We clamor to be aligned with people who have a big reach. People with lots of followers, lots of attention, lots of volume to their voice, lots of numbers in the metaphorical rolodex.
But reach doesn’t equate to effectiveness.
When we spend time with someone who is effective it resonates much deeper than any reach.
When there’s reach but no effectiveness it turns empty.
When there’s effectiveness we forget about reach.
Our extra money. Our extra time. Our extra patience and effort.
Perhaps we need to back up a step, as it’s easy to feel maxed out…
The best way to have extra is to save it on purpose. To keep a little in the tank rather than spending it all right away just because we have it.
Don’t spend all the money you make each month.
Leave Tuesday mornings open for whatever might come up or come to mind.
Don’t give all your patience and effort to work, bring some of it home with you.
Extra is a luxury…but often not a luxury of wealth but of discipline and maturity.
Does it make you bummed out because you didn’t think of it, or because now that idea has been taken?
For most of us, when we hear a good idea we get inspired, motivated, and excited. We feel the electricity and it’s time to dig in.
So if good ideas have that kind of power, does it matter where they come from? What if it comes from AI? What if it comes from someone we don’t like? What if it comes from pain?
When the electricity is in the room, the room is better. When the room is better, the day is better. And better days give us a better life.
I was talking to someone who works at one of the many new restaurants in Nashville. It’s a nice place, geared toward fine dining and charging a premium.
But after being open for a year, the restaurant quickly got a reputation for having mediocre food.
So I asked…when is the last time the food got better?
He said he didn’t know. All he could think of were some moves that were made to make the wholesale cost of the food cheaper for the restaurant.
I’d be surprised if it makes it through the summer.
Restaurants are known for being good or not that good. That’s the game.
They’re not known for getting better.
Most of us are not like a restaurant. Most of us can grow, change our reputation, make better stuff, and serve in a way that invites people back to the feast.
The part you worked hardest on might not be the selling point.
The part that is most important to you might not be the selling point.
The part you thought would be the selling point might not be the selling point.
The selling point is something that is true about your product that resonates with your market. It’s your job to listen to what they’re telling you and have the guts to refine your marketing even if it’s not one of your favorite aspects.
It used to be that getting your music heard was the only way to be known. Record stores and radio and live shows. You were luckly just to get the music out there. And you had to put your life into your music because that was the only way to share your life.
Then radio interviews and Rollingstone articles were invented and it became apparent very quickly that an aritst could get known for their lifestyle along with the music. And it was obvious that if people knew things about an artist’s life, then they’re more likely to buy the music.
And now it’s heavy on lifestyle. It’s easier for an artist to be known for their lifestyle than their music. It takes people a lot longer to listen to your song or album than it does to check out a few of your posts and decide if they’re into you. And if they’re into you’re lifestyle do they just want more lifestyle stuff or are they converting to fans of the music?
Selling lifestyle will always make your music more endearing to people once they dive into it…but what do you want to spend your time selling?