Singing along with the singer is fun. In your car, with your earbuds, at the show.
And singing along feels a lot like you’re the singer.
But being the singer is a different thing all together.
The singer is the one giving everyone else the foundation. The notes, the tone, the timing, the inflection and dynamics. All of this is a gift the singer is giving to the listener, who then can easily sing along.
We all start out singing along…but if we want to lead, eventually we have to be the singer.
Often the hardest one to make is the one right after the miss.
Things were going along so well. The process was good. The mechanics were solid. The machine was humming. Lots of makes.
And then there’s a miss.
Now the questions start. Does the whole system need retooled? Whose fault was this? Are we losing our edge?
So you missed. Did something go wrong? Probably. And if you were all-knowing (or dedicated a lot of time to it) you could pin point it and move forward with confidence knowing you fixed the exact problem that caused the miss.
Or you could remember your makes. Remember you’re good. Remember your foundation is real and take another shot.
It’s hard to get a make after a miss because we get mentally rattled…not because we suddenly got worse at what we’re good at.
There’s no secret meeting.
As much as it may seem like it sometimes…The heads of the labels and the agents and the managers don’t all get on a group call and brainstorm ways to keep you down.
If the music biz feels this way you might consider…
What type of risk do others associate with you?
Can others see a way to get credit and glory (for themselves) by working with you?
How do you help their dreams come true?
If they work with you and things don’t go well, what might happen to their job?
Does it seem like you need their help? If not are you willing to ask for it?
How do you excite people?
Going big isn’t like going small but just more of it.
Going big requires a shift, a leap, a lot more risk.
To go from playing the club to playing the arena doesn’t mean hanging up twenty times the number of posters around town. Rather, it’s takes a whole different way of operating your business and a whole different rhythm of life.
The things you’re good at are important.
The things you’re good at are things that others need you to be good at because it helps them in some way.
And yet it’s so easy to belittle and resent the things we’re good at. We think, ‘since I’m good at it, it just must be something everyone is good at, so it’s not worth much’ or, ‘I’m good at this but it’s not as valuable as being good at THAT’.
But it’s simple…When you bring your good thing to the table, everyone is glad…and it makes everyone feel like their decision to show up to the table was a great one.
…is going away.
But the absence of it doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong track. The simple trick is to pick a project or a job or a gig that is motivated by more than excitement.
When the excitement goes away it just means you’re moving down the path and are about to find out what’s on the other side of the excitement.
Sounds exciting to me.