing songs, grinding, writing songs, writing songs, writing songs, and not literally making a dime for

Josh Alexander  21:19

four

Jamie Berman  21:21

years. And

Josh Alexander  21:22

we should say, you know, I was very, very fortunate. You know, this is, this is a privileged position to be in, because, you know, I had parents that were basically like, Okay, you’re not going to college. Yeah, we’re gonna help you as if you were going to college. So your, your college is the LA songwriting scene, and we’re going to support you for those four years. And after that you are getting a, J, O, B, yeah, and you’re gonna have to, you know, make it work.

Jamie Berman  21:46

Josh, getting a job. I just can’t even,

Josh Alexander  21:48

like, traditional job, yeah, I

Jamie Berman  21:50

know. But still, I can’t picture you waking up at, like, and going into an office. Well, I am, you

Josh Alexander  21:56

know, I would have done it because I believe so much. But as fate would have it, you know, right around that four year mark is when I first started to make, you know, my first dime for music. And it was right around that time and, and I was very, very lucky to have had parents that gave me that four years, which was basically my education, my college and Billy’s mentorship, and, you know, teaching me the ropes. And then, yeah, right around that four year mark, we had our first date, that started to go, yeah. But to your point, yeah, it’s so true. I mean, you know, there’s different kinds of hard, right? It wasn’t physically hard, yeah, but mentally, yeah. You know, every day, showing up, getting to that piano, every single day, writing for hours every pretty much seven days a week, having nothing really to show for it, but the promise, yeah, and just believing in and the truth is, you know, I just loved it, and I think that’s one of the biggest things, is it’s like, I’ve always had this motto, like, like, go where the love is, yeah? Like, if you go where the love is, amazing things will happen, because there’s so much S, H, I T that in any joke shop. Joshy your audience, I don’t know, but

Jamie Berman  23:11

I do tend to cuss how many I know he totally doesn’t like we’re gonna be bleeping a lot on this episode. But yeah,

Josh Alexander  23:20

man, there’s so much stuff that I think in any career that you have to go through. There’s so much rejection, there’s so many ups and downs that if you don’t love it, yeah, and I don’t think it means you got to love every part of it. There’s definitely parts that you know are more fun and preferable than others, but if you don’t, at your core, love something, I just think it’s really an uphill battle, totally. And so I think for me, that was this. That was really the blessing, is that I loved it so much that I was willing to do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to do it. And so that is the reason I got up every day to get back in there and do it. And so did you ever doubt that it

Jamie Berman  23:58

would happen? You know,

Josh Alexander  24:00

I’m sure I had thoughts like that. I think I I really try again, not consciously knowing this, not knowing but, but like, I just tried to be as positive as I could. And, yeah, I really just believed in my ability to to write melodies and songs that could move people, yeah, that could connect with people. And I would it, would get it affirmed when I would listen to songs that ended up doing really well and really connected out go, God, like, I love that song. I could write something like that in my own way that was unique to me. Yeah, I just kept getting these, like glimpses that, like I could do this, yeah, like, I really have what it takes, I think to do this, yeah, high level, and so that was enough. And then, you know, getting the confirmation from people like Billy and other people in the industry, yeah, it gives you a shot in the arm. Yeah. It’s like you got yeah as a coach, right? Start to get kind of CO signs by people that you believe Yeah. And that gives you it really does. It. Like, a little jolt of things to keep on the path and stay on the path, and that’s so important. Yeah? Like, our mentors are so important, so no one can do it alone. Oh, no,

Jamie Berman  25:08

absolutely I know. Yeah, I loved what I’ve heard you say before about, like, self made, and there’s really no such thing, right? It’s not like you grew up with like, mega wealthy parents that just, you know, you know, like, had connections and things. So many could call you self made, but you don’t resonate with that word.

