There Are Two Kinds Of People

There are two kinds of people. There are those people who believe their lives are ruled by something outside of themselves. They are the folks who find a comfortable spot to sit and wait for fame and fortune to find them. If their words do not reveal them, their actions do. These are the people who refuse to take responsibility for their own lives. They appear to believe that Lady Luck, the Lord, Buddha, Allah, Fate, Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy will one day deliver the fame, fortune, and success they so rightly deserve. These people remind me of a story my grandfather told many times.

There was once a traveling preacher, a good man on fire with his religion. He was very intense and ardent. As he was traveling across the Arizona desert, he saw a beautiful splash of green on the distant horizon. He knew it had to be a mirage. Nothing that green could exist in such a barren desert. When he had traveled closer to the beautiful green spot, he saw it was a lush garden. Colorful flowers bloomed and birds sang from the limbs of trees covered with fruit. Tomatoes, green peppers, squash, and melons spread in neat bountiful rows. At the back of the garden stood a small house. Full of religious zeal, he ran up and knocked loudly on the door. It was opened by a small studious looking man with glasses perched on his nose. The preacher exclaimed loudly, "I just want to tell you what a fabulous blessing the Lord has given you! Here in this barren desert, he has created a small piece of paradise, for you." The man smiled and replied, "I understand and I agree. Without the good Lord's sunshine and the miracle of seeds none of this could be here. But, you should have seen this place when the Lord had it all to himself."

Of course, the point of grandpa's story was that you have to use the blessings the Supreme Power has given you. You have to plant the seeds, cultivate the soil, and water the tender new sprouts. You can't just find a comfortable place to sit and wait for success to find you. You have to establish goals and you have to apply intelligence and work towards reaching those goals. You have to have some way of measuring your progress. You have to know the difference between the vegetables you want to grow and the weeds you need to pull. You have to know when to apply water and fertilizer. If you do not put your blessings to work, you will not achieve success. If you do not work intelligently, you will not achieve success.

If your goal is a successful career in music, there are some actions you can take to improve your chances. What I call an "advisory board" can be very valuable to you. An advisory board is just a group of knowledgeable people you can turn to for advice and good ideas. My first use of an advisory board was when I was just starting my career as a promoter. We lived in a small Missouri town near the Arkansas state line. I was able to put together a group of people who proved to be of immense value. I called and invited about twenty people to dinner, before I found five who had the time to share their knowledge with me. My first advisory board was a high school music teacher, a small town radio disc jockey, a weekly newspaper reporter, a high school business teacher, and the owner of a small music store. Once a month, we met in a small private room at the local restaurant. After we had ordered our hamburgers, french fries, and cokes, I would pass out a list of two or three questions about my career as a promoter. Somebody would make a suggestion and the conversation would start. I would listen and take notes. After an hour or so, the meeting would break up. When I went home, I would spend a few hours sorting through their ideas. I'd spend the next month applying those ideas and finding more questions.

Of course there were months when one or two of my advisory board couldn't attend. Over time, one would drop out and I'd find a replacement. Many members of my first board became good friends with one another. It worked so well, I have this a lifelong habit. The number of people, their job titles, and the price of the dinners have each changed many times. My career as a promoter has taken me from one end of this great nation to the other. I've lived in large cities and small towns, in more than thirty states. Everywhere I have lived, I have had an advisory board. Several years ago, I stopped taking notes and started using a tape recorder. I just sit a microphone in the middle of the table, turn on the recorder, and pass out a short list of questions. A couple of hours later, I have a treasure of new ideas and insights to take back to my office.

You should be careful not to confuse your advisory board with those people who are sounding boards in your life. You need both and they serve very different functions. Sounding boards are people you can bounce ideas around with. These are close friends, relatives, and your spouse. They are already in your life and they serve a vital role. These are the people you can talk to, call, or email and say, "What do you think about this idea?" They generally serve as filters and judges of ideas you already have. Your advisory board should be outside consultants. Each person on your advisory board should have a different field of expertise. The whole purpose of an advisory board is to get ideas and suggestions from people with different knowledge and varied points of view. If you want a career as an entertainer, you should recruit people such as radio station employees, local television station employees, an editor or reporter from a local newspaper, a music store owner or the music department manager of your local Walmart store. The entertainment director of your local fraternal organization is a good person to include. Somewhere near you is an Eagles Club, Elks Club, Knights Of Columbus, American Legion or something similar. These fraternal organizations usually have an entertainment director who books the entertainment.

Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to know these people before inviting them to sit on your advisory board. People are proud of what they do and how well they do it. Most will consider it a great complement that you recognize their wisdom and want their advice. If you can't get the drive time DJ of the power house radio station, try the late night DJ. If none of the DJs are available, ask the radio station secretary. If you can't get a reporter from your local daily newspaper, try a reporter from a small weekly newspaper. Don't forget the teachers at your local schools and community college. They have a wealth of knowledge and are teachers because they like to share it. Some of your first choices will be too busy to serve as your advisors. However; very few will be rude. Would you be discourteous to someone who asked you to sit on their advisory board?

Don't worry about the cost of dinner. Most towns have a buffet restaurant with a small private meeting room. A lot of fraternal organizations have low menu prices. If their entertainment director is on your advisory board, it's a good place to meet. Chances are, you can get by for $10 per person, $50 or $60 per meeting. If you can't afford to do it every month, do it every two or three months. The value of the ideas and insights you receive will far outweigh the cost.