Conversely,
the vast majority of losers seem to find it easy to be critical of successful
artists, and very critical of those who do not support them. We've all been exposed
to this set of behaviours. I find it amazing and ironic that so many people at
the bottom seem to find it so easy to look down on others above them. It's almost
a contradiction of physics! We have all witnessed the emotional outburst from
the rejected Idol contender - the accusations that the judges are dead wrong and
the insistence that the reject has talents that no one is smart enough to see.
Bizarre scene? Nope. Familiar. Very familiar - to us all. We are looking at ourselves
when we witness this commitment to a flawed perspective, because we've all been
wrong at one point or another and guess what - we'll be wrong again. Even the
most successful songwriters have a near bottomless bin of songs that didn't work.
One the most beautiful things about the entertainment business is: failure, by
its very nature, is largely invisible. We hardly hear about the artists and songs
that don't work because they don't get supported by industrial and popular momentum.
However, there is boundless growth potential in processing our flaws properly. Interestingly,
it has been suggested by more than one author of a self-help book that one should
evaluate one's circle of regular social contacts by categorizing each person as
either dominantly positive or negative. Then, the suggestion is to dump the negatives
and increase interaction with the positives. One author goes so far as to suggest
that if you wish to be a millionaire, you should be hanging out with more millionaires.
The big picture message in all of that is "maintain a positive growth perspective".
So,
let's summarize - the majority of successful artists find it easy to look up to
others, and the majority of losers seem to spend more time looking down on others.
So, if you were trying to climb a ladder successfully, which way should you be
looking?
Brian
Allen has a wealth of experience in the industry as a songwriter, guitar player,
producer, as well as enjoying 15 years heading up the A&R department at Attic
Records. He knows what it takes to be a winner in this industry, in mind, spirit
and in talent. He has over 10 million in career sales notched on his belt and
will be offering up his insight once a month, as a feature contributor to Songbridge,
with excerpts from his forthcoming book.
For more info on AMPLUS Productions,
contact Brian at brianallen@rogers.com |
