1. Only Compete Against Yourself: If you set out to only write songs that are better than The Beatles, it’s gonna be a hard road. But if you only try to write a song that’s better than the one you wrote yesterday, that’s much more realistic. If you do that everyday, you’ll get better. Take small steps.

2. Study The Greats: Competition is only good if you’re looking at the big picture. Don’t try to write a song better than the current hit on the radio. Submerge yourself in the great works from all time and try to learn from them. You can get inspiration from all different kinds of media not just your own. Watch great movies, listen to the best albums of all time, read the classics.

3. Be Extreme: People like extreme things, so don’t water it down. The best art divides the audience: Half love it and half hate it. If everyone says, “That’s pretty good,” why bother making it?!

4. Be Coachable: Rick lost over 100 pounds and part of the reason for Rick’s success is that he made a commitment to do whatever his doctors and trainers told him, no matter how ridiculous. Wake up in the morning and go outside for 20 minutes to soak up the sun. OK. Abandon your vegan diet for a high protein animal based diet. OK.