Trust the Process Podcast

Trust the Process Podcast The podcast dedicated to helping musicians recover and THRIVE through their injury!

I had such a great time speaking at BYU for the class of my friend Dr Jon Skidmore about the mindsets that help with inj...
02/28/2025

I had such a great time speaking at BYU for the class of my friend Dr Jon Skidmore about the mindsets that help with injury prevention in musicians. I LOVED seeing the connections the students were making in their own lives! Here’s a little bit from Dr Skidmore:

“Clark taught at my class the psychology of music performance. He did a great job sharing his story and encouraging my students to take care of their health. Keep up the good work!” - Jon Skidmore, Psy.D. Performance Psychologist

If you are interested in having me come talk to your program, send me a DM or email at [email protected]

Keep on keepin’ on!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! Keep on keepin’ on and keep trustin’ the process (t-shirt!) Peep the shirts mad...
12/25/2024

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! Keep on keepin’ on and keep trustin’ the process (t-shirt!) Peep the shirts made by my sister and podcast promo materials coordinator, Dana!

Getting pretty darn close to the Season 3 launch date! Have you joined the cool kids club and signed up for the weekly n...
12/22/2024

Getting pretty darn close to the Season 3 launch date! Have you joined the cool kids club and signed up for the weekly newsletter yet? Link in bio!

Some exciting happenings coming this weekend!
12/05/2024

Some exciting happenings coming this weekend!

10/08/2024

One of the most IMPORTANT parts of injury recovery...is FAITH.

Most of you know that I am a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors my alma mater - Brigham Young University.

Because of that, I get to have some deeply profound spiritual conversations about injury with my former professors.

Today I get to share one of them with you!

Shea Owens, the director of Opera at BYU shares how a cold turned into a debilitating vocal injury while on tour with the renowned Santa Fe Opera.

How dark it got, knowing that the tour had been canceled because of his injury.

How it eventually got so hard to deal with for him that all he had left to do was give his trial to his Father in Heaven and let Him guide him through the experience.

And that's when it all began to change for him.

THAT is when he got connected with the right people that helped him recover.

THAT is when he discovered serving others as the antidote to depression and loss.

THAT is when he meshed his identity as a singer and musician, with his true identity as a son of God.

Whatever your beliefs are, faith is what will get you through your injury. Even if you don't believe in a higher power, this episode is FOR YOU...because at the end of the day, to recover from an injury, you need faith in YOURSELF.

10/03/2024

Dr Jon Skidmore recently said on the show:

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

You’ll never guess where that quote comes from.

Today is a quick episode but has the potential to be a powerful one!

There are things that you can start, or stop doing that are going to aid you in preventing injury or rein jury.

And although they may take time away from practicing in the moment, they will actually aid your overall health and growth as a musician and human being!

Keep on keepin’ on and trust the process!

10/01/2024

It’s not every day that you get a musician who is an injury prevention expert as well as a former intercollegiate athlete on your show!

While Dr. Kayla Solomon has never experienced a playing injury on trumpet, she has experienced many as an athlete, and that journey among other experiences helped her explore the world of injury prevention and recovery.

Join Kayla and I as we discuss topics like practicing strategies to keep you healthy, how burnout influences injury, and how to avoid burnout by LIVING YOUR LIFE!

We talk about how teachers can help students stay healthy by how they encourage repetition

You won’t want to miss this episode as Kayla will teach you how to optimize your musicianship through being YOU.
.and maybe being a potato every once in a while 🙂

(Yep you read that right)

09/26/2024

This episode is part homage, part plea.

Listen, I don't care who you are....

You aren't recovering from an injury without some external support.

Yet for some reason, we as musicians are afraid to speak up...we don't want to be seen as weak

We don't want to be seen as less than, or even...damaged.

But there are so many people that are willing to help you thrive through your injury!

(I would humbly submit my name as one of those people!)

This episode is my thank you to two specific people: José Johnson of the Trumpet Gurus Hang Podcast, and TTP former guest, Brad Goode, for setting the example for me in being willing to be in my corner when I needed help.

And they aren't the only ones.

09/24/2024

Sometimes, the path forward through injury means hanging it up, and following a different path.

As hard as it is to fathom for most of us, that can be the best option for us.

Such was the case for Dr. Nate Botts.

As a fellow BYU alum and BYU trumpet legend, winner of the ITG classical and jazz trumpet competition, Nate came recommended to me for the show by several of my mentors.

When I started this show, I knew it would be imperative that I got people on who decided to take other paths than their instrument post injury, and that have found fulfillment in them.

