An accountability program for music majors.
Career Planning
Semester Goal Setting
Tracking Practice Habits
Taking Ownership of Progress
Download the Free Mental Fitness Toolkit!
Music Student Growth Collective
Mission
The mission of the MSGC is to create a growth-oriented community of college, university, and conservatory music students who are dedicated to improving their craft and building a resilient mindset.
Goal
The goal is to support students as they navigate music school through career planning, goal-setting, mental fitness practices, weekly accountability, and resources to build resilience.
Membership
Membership is open to any student enrolled as a music major at a college, university, or conservatory. This includes undergraduate or graduate students majoring in any type of music degree (education, performance, therapy, administration, etc.).
The MSGC has open enrollment, meaning you can sign up at any time. Enroll when you’re ready!
How does the program work?
-
Mental Fitness for Resilience
During the first Zoom meeting of each month, Rusty will discuss topics and lead exercises related to mental fitness, including performance anxiety, addressing negative self-talk, building self-efficacy, and similar topics.
Goal-Setting and Accountability
Zoom meetings for the rest of the month will focus on accountability around the goal-setting process. Members will identify semester goals, create a plan of action, and identify weekly habits and action steps that will lead to success. The weekly group accountability Zoom meeting will help members recalibrate to their semester plan; students will identify where they got off track the previous week and set intentions for the following week.
-
Members share weekly goals and intentions in a Discord server for accountability and support. The #general channel on the server may be used for checking in to celebrate wins or get support at any time!
-
All members receive a digital copy of a workbook designed to help students establish a vision for their ideal career and set goals that are aligned with that vision.
The workbook offers exercises for self-reflection and prompts for goal setting and habit tracking!
Dr. Rusty Holmes is a speaker, mindset coach, and professional horn player living in Austin, TX. He is dedicated to helping music students and professionals enhance their careers through mental fitness practices. He holds a certification issued by Jack Kornfield in the Fundamentals of Mindfulness Meditation, a Professional Certification in College Student Wellbeing, Trauma, & Resilience from Florida State University, and is certified by the Certified Life Coach Institute.
Rusty Holmes
Working with Rusty is like this…
-
Working with Rusty is one of the easiest decisions I’ve made. It’s like he has a natural wellspring of inspiring, authentic energy that pours out in abundance and makes you feel the same way about yourself. He has concise, actionable ideas, great structure for moving through your week, great framework for figuring out your values and why you’re going after your goals, and throughout it all, encouragement. He’s a rarely seen combination of ambition meets fun, reminding me to keep it playful always, life is serious enough, without sacrificing the goal. Work with Rusty and you can expect the perfect yin and yang of hard core accountability + nurturing support that will reignite your deepest, most authentic confidence in yourself.
Katie D.
-
The content, planning, and thought-provoking questions that are presented would not be the same without Rusty's experience, thoughtfulness and energy. Yes, he has the experience of being a professional musician, but he brings so much more insight to optimizing life as a musician (or in any other profession!). I look forward to our sessions every week and even as a professional musician 15+ years into my own career, I find this time really helpful for navigating life and my own goals, especially as a new parent. Everyone has aspirations to constantly improve their life, and Rusty is so helpful with realizing the next steps. I've experienced his magic in a large group setting in person and in smaller virtual sessions, and his work is so special and effective!
Rose MacKenzie, Musician, U.S. Airforce
-
Rusty is a consummate pro! His classes for our students were very engaging and highly impactful. His classes included exercises to practice listening and productive communication skills. We have had several workshops and plan to have him come again to Baylor. I can’t recommend him highly enough.
Dr. Kristy Morrell, Professor of Horn, Baylor University