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.

SINGING THE U.S. ANTHEM @ THE CEASAR'S PALACE!!!!!

Okay, so during my last visit to Iraq, I heard about an opportunity to serve my country in an even more unique and musical way. Definitely cool.

So I'm in Iraq - doing my job - Making amazing friends and learning the language... and I overhear someone saying they need a singer. That's all i heard. So, BAM! My mind starts going - usually in the military, it's all numbers meetings, strategy, planning, training, more training, computer-based training, training to train better...OK - YOU GET THE POINT. But this kind of opportunity was rare and i knew it the minute I heard the words come out of the person's mouth. I wait for them to finish their sentence and enter into the seemingly background basic, "shoot the breeze" style conversation. Kind of like that elevator music that you start humming and realize it's a lounge version of Lady Gaga's new hit song. ;o)

One minute, I was sitting on a bench, trying to take a break from the relentless sun - the next minute - I had my first national anthem singing gig. It was crazy.
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We end up talking about the specifics of the performance and details of the ceremony's layout and without qualifying or doing an on the spot "sing-off". I guess I just displayed the confidence that they were looking for. And honestly, it felt pretty natural, even magical - some would call it fate or destiny. But i just think that if you focus on what you love to do long enough - things in your life start to change TOWARDS that task or hobby. I'm not trying to discredit the work that goes into everything. I'm just saying that if you attract positive people and things into your life, if you give and don't look for gifts in return - sometimes that's the only way to get ahead in life. It's gotta benefit others and help in a unique way.

Since then, being on an email distribution list made up of about 27 choice people - I feel like I belong to something really great. We never get paid for what we do - but we DO get those warm feelings of patriotism and intense pride for our Flag and the Freedoms we enjoy. It's mainly by the example and sacrifice of those that have served before us that we've been able to grow our faith in what we do.

NOTE: SPECIALIZED TRAINING CAN BE GIVEN IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURSUE THIS MUSICAL AVENUE. WE'LL WORK ON FINDING THE RANGE OF YOUR NATURAL VOICE AND THEN WORK ON WIDENING THE CUSHIONS OF YOUR VOCAL CHORDS.



IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR MY RENDITION (star-spangled banner) go to: www.youtube.com/committedmusic

OR GO STRAIGHT TO THE VIDEO BY COPYING AND PASTING THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShaTyNhQ_vE