Why I FAILED

A Simple Formula for Success

Success from the Nest has a great post today about money. Specifically, thinking about being RICH!

And though the post is about money, and the fact that most people don’t have financial plans, it is ultimately about planning of any kind.

““Lots of money” is not a goal. “Well off” is not either. Unless you
have specific ideas of what you want regarding your financial
situation, it’s going to be difficult to get there.”

The same is true, of course, for your entire life, and Tony presents a clear and simple formula to help you plan:

Goal + Intent + Focus = Success.

Well said. Know what you want, take intended action and don’t get distracted. Chances are, if you’re struggling at all, you’re missing one of these three.

Passing Along Some Wisdom

From a long list of Secrets of Adulthood, I’m passing along some wisdom from Gretchen Rubin:

You can choose what you do; you can’t choose what you LIKE to do. Much of what goes into building a successful life and career is NOT fun, but often the difference between success and failure is to simply do it anyway. On the other hand, you CAN chose to avoid a life spent occupied with things you don’t like.

Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy. Chasing feelings of happiness is a huge trap for musicians. It will derail your career, and your life. Be sure not to let this happen.

What you do EVERY DAY matters more than what you do ONCE IN A WHILE.

If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. You cannot succeed by avoiding failure. You will succeed by learning from, and getting up again everytime you fail. Don’t play it safe, it never works.

I like this one too:
Turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes a glitch

Be sure to read the whole post for more.

There Are Three Kinds Of People…

There are three kinds of people you will encounter in life on this glorious planet: those that can help you, those that can hurt you and those that don’t matter.

If you want to succeed in life and in your career, I suggest you check out a Strategic Management Post from Michael Hyatt. He has a four box matrix to help you analyze and manage the professional relationships in your life (use it for your personal ones too).

This allows you to look at four possible combinations:

1. High-profit/low-maintenance
2. Low-profit/low-maintenance
3. High-profit/high-maintenance
4. Low-profit/low-maintenance

Keep in mind that profit and maintence can take on many forms. For instance, profit might mean money, but it also could mean satisfaction or joy. Take the time to think through the relationships in your life through this exercise. Ultimately, you want to use this to strategize about your time and resources.

When you’re done checking out the full post, jump over to at least one of the follow-up posts highlighting related interactions. The Author post is the most relatable for musicians. I think you’ll know which box to be in.

Take the time to think through the relationships in your life through this exercise. In the end you’ll find my initial comment to be true; there are three kinds of people in the world.

Get around the people who can help you.
Get AWAY from the people who can hurt you.
And the ones that don’t matter?
They don’t matter.

Giving It Away For Free

From a most unusal source - a story about Ivy League Marketing Education for Free - I’ve found inspiration for musicians.

From MIT to UC Berkeley to Yale, posting entire syllabuses and class notes is all the rage. And this begs the question: Why would prestigious universities give away their intellectual property for free? Well,

 ”From Yale’s point of view, there still is nothing more important than
direct interaction between students and teachers,” says Diana E.E.
Kleiner, an art-history professor and director of the Yale project.
“Putting a selection of our courses online doesn’t change that.”

Just like music.

Forget the Digital Rights Managment arguments and do two things:

1. Develop a business model based on interacting with your fans in multiple ways at multiple price points and never forget the personal touches (like performing).
2. Make GREAT MUSIC.

Number 2 will drive fans to number 1.

What’s Going On Today

Here’s what I’ve been talking about folks. It’s a new and awesomely-opportunity-filled day.

Go read. Go imagine.

Great Monday Money Tips

I’m passing along two great columns from Yahoo Finance this morning. The first might challange your choice of career. Ben is right, but that doesn’t mean you should leave music. Just be aware of what it means to your financial future.

To Get Rich, Just Follow the Instructions

Tricks to Soften the Pain of Saving is a great complement to the first article, especially for musicians.

My personal advice to you? Meld the two together. Find what you do well and get paid for it, then take that money and make it work for you everyday.

Sex on the Road and Other Places

I’ve struggled with this post for several days. While I don’t want to appear preachy, I do want to make you think about the fact that you are building a career in a “sex, drugs and excess” industry. And while some of you may jump for joy at that fact, others of you might be just a little wary of the whole thing.

I want you all to be wary.

