Lessons

Lesson Info

Getting Your Head in the Right Place

I want to talk about one other thing here because it's come up a couple of times here already that it's tough right this business is tough folks this business is tough okay yeah thank you very much all right all right that we're doing good we're doing good all right I play around with that because everybody tells me that ran the business is tough that's why I'm saying this does that look like easy I get tough okay but it's not an excuse ok and all these reasons why it's tough skip it you're wasting your time I'll tell you right now if the fact that it's tough scares you you should the exit signs or mark you should just leave right because it's not worth talking about you know the business I could go on and on about why the business has gotten tough but it just is and I'll just say you know let's put that up on the board one more time gentlemen this business is joe that was so good okay so bottom line is that one is a given okay how you deal with this is important is tough is the busine...

sses and it's gotten tougher since I got in the business the actual getting music standing above the crowd so who was it that said standing out from the crowd is important when I started there were five thousand records by six companies coming on. It was freaking tough. Okay, now, there's a million things out there competing for attention that scott and tougher what's gotten easier is for us to have a conversation for the people that want to figure it out okay for the people that are not wasting their time asking for their blue blank you're calling mom and talked about how tough it is but people want to figure it out you have tools to do that today that you didn't have so it's it's tough but it's not impossible okay and we'll show you somewhere videos in the next few segments of people that figured it out and I was going to tell you if they figured out take the advice I gave you when I used to caddie for all these guys of this club to see some guy was like a knucklehead or had no personality but who have made a million dollars and I walk down fairways carrying his bag going if that guy could do it I can freakin do this okay was that arrogance was it confidence? Was it naivete doesn't matter okay they figured out here's how you gotta figure it out if you're going to do something great in your life and you know that you gotta network and you know that is tough and there is competition out there and everybody wants your seat at the table. Alexa okay, then you gotta get your head in the right place to do something great. It's the single most important thing and what do I mean by that okay you've seen my website you folks here okay they've made me hire hide the shirts they're over in the corner but I'll just tell you what it is my little mantra is f the gatekeepers man okay I don't care what you think I'm not interested in what your prospects aren't when you tell me your sad story why I can't do this I'm going to figure this out and I'm going to do it okay that's what that f the gatekeepers is all about why do you need that attitude right tons of people are going to tell you you're out of your fricking mind for doing this let does my house your parents feel about you going to college becoming a seep in now I'm going to go that way and I'm gonna go interview this wacky freaking got what they say to you man good luck good luck ok because your parents loved you okay there might have been better reviews here you know what they tell you when the appearance are you crazy for being a man could get a real job ever say that to you all the time they say that you're right and they make you feel like you're a little freaking crazy well you know what you freakin are okay but that's okay because great things have happened when guys four people were crazy enough to send to go. I don't care what you think don't tell me your sad story right that's what it's all about you're going to run into all kinds of jobs because your obstacles money right you're off to go with something else you're upset with they're out there right so how you deal with that becomes huge because you can't change the reality that it's after I think of those poor bastards that came in a d day right and there get to be on the first shift and there in the boat and the gate goes down and bullets are flying everywhere right and I use this analogy all time because the only way off that beach was it get to the top of the mountain and with guys who go to jesus christ I could get killed yeah yeah yeah you could get killed all right standing here bitching about it get going right so you gotta move and you've got to be making the commitment here right so gatekeepers who were these gatekeepers man who the gatekeepers for you beloved asthma the people hr people who are looking for someone that have experience when I have why experience okay who the gatekeepers in your life myself bang that's a big one folks it's good but knowing that is the first step to getting over it okay day from knowledge promoter's motor people to get you in and gets that's our obstacle michelle belgian yes a ciara's well charge I'm going to say that we're after gate keys on a child that's not a problem I think holding yourself back in something pink thing yeah that's typically the biggest gatekeepers right inside your freaking helmet folks okay alexa me okay so you're all kinds of come in all forms that coming band members could be the secretary when I was starting in the biz trying to get past the sector he's protecting this this fat cat over here I spent my whole life on my knees trying to get radio stations to play my band's records okay uh bosses you know band members whoever it might be got to get past those people because they're only going to hold you back anybody ever told you guys no oh yeah yeah I know how many yeses do you need to make something great happened not as minnie's noses you get okay so if you're afraid of the no you never get to yes that's it you don't ask you don't get you know that's the whole process here right so you've got to sit there work yourself past the nose here here's a comforting thought for you right thing I know is I've been a little rough here let's talk about something that makes you feel good fear insecurity paranoia okay the building blocks of the music biz fear insecurity period I call it the fifth factor we talk about in the office what do you scared of today, dave? Not making it not yeah yes in tears they get about you are not being able to find a nice load asthma he's already showed me some big kony's alright back yeah I mean it's it's fear I'm feeling from working in corporate world going and working who knows what I'm getting myself had the job that everybody thought was going to make you look cool and and that you got the job on then you've got the suit on right you've got your little cuba cool they're right you're feeling good to go this is this is this blows I am okay insecurity I wake up I woke up last night gun cheese is what I got here I got eight hours got what if everybody hates it what if I run out of things to say what if I just look like a freaking complete