Interesting Enough To Be Famous
Everyone is.
At least for a minute or two. The video or meme or interview of the day that gets passed around and then forgotten…it’s good enough to get our attention…but not HOLD our attention.
Holding interest is much more difficult to do.
A working definition of ‘captivating’ is to hold interest.
Captivating builds careers. Captivating makes a difference. Captivating is why we talk about the great artists and chefs and entrepreneurs. Not because they’re merely interesting, but because they hold interest.
Others' Thoughts
I heard it on a podcast again today…
‘I don’t care what anyone thinks’…is often hailed as a climactic psychological moment…and artists use this phrase all the time when talking about their latest creative project. But it’s a self centered and selfish sentiment. And maybe they don’t mean it that way…
I hope what they really mean is, ‘I know whose thoughts I care about’. This phrase is incredibly powerful, and a useful way to move forward in careers and relationships.
Not everyone in the world gets a say in your life...but someone, a few people, certain people, or a certain audience need to have a vote.
Not caring what anyone thinks is a lonely place.
Popularity Timing
If you already had a popular album when record stores started getting popular…record stores needed something the feature on the aisle end cap…so they put the yours there because that’s probably what people wanting to buy.
Similarly, when music streaming services were becoming the norm around 2013, if you were already a popular artist, that’s what’s going to be most popular on the platform…and that’s what’s going to get on the digital end cap. And because streaming services are still the norm, artists who had a big arc back then are more likely to ride it longer.
A friend of mine sent me this Rick Beato video, where he brilliantly goes into more depth on this…highlighting that the average age of the top twenty five Spotify artist is 36.
Mic. Listener. Record Button.
Adding a microphone to the conversation changes the conversation.
Adding a listener to your performance changes the performance.
Adding a record button to the session changes the session.
It doesn’t do much good pretending like these things aren’t true.
It’s more fun to embrace and adapt to the changes.
The Laser Level
The laser level is a perfect tool, giving you perfect lines…until you need a line that is a little bit out of level. It’s not very good at giving you anything other than perfect. No wiggle room. No grace. No understanding for anything that is a little bit off.
It’s simply a perfect line every time.
But often times in real life you need an adjustable option too. Sometimes perfect just doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to make something better.