I try not to bother with the prevalent statistics and metrics on social media. But a short while ago I happened to see the number 73 in a period when I was feeling depressed. It represented the 73 views for my HomeSongs4Life performance a month or so ago on Facebook.

Here’s what a brain like mine can do with a number like that, when it’s tending towards the negative:

• That’s lower than most of the viewing numbers for H4Life. Am I that bad?

• And views doesn’t even mean people watching it all FGS! Most people turn off after 30 seconds!

• What am I doing wrong? I like my songs, but nobody else does! I’ve really tried to improve my performance!

• I started this thing FFS, and I can’t even pull a crowd.

• WOE IS ME! etc…

Now I’ve been around a while, and I still sometimes experience these kind of thought patterns. So a while ago I put a little folder of notes aside about the nice things that people have said about my music.

For instance - “Wonderful song. And then I went to your youtube channel and had my whole day turned around. You are magic”.

Or - “Ohhh…I had chills 5 seconds in listening to, ‘Sometimes I Cry’. So much raw, pure emotion in your voice. This piece brought me to tears. It’s really effin’ incredible…”

You’ve got to say (and I’m only blowing my own trumpet for a point - I still find it hard to truly take any compliment on board) that these kind of words are why those of us who are songwriters and performers do any of this. We want to make exactly these kind of connections.

So at the end of the day, what does 73 really know anyway?!

Pfffff! It’s just a number.