Josh Alexander  25:29

No, I just don’t. I mean, listen to each their own, and I get where that word comes from,

Jamie Berman  25:33

and it can be an inspiring word. So it’s not like, Yeah, but I just love your perspective on this. Well, I

Josh Alexander  25:39

think for me, I’ve always felt, you know, without parents that signed me up for music lessons, I don’t know where I’d be without my piano teachers, I don’t know where I’d be, you know, without, you know, going and originally meeting Billy and starting, yeah, I would have a very different road. You know, without meeting you, I’d have a very different road without all the the things, you know, all the little dots, and it’s, you know, you could, there’s a great movie about that called sliding doors with Gwyneth Paltrow, number of years ago. And it’s like, one thing that changes affects the entire trajectory, right, right? You can get, kind of, like, it’s kind of throws you for a loop, of you, right? Totally. Think about it too hard, yeah? But I would say that generally speaking, like, Yeah, I think, like, we’re all creating our reality, if you will. But I think it’s so important for me to be really appreciative of all the the people that helped you be there, and for whom the journey would look quite different, and in a lot of cases, a lot more difficult. Yeah, if it wasn’t yeah

Jamie Berman  26:39

for that, yeah, it really is a co creative process, right? Creation. It’s never solo, never, I don’t think, ever. And it’s like we all get to support each other, like you got to support your piano teacher, and also with Billy, you guys got to co create with each other, and me and you and our relationship, we fuel each other in different ways and inspire each other in different ways. So, yeah, it’s really, it’s a special thing, I think, absolutely, yeah, totally. What’s that expression?

Josh Alexander  27:04

No man is an island, yeah? No woman is no person. Yes,

Jamie Berman  27:08

yes, absolutely, I love that. So I definitely want to talk about how you got to where you are now as an artist. But, yeah, one of the things that I noticed, you know, many of the years through which we were married. I mean, we met when I was 24 you were 28 so for many years, you were a songwriter, and you were actively like, really in it songwriting. In fact, we were together when you had your first number one hit with Demi Lovato. Give your heart a break. And one of the things that I really saw was how freaking and you’re still really good at this, how freaking good you are at like, something not going as expected or as you hoped. And you just, I’m not saying you don’t get disappointed, but you do not let it like, bring you down. Yeah, in the way that I sometimes do. I mean you bounce back so quickly, and this will be something that you put your heart and soul and time and energy and hours and money and so much into, and I’ve seen so many times where things kind of fall apart. Or, you know, for instance, you had written all these amazing songs. It was after too little, too late, or no, sorry, it was after give your heart a break. And there were all these promises. I mean, there was a song that was gonna go to a huge pop artist, and the label was going around playing that song for all of their songwriters in LA, they were telling us, like, Yeah, this is going to be the first single. This is the the feel and the song of the entire album. We want to play this for everyone and tell them this is kind of what we want the album to be. So it was so promising, we were so excited. And then, like, weeks later, they call you up and say, and I remember, because I hear you on this call, and they’re like, she decided she doesn’t want to do it anymore. Yep, she just decided, right. And we were like, what? Like, wait a minute, what from like, one extreme to the other? Yeah. How do you do that?

Josh Alexander  29:22

Well, I Well, you know, look, I would first say, just by like my genetic disposition, I tend to be an optimist by nature. And I think that sort of just hardwired into me for whatever reason.

Jamie Berman  29:37

Hashtag, Jolly as man alive.

