Minimum Effort To Get A Pass

Too often artists (usually subconsciously) ask ‘what’s the minimum effort I can put into preparing for this show and still get a pass.’

By ‘pass’ I mean so know people won’t laugh at you…and so that you can feasibly bridge your minimum amount of effort with the maximum by lying to yourself that you put in the maximum amount of effort. Putting in juuuuust enough effort so that you’ll believe your own lie.

It’s much more exciting, scary, romantic, fulfilling, risky to venture down the road of (consciously) asking ‘what would it look like to do the maximum preparation for this show, tour, tv performance, acoustic performance, etc etc’.

Stop trying to get away with it.

That way you don’t ever have to worry about a pass again.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Figure Skating

Two things about figure skating…

1.
If you’re a figure skater, a great way to keep people’s attention is…by staying on the ice.

All the chairs in the room are pointed towards the middle, the ice is in the middle of the room and you are in the middle of the ice.

The attention you keep while you’re on the ice doesn’t make you a good figure skater it just means you have attention. And if you have attention you could do something with it.

And the good ones do do something with it.

2.
And if you’ve watched any figure skating, when are the biggest best most thrilling jumps? At the end.

Because they know that if they end their performance with a quadruple axel triple cannon ball crack backer, that’ll go a long way to cover any previous short falls of the performance (at least in the audiences eyes).

The end is infinitely important, because it’s the last thing we see. It’s what we’re left with. It’s the last defining image in our minds. When we look back or think back on the event, performance, experience, we’ll remember the most recent part: the end.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Skeptical of Nastiness

We’ve all been skeptical of someones niceness.

Are they really that nice? Is it just a put on? Are they trying to get something from me? What’s the angle here? That doesn’t seem real to me, are they faking it?

And yet when someone is nasty to us we instead draw a quick conclusion that they are acting as who they truly are. That their nastiness is 100% authentic.

We can think of lots of reasons to be fake nice, but it’s hard to think of reasons to be fake mean, so we assume the meanness must be all real.

It’s not.

What would it look like to doubt someones meanness.

Are they really that mean? Is it just a put on? Are they trying to get something from me? What’s the angle here? That doesn’t seem real to me, are they faking it?

I’ve never heard ‘that Kevin is a real jerk but I just don’t know if I buy it’.

If we’re willing (at times) to be skeptical to think someone is worse than they’re showing, maybe we ought to be skeptical to think someone is better than they’re showing.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Working On and Towards

Working on.

What are you working on today?

Working towards.

What are you working towards today?

Two different answers…make sure they’re always in sync.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

A Little Bit Better

How can we make this a little bit better?

That’s often a better question to kick things off with. Especially if you’re voicing the question to a group.

‘How do we make this a million times better’ is often too intimidating, too out of reach or quickly goes down the road of wishful thinking.

But a little bit better? Yeah, we all know how to make it a little bit better.

And isn’t it the little things that make the biggest difference?

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Secret Recipe

This is the time of year for secret recipes.

The extra special, season defining recipes.

Where the whole point is to simply enjoy the secret…no need to question the secret, no need to not know the secret yourself, but to simply sit back, smile and indulge.

The two that come to mind that go back to my childhood are the cookies my mom makes with the raspberry jelly and the wild rice soup that my dad has made for countless Christmas get togethers.

It’s a joy to accept a secret recipe and joy to give one.

So whether in eating or in business…I hope you’re on both the giving and receiving ends of the secret recipe.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com