You Think Talent is Enough
People pursuing their dreams in the music business mistakenly believe that all they need to succeed is talent. How do I know? Because I believed it too.
When I was a musician, I thought being the best drummer would guarantee success. What else could be more important? I had always been told this and it‘s what everyone I knew believed too. Having never considered an alternative possibility, I put all my effort, hope and faith in my talent.
And it worked too – at least for a while.
My talent DID get me work and it built me a pretty good career. But it only took me so far. I spent years continually frustrated as I watched other equally (or less...) talented people pass me in my career like I was standing still, but now I understand. I‘ve come to realize that my career advanced to the exact limit of that talent. And although it might be true that I could have been a better musician, the reason others succeeded had nothing to do with music.
Soft Skills
Two years ago my company put me through a speaking, management and leadership course. The first day we spoke about what separates highly successful people from others. This group of business people believed talent led to success too. But the teacher stated that excellent workers are everywhere and there are also many talented people that struggle to pay their bills. She then explained that true leaders in any field separate themselves through the knowledge and application of "soft skills". She explained that the difference between failure and success in any field depends on abilities such as communicating and relating to people, adapting to changing business environments and effectively handling money personally and professionally.
For example, did you know that since the time of Socrates, it‘s been known that people fall into one of four personality types? Certainly there are many variations and combinations, but people are generally outgoing, driven, thoughtful or peaceful. These core characteristics determine how they interact with others, communicate, accept change and direction, and even how they dress! Now, if that‘s true, do you think that this knowledge might come in handy when you‘re talking to someone about hiring you or settling a fight during a rehearsal? Who do you think will work more: someone clueless to these facts or someone who fully understands how to best "hang" with any of the four personality types? Which do you want to be?
This is just one small piece of a set of skills that can be learned and applied to help you pursue your dream.
Yes, I said LEARNED.
No one is born an expert at these things, and if you want to succeed, this type of education is critical. I realize in hindsight that every successful musician I knew had these skills -- and the more they had, the farther they got. Yes, they were exceptional musicians, writers, singers or artists, but they were also good communicators and could effectively relate to people. They had good business sense and their priorities were in order too.
You can do it too, just keep learning. Just make sure you don‘t Think You Have Enough Talent.
