Glass Half Full

Perception is truly reality. Most of us don't truly understand the power we possess when it comes to controlling or influencing our success and what happens in our lives and careers. Success is all about your outlook. Life is really simple but as people and artists, we tend to complicate the issue. Being a musician/artist is a life long process and change is promised. No matter what level we achieve, there is always more to learn and room for improvement so our attitude is most important as it relates to our experiences. It's always better to see the glass half full. People often ask me why I smile so much or why I always seem to be so happy, especially when I play. Well . . . I figured out a long time ago that you get what you give. If you approach every situation with a positive attitude, professionalism and a commitment to excellence, then you will always get great results. Now I know that some experiences are better than others but every experience we have to play, record, perform, write or create on ANY level is a blessing. I simply go into EVERY situation expecting great things and that is what I get. Discernment and good judgement are also a result of good energy. We've all been through enough to know when a situation is not the best fit for us. Instead of taking a gig just to say we have a job is not worth it if we know that the environment is not one that contributes to our happiness. Life is far to short to spend it being unhappy and complaining. Every day above ground is a good day and a chance to enjoy life and create something beautiful. Relax!!!!!!! Don't put too much pressure on yourself trying to be rich. LOL Just focus on having a positive, professional and productive outlook and not only will you have the success you want but great things that you never expected will happen. I'm a living witness to this. Remember, it is truly better to see the glass as half full. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

Leave Your Comfort Zone

A lot of us have the wrong idea about how to achieve success in this business. You can't make it by JUST focusing on money or a rich lifestyle. As a matter of fact seeking these comforts are the enemy of success. The bottom line is that the only way to achieve ANYTHING is by hard, smart work. You can't be afraid to get into the trenches. Most of us say that we want a certain thing but we are not willing to make the sacrifice of working relentlessly to get it. As I've said before, the only way you lose the race is if you stop running. Most of us become to comfortable and are no longer willing to make those sacrifices. We make every decision based on what it pays instead of looking at the bigger picture. In order keep growing and achieving, we have to be willing to leave our comfort zone. You can't make money or find success by focusing on it. True success is about access. Take any really successful artist. The reason they made it was because they were willing to sacrifice all to achieve there goal and just because they make it to one level doesn't mean they stop. Remember, success is about the journey and we have to be willing to keep pushing ourselves to higher levels. I've experienced this time and time again. I will set out to do something, achieve it and all the trappings that come with it only to soon have my inner voice say, "Now it's time to move ahead. You can do more." I become discontent with standing still so I have to continue to move. Trust me, it kind of sucks most of the time because, in most cases, in order to move to something bigger, you have to give up something you already have. This is the biggest reason most of us won't ever go past where we are. Life is all about growth, give and take. You can never hold on to EVERYTHING. We have certain experiences that are only there to prepare us for what's to come but as we get older this process becomes harder to believe in. We seem to get more fearful and more willing to settle. We begin to focus on money and having things instead of continuing to grow our passion. Don't get me wrong, I know it takes money to live and support yourself, but if you are true to your passion and work hard, the money and continued opportunity WILL come. Take a look at where you are. Are you standing still? Can you do more? Are you afraid to give up something to gain a greater reward? These are just some of the questions that we as motivated and driven creative people have to answer daily. Don't be afraid to be uncomfortable. It's ALL about growth. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

The Dilemma

We are living in interesting times in the music business. The industry is in flux and is really no longer about creating music. Even though the business side of this industry has always been a bit seedy, there has always been a certain standard of quality at all levels. Well that has changed. It used to be that some of the smartest and brightest creative people could always find opportunity in the music industry, but no more. In the last ten years or so, the smartest people are going into tech and banking careers. It seems that our industry is no longer as profitable. Here in lies the dilemma for those of us still in this game. We now have to face the fact that the days of becoming a millionaire rock star are pretty much over. This is not pessimism, it is fact. Let me explain. Back when people where actually buying Cd's, there was a lot of money to be generated because there was an almost five hundred percent mark up, if not more, on Cd's. So as long as people where buying millions of Cd's, there was the potential to make billions on sales of, not only Cd's, but concert tickets and merchandise as well. MTV, BET and VH1 used to be music video channels that helped market and keep certain music and artists in our faces 24/7. Now that we have itunes and so many other download sites, Cd's have gone the way on the vinyl record and people no longer buy full length records. It's more about the single download so the industry can't really mark up the price the way they used to so the entire profit structure has changed from the top to the bottom. I'm not saying that we should give up. I'm just saying that as we move forward, we need to do so being well informed about where we and this industry stand. We have to think like business people. We have to find inventive ways to get our music and performances in front of people. This is even harder now because with the Internet people's attention spans are even shorter and they are just bombarded every second with CRAP. The first step is quality. Be sure to create quality art and it may take time but when people find quality, they share it. The public can no longer be bought. They have too many choices. My advice is that we rethink the way we approach doing business in this game. The old models are no longer applicable. It's a new landscape with no creative limits. There is still art to be shared and money to be made. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012