tosser right uh those are the things that go on paranoid I've seen it with musicians all a sudden things started going right they start offloading blame how did you let me do that oh my god this guy's trying to summary we gonna and I sit there going now just having a little fifth factor moment we all got it I got it by sunset he had some issues in school is talking about trying to face these things he goes well dad you don't care about his don't care not scared you kimmy I'm scared to death I'm not one hundred percent state of scared my whole freakin life okay but the difference I told ms you gotta keep showing up man you got to show up that's how you get through it okay so fury and security and paranoia these air these air the building blocks of the business so I say embrace him talk about him you know I sit there with dry eyes and a gun is all time when they're hearing out there it's got good guys we're all scared shitless okay it's that state of being so let's just suck it up because the bottom line is anything can happen or it's not period you live you die lights on lights off when you cut through all the bullshit right that's what isthe gonna happen or it's not okay and if it doesn't happen and it doesn't kill you and the lessons you've learned could help you somewhere else that it could be a win I wanted to be a golfer okay I want up having a great life is imagine you know I still play golf every day not today I wish I wass but you know not today. Okay? So acceptance how do you get through this there's a great golfing saikat's guy by the name of bob rotella who I went to see because I was playing competitive golf in my off hours from england and I was having a tough time playing as good as I could write and I would tell him that you know things would go wrong and this and that and how do I deal with all this dock and he had a great thought he said you know what? The great players and I'll say the great people in business too they focus on the winds okay? The fact of the matter is the default state of being in the music business is failure success is screwed up more musicians than failure is because failure is the expectation right the guys he hits the big lottery and then he starts doing blow and he's doing all this crazy stuff you know justin bieber was a sixty okay now he's melting down in public you know maybe because he never expected maybe didn't feel comfortable with way to get through it doc would tell his vice was ready you've had winds in your life okay I've got a lot of failures I remember the feeling because I focus on the winds I remember the failures I've sit there and think of the great moments where I sit in a corner and a venue in san antonio with a bottle of tequila and me and my buddies where we had six hundred people show up for the budweiser super fiesta latin music white kid doing latin is that there was something wrong with that forget and so we book him into maria's six hundred people in an arena looked like a freaking bar mitzvah party and everybody going whose idea was this mine that was my idea right? So I don't think about those I think about the winds I think about sitting on the side of the stage with my bosses you two and the joshua cheat me and him eighty thousand people gone tio this so freaking rocks man you know, those are the things you think about in those moments because failure is the norm winning is not but if you keep out you'll get some wins and in those moments of insecurity, fear and paranoia you need to be able to focus on the winds you know? Another great thought from my buddy bob rotella I've heard said it a million times it's the greatest advice in the world said you gotta love winning more than you hate losing you gotta love making a putt more than you hate three putting a hole because what it does is it's you to free yourself up and it all starts with accepting there is here they're going to go here or it's not I mean they're going to make it in the music business or I'm not but it's not going to kill you what kills people in the music business is and when they go down the vortex of fear insecurity in paranoia and they didn't really accept what they were getting into that's what screws people up so thoughts from folks online so far they still there that I got clear the room yet we've got one coming from russell who says I have a little bit more than a year left before I get out of the military and I'd really like to get into music have done interviews with bands including incubus toe work on my interviewing slash networking skills what advice do you have for taking these casual online connections to the next level and work in my favor for getting a full time job post military well at first if I was sitting with them I'd say first tell me where you want to go we're going to talk about and that in the next segment about what's your target what do you look into dio because I don't have the context he's in the army I'll just say this if you've been in the army where people really could kill you okay music is going to seem a lot easier maybe we should all do a tour of duty in iraq and then with god and then we can dispense with this he listening over there boys this business is tough I missed it okay all right way to go but I love that all right we're gonna get these guys down in by the end of the day uh ok another question we'll talk some more about that evelyn what head says how did was eighth woodhead ace would head yes it may be a sea would head but we'll move on howto wouldn't we're going to go she's network it's she's a female how do I network without getting kid on it sounds stupid but actually it's a problem I think it's it's a great question actually and I and I experience it a lot there you saw it when one of the clips there the lovely talented smart a gal who works in the who's a lawyer by trade audrey band wally and we've talked about that and and again I'm not a woman you don't get to check where you want to come in into the world right? But we've talked about I said you know, audrey the fact is you're pretty woman you got talent all that so that the primal freaking you know instincts of men I won't defend them I'll just acknowledge them right are part of the mix and I said but you're also smart enough to let him know that hey I'm will be friendly but ifyou're looking like for something different here that's not gonna happen now if you're worried about them not being your friend because they can't take you home ok I'm going to say get him out of the equation right out of the box bang ok I think audrey's pretty I think she's talented if I were thirty years younger I'd be hit not or two but I'd understand that this is business and I think for women out there if you left that kind of come into the mixer if you inadvertently you are you just want to make sure that's clear and if that if that means that somebody's not gonna be part of your world I'm going to tell you better get him out quick next so we've got kind of an odd one from white rick who says how many couches or oats will I need to do to get known and become famous sooner okay we're going to save a section at the end for wacky stick wacky questions we'll