Compromise has to do with making concessions with similarly minded people in service of reaching a common goal.
Conformity has to do with aligning with commonly held conventions and norms.
You’re gonna need to compromise.
But the degree to which you need to conform has everything to do with the clarity of the goal you’re compromising in service of.
You don’t get credit for playing two shows by playing one really big show.
You don’t get credit for writing ten songs by writing one really good one.
You don’t get to have a years worth of experience by being really busy for a week.
Each show, each song, each day is only worth one. But one is enough. And one is worth it.
Your job is to stack ones in the direction you want to go.
»» A shout out to the one and only Mike Miller for this phone call.
What is everybody gonna remember forever?
We want to change the world with our contribution. We want to hold an extra special place in someone’s or everyone’s hearts and minds forever and ever. We want to rise above all others as a person who really made a difference.
But while there isn’t much that people remember forever, our contribution makes a lasting impact…even if it’s not consciously remembered and making a difference.
A good song, a good show, a good party, a good coffee date is remembered for a day or month, and then forgotten. But those bits of goodness change our overall trajectory a tiny bit in a better direction.
So maybe the goal isn’t unforgettable in the long run but rather undeniable in the short run.