IGNORE EVERYBODY (from www.gapingvoid.com)

IGNORE EVERYBODY.

So you want to be more crea­tive, in art, in busi­ness, wha­te­ver. Here are some tips that have wor­ked for me over the years.]

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.

3. Put the hours in.

4. If your biz plan depends on you sud­denly being “dis­co­ve­red” by some big shot, your plan will pro­bably fail.

5. You are res­pon­si­ble for your own expe­rience.

6. Ever­yone is born crea­tive; ever­yone is given a box of cra­yons in kin­der­gar­ten.

7. Keep your day job.

8. Com­pa­nies that squelch crea­ti­vity can no lon­ger com­pete with com­pa­nies that cham­pion crea­ti­vity.

9. Every­body has their own pri­vate Mount Eve­rest they were put on this earth to climb.

10. The more talen­ted some­body is, the less they need the props.

11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds alto­gether.

12. If you accept the pain, it can­not hurt you.

13. Never com­pare your inside with some­body else’s outside.

14. Dying young is ove­rra­ted.

15. The most impor­tant thing a crea­tive per­son can learn pro­fes­sio­nally is where to draw the red line that sepa­ra­tes what you are willing to do, and what you are not.

16. The world is chan­ging.

17. Merit can be bought. Pas­sion can’t.

18. Avoid the Water­coo­ler Gang.

19. Sing in your own voice.

20. The choice of media is irre­le­vant.

21. Selling out is har­der than it looks.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for your­self.

23. Worr­ying about “Com­mer­cial vs. Artis­tic” is a com­plete waste of time.

24. Don’t worry about fin­ding ins­pi­ra­tion. It comes even­tually.

25. You have to find your own sch­tick.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get appro­val is not to need it.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken.

29. Wha­te­ver choice you make, The Devil gets his due even­tually.

30. The har­dest part of being crea­tive is get­ting used to it.

31. Remain fru­gal.

32. Allow your work to age with you.

33. Being Poor Sucks.

34. Beware of tur­ning hob­bies into jobs.

35. Savor obs­cu­rity while it lasts.

36. Start blog­ging.

37. Mea­ning Sca­les, Peo­ple Don’t.

37. When your dreams become rea­lity, they are no lon­ger your dreams.

Music Choice Cable Channels; What You Don't Know

Image via Wikipedia

One way to avoid spending money online and buying "iTunes downloads" or even the slightly almost out of style CD purchase - is to tune into the channels that you usually skip over on your Cable TV. 


(I so wanna sing that part in "Money For Nothing" by the Dire Straits - HAHA!)


Being a great DJ for your party can be super easy. Granted, you COULD go with that 67 year old accordionist for 20 bucks an hour for the first 5 hours, but we know how that would end. Well, the party probably wouldn't even get started. 


SO! Here's an alternative that works. Turn on your TV and see if you have the "Music Choice" service with your local cable provider. It's usually the channels you normally skip through! :o)


These select channels GIVE you your time back to actually enjoy your own party. Also, you can concentrate on being the host that everyone knows you are. When you have to "juggle" talking to each guest at your party, it helps to ICE BREAK as well about favorite types of music first. Or even what people "DON'T" like...i.e. the newest release by Britney Spears. Honestly, i can't think of the name, so i guess that's a good thing. Usually the radio stations ingrain our already information-overloaded minds with overplayed singles.


Moving onto the performer's reality: in the past, private parties that I've played for have saved by voice by having Music Choice service as a filler for the songs that weren't in my songbook. After the end of each set of songs, I'd take a break - the coversation would thicken and enrich and, some "chill music" would "volume up" in everyone's background. 


Another reason why MC is awesome is that guests will ask for requests or different songs by artists/bands playing currently on the MC play-list and you can utilize that to book more gigs and personalized set-lists for the requester. Usually people are pretty agreeable once someone chimes in with a song name the love. It's like lightning around the room. Volumes get louder, smiles stretch beyond happy and laughing commences. It's a cool sight for my eyes - to know that I'm helping people connect and have a good time.   

SIGN UP HERE FOR A MUSIC CHOICE ACCOUNT!: 


http://www.musicchoice.com/UserRegistrationConsolidation.aspx

 

Who Would We Be if We Let Our Dreams Run Free? (CLICK TO FIND OUT)

The title of this blog is taken from a lyric from a song i wrote a few years back in technical schooling for my career, and it still rings true in my mind and heart:

I have a question. When? WHEN was the exact moment when we gave up on wanting to be what we wanted to be?

Was it the lie that we have to work as a bean-counter or paper-filer forever - until we either saved up enough money to never have to work again or died?

This isn't a blog about money or financial IQ but if you're interested in taking care of that part of your life, visit and fully digest this:

http://www.richdad.com/RichDad/RichContent.aspx?cpid=5

Ultimate, by taking care of the money matters in your life, whether you're 14 or you were born in 1914, it will help you to pursue whatever your heart desires. it sounds like something out of Alladin but it's cliche for a reason - what's true, is true - IS TRUE.

The minute you set a structured path (usually in your mind before anywhere else. then write it in your musical journals, FINALLY tell as many people as you can about it), the sooner your financial freedom can help you to buy that dream guitar or jam with your favorite guitar hero.

To those that might be saying, "yeah right Troy, like i'm gonna come across an opportunity to play acoustic guitar with Jewel, Santana, The Killers or Pat Metheny" well, what's really stopping you? the only thing that i see is a little bit lacking imagination towards the possibilities and maybe a low push for personal and professional networking. I'm sure Jewel's Mother's neiece knows Jewel, VERY WELL. And i'll rest that point a bit. heheh. ;)

The main, "Take It To The Bank" point is that things are possible. Just like it's possible to take however many notes are humanly possible for the ear to hear, and then taking silence and creating a beautiful hard hitting masterpiece that a radiostation is begging you to allow them to have some airplay!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS and KEEP on KEEPIN' on!