give you a wacky answer that doesn't cost these guys the franchise here okay I know you can do better but very clever all right we love that I've already got a couple in my head and he's over there going oh god don't don't don't do that okay okay instead we've got hundred jones says how valuable do you think music conferences are what do you think is the optimum size conference to attend as an indie band I would say this is the optimum size conference right here andrew andrew by the way is a manager I believe from from canada who have gotten friendly with who has been to my office he slept on the couch of my intern now employees cody romney's who embodies all the things we're talking about here but the thing I love about andrew jones's he never stops asking questions he's this doesn't hit just not on his radar to stop so I forgot what his question was here now as his question was how valuable do you think? Music conference what's the optimum size we're going to talk about him a little bit later I think they're good okay I think they're they're really good early on in your career right because it's a place to meet people okay that are all there for ostensibly the same reason you know in some when we knew some will be experienced and I think it depends on the size of the quality of the conference right there's some issues with conferences because there'll be three hundred people and I've done a number of these things where everybody comes up there they want to hand you a tape or hand your resume and you want to be friendly but really is it's not much more than a grip and grin we do those with incomes fifty people come up with a pay their money and you know and we keep it at fifty because beyond that it becomes a free for all so that people could actually take a picture and smile say how you doing and have an experience so the bigger they get the more you know less less manageable bill they become in terms of you getting some direct actus if I were sitting there today and I wasn't the grizzled veteran I was the young person starting I would sit there and just I would just kill for this you know this like hey let's go on be like the best conferences and cytology played golf that's five six hours the other day I'll kill the old name drop right now my new buddy harry styles ok I became the hip is fifty eight year old girl on the planet you know I have little girls going to do that play golf blake off boom okay yeah because you know we went on play golf six hours with hair great guy by the way you know handsome music who's actually joseph from ireland eyes introducing an artist to labels all about how many hits they're getting or are there actually any living and ours left there are living a and r guys we talked to two of them here are kind of virtually speaking neil jacobson and aaron baschuk and both of them if you go to rend man ambi dot com talk about what it is they're looking for when it comes to a norris yes, there are people they look for all kinds of the aaron baschuk did a whole thing that I think is terrific about the team and the people around him in the mentality of the artist. These big pictures things I'm talking about because if people have been doing this a long as I have or even not darren's been doing about ten years, they understand that talent is one thing. Butt head space is another I've I've managed a few people that were unbelievable talents who were working their way back to ground zero and as a manager you've learned when people say why would what is it you look for in a manager I tell him you know what I love about incubus I'll tell you that these air I would be proud to have these guys be my own son's ok because they show up they're reliable they're personable they do what they say they're going to do ninety nine percent of the time in the music side about the musicians ninety nine percent of time that's hall of fame stuff so it's not just talent there plenty of people out there with talent okay talent head in the right place to do something because that head will get you through all the crap that we just discussed here. All right? So one more from matt vague kind of along the same lines what you were just talking about how important is positive emotion good vibe smiling making nice small talk etcetera when it comes to networking do you have to be the over the top friendly guy or can you be you know, a cynic and unhappy and still netley I would say you could be a cynic but if you're unhappy I'm cynical I but I balance my cynicism by making fun how tough that's what penn saw the wacky stuff here right? Because I acknowledge it but I don't live there. Okay? I have my moments of great cynicism that are that are born out of reality, of how difficult it is in and the weight of it sometimes but you learn how to you you know being personable we'll talk about it a bit later this personal touch is hugely important you know? Everybody has their own style I tend to be the big loud guy it ran management that some of my best people that have worked with me are joe lilac one of the guys down at the office today very quiet guy but gets it done that's his way he doesn't scream he doesn't talk he's he's at one level all the time but he gets it done and he knows how to network but he does it in his own style and everybody will do it I think once you if you're talking about building relationships and we'll talk about a little bit later, the most important thing is doing what you say you're going to dio right and in the music business I'll say in some ways sad to say that people that have the ability to deliver have been forgiven a lot of sins that perhaps shouldn't have been forgiven. Okay? And so you know, I hope that answers is question they're all right I like it wall forgive me the what's the item I think we'll be talking about targets next right? And this idea about tightening up hey, I want to do something in the music business and kind of tightening it down a little bit here. So that's what we're going to talk about here, frank all that coffee you know where I'm going? So, uh we'll take a little break before we before we had to break. I wanted to share a couple quotes from that that came in from the internet noodle on it says, I feel like he's got us a backstage pass. Almost famous style almost got what a great movie or a play. I love you, man. Lori bumgarner also says welcome, steven. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk with us. Well, thank you. I wonder about all these people that are online at work right down there. Boss comes walking by and see some cycle. Sam kinison go. What are you doing? So, anyway there, right? Quick. They're really quick on the all tap switching taxis. I gotta learn that trick. Okay, grant okay. We are really grateful to steve for being here today. It's been amazing so far, just talking about how to get your attitude right? How to really figure out what you want to do as we go throughout the rest of the day, we're gonna be talking strategy. We're going talking tactics and how to actually make this happen, so we hope that you'll stay tuned we'll be back here in fifteen minutes with moore with steve running, we'll see then