Josh Alexander  29:41

Listen, I’m always believe me, but I think, generally speaking, I tend to be an optimistic person, and I try to look at things from glass half full. And I think that, you know, I don’t know, it’s just I had, you know, I had parents that were like that. I mean, I think there’s something. Me, I guess that I just kind of feel like, what’s your choice? You know, it happened. It wasn’t what you wanted. But certainly now, like, I’ll say, How is this for me? Right? Like, everything is for you, and I think for me, I’m like, it’s for you, if you think it’s for you, if you think everything is against you, you’re gonna see a lot of evidence how everything is against you, but if you generally have the mentality of everything is for me, how, what’s here? What’s here? How can I learn from this? What? Where’s the where’s the growing edge here? Where can I evolve from this thing, even if it’s to teach you like more patience, or it’s to teach you how to be positive within a seeming negative situation, I think my, my big thing is, like, if everything is for me, what’s the takeaway here? And it’s hard, it’s hard to do. And I the one you’re referring to with that story, was really hard because I think, yeah, we believed in it so much, and it was such a, I think, a beautiful record and but I think, you know, you also got to grieve it. You don’t want to like spiritually, bypass it or repress it. I think you gotta like process it. But I think for me, for whatever reason, I do have a fairly quick ability to move on. And I think again, man, it just comes back to, I love this stuff. So damn Yeah. So whether it’s for me now as an artist, as a contemporary classical artist, or, you know, previously writing songs, I love it so much, and I think I believe in my core ability to create music that’s going to touch people and move people. I feel like it’s one of the reasons, like, I’m here on this planet, so I’m like, why would I let myself be beaten down and discouraged by one thing? Not cool, yeah, there’s so many pieces to be written, right? There’s so many opportunities. There’s so many songs. It’s like, why would I focus on one that didn’t go like, I’m moving on, I’m ready for the next let’s bring this dude, right? And so I just feel like there’s not enough time in a life to dwell too much on those things, yeah? Because when I do that, I just feel like crap the next day, and that leads to the next day, right? So I don’t know, I think it’s everyone’s different, and, yeah, everyone has to sort of process those disappointments. And I certainly don’t think you should just be, like, put on a happy face, like, yeah, I would never advocate that. But I think I try to, relatively quickly, like, see how it’s for me, realize that, like, it’s a new day. I’m so excited I get to create something new tomorrow. And who knows what will be. And this is for me on some level, and that will reveal itself, even if I can’t see in the moment how it’s for me. I kind of say, like I know it will appear. I know that there is going to be some lesson here that’s going to elevate me, maybe not in the way I thought, but to a different understanding or a higher level of being, I guess. So that’s, that’s just how I try to approach stuff like that. I’m not perfect. I have my moments, but I just feel like it’s too fun. It’s like it is too fun, like the music is so fun, you know, and there’s, there’s so much excitement for me every day, like sitting down the piano, you know, picking up an instrument. Like, I feel like there’s not enough years in a life to write the amount of music that I want to write. Wow. Like I could do this forever. And so I think again, like when it was songwriting, it was songwriting, and now I’ve really stepped into being an artist and, you know, making contemporary, classic music. And I’m, I feel like I’m 20 again, yeah, like there’s so much, like excitement around it, and I just can’t wait to continue expressing this stuff and connecting with people. And like, it really is. It’s a form of connection. For me, it’s like, I’m making this music so that it will connect with other people, so that it can it, you know, it can touch people and move them and remind them of, of, of, sort of the essence within themselves. Like, that’s so motivating, yeah? So I’m just like, I’m not really here for anything that’s gonna take me off that path?

Jamie Berman  34:01

Yeah, so it’s like you’re just so tapped into the bigger vision or the mission as a whole, that it’s like you don’t see even though in the moment they feel like huge things and life changing things, it seems like you can still see it in the context of the bigger picture, which helps a lot.

Josh Alexander  34:23

That’s a great way of saying it. Yeah, exactly, yeah. Like, I’m focused on the end goal, yeah, I’m focused on the journey. I’m not focused on the little pit stops along Yeah?

Jamie Berman  34:33

And I think you have so much belief in your ability to do this, and you’re knowing that it’s gonna happen. Yeah? And I think that’s something that for you maybe comes a little more natural, like we’ve talked about this, because I used to always say, how do you believe in yourself so much and right? Yeah, like parents that cultivated that, there’s a lot there, but I’ve learned from you a lot around that, because it’s also a choice. It’s something that we can also. Nurture that belief, and I think nurture that vision, nurture the mission. And when I say nurture, I mean really like focus in on it and think about that often, so that whether it’s a song that gets pulled that was supposed to be a number one song, or a launch that flops, if you’re in a business like mine or whatever else, even like a tough year, right? That you can get through it because you’re focused on your why and your mission and that that bigger vision, yeah, so I love that so much, and exactly, I think we’re gonna have to do two part episodes. We’re gonna have to come back next week and talk about because I have so much more that I want to talk about with you. So next week part two will do I want to get into this courageous pivot that you made. I mean, you were a and are a hit songwriter with a thriving career, could probably get in the room with just about most pop stars, pretty much. I mean, there’s not too many that you haven’t been in the room with. And you decided that wasn’t what you wanted to do full time anymore, and you decided to make this courageous pivot into modern classical composing, into being an artist yourself, and not just writing songs for other artists. So we’re going to talk about that journey, and also when you finally did learn how to consciously manifest what changed. I want to hear more about that, and we’ll ask any of the questions that came in from my followers. So part two coming next week. We’ll see you soon.