Wary because no matter what your personal convictions are about sex, drugs and partying, a career in the music industry is going to put them to the test. Even if you live life WAY on the edge, you’ll meet folks so far over that edge it will scare you. And if you’re conservative, you’ll be blown away by what you’ll find.

And it won’t just be fans, it’ll be other musicians and more often than not, promoters, agents and industry business people. They’ll think that the way to make you happy - and keep the money flowing into their pockets - is to give you what ever you want anytime you want it.

As Penelop Truck says in her terrific post: The ill-advised but often-sought business-trip tryst, “now I can see why affairs happen so often on business trips…there is only freedom and fun. And what does anyone want to do with freedom and fun except have sex?”

But aside from the obvious, and real dangers of a life of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll - just look at the recent debacle surrounding Anna Nicole Smith - there’s another reason for my words of caution.

As a touring musician, I lived the following scenario again and again. We’d roll into a town with our long hair, beards and rock-n-roll clothing and stand out like a sore thumb in a town full of men with short hear, clean shaven faces and Wrangler jeans and shirts. Needless to say, the women of the town didn’t give us a second look and in fact, they usually avoided us like the plague (not that we cared that much, most of us were married).

A change occured as soon as we performed on stage. Suddenly the formerly conservative, and ignorning, women all wanted to leave their men for a life on the road or a romp in the back of the bus. Sure the temptation was strong, but there was something odd about the whole thing.

There was a surrealness that I came to realize permeates this business. These women were not truly interested in us, they were interested in escaping the reality of their lives - if even for 10 or 15 minutes after the show. I saw the same thing with concert promoters, sponsors and label people. The pervasive motivation was to live in a world of freedom and fun no matter the cost.

But, there is no such thing as a life of constant freedom and fun. Living in such a world is avoiding reality, and it’s my belief that the avoidance of reality is the reason the entertainment industry is littered with the remains of people like Anna Nicole. Sure we all need an escape from time to time, but true success - the kind that we all seek - is found when we live in reality and succeed in reality.

Don’t escape reality. Drink of it deeply. Enjoy the ride and work hard for your dreams. Enjoy every little victory as a sign that you are alive and well and capable of taking on the next challenge.

The Reasons to Get Rid of the Major Record Labels

I haven’t checked out the entire organization, so do your homework, but I followed a blog to downhill battle’s listing of the reasons to rid ourselves of the labels. Their sixth reason is something I’ve believed for years - Musicians will make a better living.

Here’s the longstanding equation:

• A select group of musicians interact with millions and millions of fans around the world. These megastars make a lot of money (well, most of them do).
• Just below them is a large group of musicians that make an okay living interacting with millions and millions of fans.
• Then there are the 100’s of thousands of musicians struggling to make a living interacting with a small group of loyal fans.

For the musicians in the first and second groups, the labels play the important role of getting their music to the masses. In exchange, they keep most of the billions and billions of dollars spent by the fans.

Here’s the new model

• 100’s of thousands of musicians create dedicated and tightly knit groups of 100’s of thousands of fans and keep most of the money for themselves.
• The truly great ones are likely to reach millions of fans and make a lot of money.

In my mind, it’s no different than the successful club bands I saw on Long Island as a kid. No, they weren’t playing to coliseums, but they made a really good living playing to packed houses anytime they wanted.

The internet and new technologies allow you to create “packed houses” that span the globe. I hope you’re excited…

The Pursuit of Happiness

“Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it.” - Diane Sawyer

Generally speaking, you are free to pursue your dreams. My title quotes the US Constitution, but whether you live here or not, you most likely have this basic freedom.

Are you taking full advantage of it?

If not, it’s likely that:
a) You don’t think you’re good enough to move forward.
b) You know you’re good enough, but believe others deserve to succeed more than you.

I’ve addressed “a” here and here, among other places, but Miss Sawyer’s quote addresses “b”.

Don’t confuse what she’s saying with the mistaken notion of having a “right to succeed”, but do understand that regardless of background, color, family, “class”, money or looks, you have a right to pursue your dreams along side of anyone else on this planet. And realize that you have just as much chance to succeed too.

DRM at USA Today

Check out USA Today’s long, hard look at the true state of Downloading Music. DRM is becoming an increasingly hot topic.

Lemme know your thoughts.