Nate was in the middle of his dream career as a freelance trumpet player, when a tremor in his face slowly turned into focal dystonia.

In this episode he shares how he shares the difficulty of leaving a city and a career that he deeply loved behind, but how ultimately he has been able to find fulfillment in his current path as a music educator and pipe organist.

He shares the difficulty of navigating the advice of well meaning peers that are in all of our lives, but the difficulty in dealing with those situations.

He shares how he instills in his students to view music as an act of leisure rather than intensely as a career, and in doing so allow them to enjoy the process of music making even more.

This episode may be a wake up call for some of you, but I hope you can see that there are fulfilling paths out there, should choosing a different one outside your instrument is what you feel you need to do.

Keep on keepin’ on and trust the process!

09/21/2024

Any music educators out there feeling frustrated sometimes when they listen to the show?

Like you feel like you are already doing everything you can do to light up young minds with music, and now you gotta worry about if they are getting hurt while in your program?

Man, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you to every music teacher to that reads this, no matter in what capacity you teach.

Please know that we feel for you, and appreciate all you do.

And whether or not they know it now, your students do too.

Keep on keepin' on and trust the process!

09/20/2024

If you were to not graduate on time because of an injury...

Would that be so awful?

If you were not able to take a gig because you were prioritizing your injury recovery instead...

Would that mean the end of any chance you ever had at a career in music?

Matthew McConaughey, one of my favorite actors in Hollywood has a quote about this that I love:

"I have had thousands of crisis in my life, and most of them never happened."

I am not saying that it is not incredibly difficult to take a break from playing for a while (a timeframe you don't know when will end, also scary!)

But if you could choose the next gig, or graduating "on time,"

or 30-40 more years of incredible musical experiences, if it meant giving up the next little while to heal...

Which would you choose?

09/19/2024

There is one mental skill that has served me so well since my injury.

One that influences my perspective and serves me in that way when done correctly.

In this episode we talk about the power of zooming in when examining our processes and methods we use to achieve our goals.

The power that zooming out gives us to appreciate the growth we have experienced, and live in the PRESENT more effectively.

We wax metaphorical in this episode, but it is not one to miss!

Keep on keepin' on and trust the process!

09/18/2024

STOP SCROLLING!

If you are going through an injury, and think that taking time off will destroy your chance at a career in your instrument...

If you are truly wanting to make a career out of music, and are worried that taking interests in other things will take your edge off...

I respectfully invite you reconsider.

I'm not saying that you won't miss out on some amazing opportunities (Goodness knows I have!)

I'm not even saying that that won't suck...a lot...

What I AM saying is that your instrument is NOT the "end all, be all"

If you can internalize that single principle, I can PROMISE you that when you come back to your instrument as you recover - you will be a different person.

And I think you will like what you see.

Keep on keepin' on and trust the process!

09/17/2024

This conversation FLEW by for me.

So many parallels between our journeys through injury

Emily Toth is a Cincinnati based horn teacher and performer who knows a little something about what it is like to go through an injury…twice.

This episode, perhaps more than any before it, NEEDS to get to as many music teachers as possible.

We talk about why participating in small band programs can eventually lead to injury if simple yet powerful mindset shifts are not facilitated by private and public music instructors.

We talk about some of the misconceptions about healthy horn playing

We talk about the importance of COMMUNITY, especially within public school music programs.

This is one for the books!

Keep on keepin’ on and trust the process!

09/16/2024

Look,

I'm not saying that when you are experiencing pain that it is not a big deal.

In fact, that's pretty much the reason why the show exists.

Pain should be taken seriously.

However, it is not as scary as our minds make it out to be. Our minds were designed to protect us from things that could harm us. All that pain is, is a signal that something is not working properly, and should be addressed as soon as possible.

The fact is, dealing with pain with anxiety and fear will not help you in getting back to healthy playing...

As I heard recently - "everything is figureoutable" (check out Marie Forleo's content btw)

Keep on keepin' on and trust the process!

09/13/2024

One of the biggest takeaways I got from my conversation with Dr Todd Meehan was the principle of OBJECTIVITY.

Perhaps the most important mental skill in overcoming an injury is the ability to look at your situation from an objective lens.

Why?

Because that allows us to examine our choices, circumstances, and future decisions from a non-judgmental standpoint.

More importantly, from a standpoint that is not dealing with the peer pressure of past, present, or future circumstances.

It allows us to have the right headspace to make the healthiest decisions for us!

Keep on keepin' on and trust the process!

Everyone! Go answer this question on my story right now! Exciting things coming for the podcast!
09/13/2024

Everyone! Go answer this question on my story right now! Exciting things coming for the podcast!

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