Your Best Stuff

When you’re in a writing session it’s a lot easier to try and write a song you can be known for (a hit)…rather than writing a song you can be known through (an expression).

You’re in the room with a couple other writers, everyone’s got publishing deals, everyone’s trying to make sure they recoup, everyone want’s to make their publisher happy by turning in something that’s easy for the publisher to go make money with.

So you write with that in mind. You try and write a hit. And then when it hits everyone will know you wrote it. You’ll be known for it. Wonderful, congratulations.

On the other hand, writing to become known THROUGH a song is scary indeed. Because some people won’t get it. Lot’s of people will reject it. And it hurts a lot more to have one of these songs rejected than one where you were just trying to write a hit.

And then sometimes ‘being known for a song’ and ‘being known through a song’ come together in a magical way. That’s your best stuff.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Above And Beyond

There are two primary instances when you go above and beyond…

-When you’re asked

-When you see it’s needed

The first one can be tricky because when you’re asked to go above and beyond, you don’t know if they know what they’re asking. i.e. You don’t know if you’re going to get credit or an extra thank you for going above and beyond. And frankly, you’d like a little extra appreciation.

The second one requires even more from you. The intuition to see the need and then putting in the extra effort to meet it.

You can’t go above and beyond all the time, but if you haven’t done it in a while the second option is usually available.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Equal Effort

You worked just as hard as the other person.

You didn’t get the result you wanted, they did.

Why?

Outcome isn’t solely based on effort.

For a long time we’ve been told it’s all about working harder. And if you don’t get the result you want, work even harder.

The element missing here is connection.

You’ve already been working hard, you can’t work any harder…so what do you do when you don’t know what to do next? Connect.

Connection trumps effort. Connection makes effort look good. Connection creates a magnetic pull that can multiply the effect of your effort into infinity.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Door To Door

The AT&T door to door salesman just left my house.

He tried to sell me their internet. Already have it.

He tried to sell me their cell phone service. Already have it.

He tried to sell me their tv. Don’t need it, don’t want it.

If you’re going to sell to a fairly random group of people (one at a time) chances are you’re going to end up having wasted your time with some (or a lot) of people. It’s hard to sell to people you know nothing about.

So maybe you say it’s the law of large numbers. But if you have to get to a large number one at a time the payoff better be worth it cause it takes a lot of time, energy and resources to stack those 1’s.

With a little bit of research he could have known I already have the first two services, what I pay for them, and that I cancelled my DirecTV two years ago. So now he can decide if he’s going to pitch me on something I actually may want or skip my house all together.

Either way is better than both of us wasting our time like we just did.

»» I can hear your question now…I answer the door because I’m curious to see if the pitch is any good.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Choosing vs. Working

There are voices saying you can do it.

And there are voices saying you can’t do it.

All the voices in our heads.

(These voices are influenced, in part, by the voices outside of our heads…by our friends and family and the books we read and the podcasts we listen to.)

So which voices should you listen to in regards to a particular endeavor?

I don’t know but choose one. The sooner you choose the sooner you can get back to working instead of choosing.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

In Regards To Leading and Delegating...

They’re not doing it as good as me

vs.

They’re not doing it the same as me

The most common mistake is equating the two in the first place.

But if they’re not doing it as good as you…do they need more time? Guidance? Education? A different task or job all together? It’s a chance for you to be the insightful leader.

If they’re not doing it the same as you…Good. That’s simply the price of delegation.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple