The David Andrew Wiebe Show

Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? How did you respond to the situation?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David recounts a time when things went a little awry with a summer School of Rock program, he was a part of.

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Highlights:

00:17 – Teaching guitar in Airdrie

01:10 – Paycheck catastrophe

03:06 – Moral of the story

Transcript:

There's a memory I was reflecting on today and I was just marveling at the complete absurdity and oddity of it.

I was teaching guitar in Airdrie many years ago and they had something, I'm pretty sure it was called the School of Rock program, like a summer program for kids who wanted to continue to improve on their instruments through the summer.

And as I recall, I was teaching guitar to one of the kids, and of course I also attended the final event where the band came together and performed a song. And in this case, I think it might have been a few songs, or there may have been a few bands, but one of the songs was for sure “Seven Nation Army.”

So, I played a small part in preparing the kids for this event. I wasn't the only teacher, and I certainly wasn't the only organizer in the whole thing.

And then after the fact, I'm given a check. And it is made out to me. Now, it wasn't an absurd amount of money, okay? It was probably, maybe in the higher hundreds, maybe $1,200 at most.

But I'm thinking, “Okay, that was a pretty decent payday. I should do this every year.” It's not like it’s going to pay the bills or anything, but it's certainly better than earning nothing. And sometimes earning as a teacher through the summer months isn't all that great.

So, the check is made out to me. I don't think anything of it and I go and deposit it like a normal person would.

And then, I think it was probably the next day, I get a phone call from one of the main guys working the front counter and he tells me “Uh, you know, we gave you too much money.” And I don't know how he even did this but somehow he made it out to be my fault.

Let's keep in mind that check was made out to me for the amount that it was made out to.

So, he kind of made it my fault. He was sitting there going, “Yeah, we can't pay you that amount. That was like what we earned for all the School of Rock program. Your pay is like a quarter of that,” which I guess kind of made sense.

I was thinking, “Yeah, okay. For that amount of work, that's probably about right.” And they were owing me a few hundred dollars, not like 900 or 1,200 or whatever it was.

And I was trying to reassure the guy, right? I'm like, “Okay, small mix up, things happen. Let me get the rest of the money back to you, whatever I'm owing, and then everything will be sorted out, right?”

But he kind of kept going on and on about, “Yeah, we can't pay you that, and why would you go and deposit that? And I'm like, “It was a check with my name written on it. Why would there be any reason for me to be skeptical of that?”

Moral of the story? Well, I think there are a few things you could take away from that.

One is there comes a time for people to speak up. You may not be the outspoken type. But someone might try to smear your perfectly good name. And those are not situations where you can stay silent. You must speak up and say, “This is not my fault. It didn't happen because of something I did.”

There was a mistake made on your end or someone else who was writing the checks or whatever it may be, but ultimately it wasn't my fault. I'm not responsible for it. I'm responsible for getting the difference back to you, but that's my only responsibility in this.

Another message could certainly be beware of scammers. We're in a weird world, right?

Like, kids are told “Don't talk to strangers” but if you grow up believing that and become an adult believing that you should never talk to any strangers, you're going to have a lot of problems later.

You’re not going to be able to get a date, or you're not going to be able to network, or you're not going to be able to get the contacts that are going to make a difference in your music career.

We live in this world of paradox, but anybody that texts you randomly out of the blue are generally not to be trusted. I kind of learned that the hard way.

I mean, I've been around a long time. I probably could have been scammed hundreds of times. I think I've been fortunate enough that I've only ever been scammed once and nearly scammed on another occasion, but they're getting smarter and smarter.

Trust me when I say this – you must beware of complete strangers for sure.

Those are a couple of morals that come to mind, but I’m curious to hear what you hear in this event and how you view it.

Traditional education is useful. But did it set you up with everything you need to navigate the waters ahead? If you could go back to high school and do it over again, what classes would you have taken?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares the most valuable education he got in high school.

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Highlights:

00:17 – The usefulness of school for artists, freelancers, and entrepreneurs

00:58 – It’s cheaper to travel the world than it is to live in a major city

01:50 – School leaves you with many incorrect assumptions

02:27 – #1: Typing / keyboarding

03:20 – #2: English

07:15 – #3: Art

08:05 – What David would have done differently

Transcript:

So, I got to thinking today. What are the most useful classes I ended up taking in high school?

School has limited use for freelancers, entrepreneurs, sometimes even artists. I said “limited use.” I didn't say no use.

School is an important part of our growth and yet it has the potential to be so much better, not lead people down these hallways of “This is life, this is how it is, and this is the way you should be.”

People get stuck there and then they end up living lives that they don't want, don't like. They're not able to create the life they love because they're limited by everything.

I remember having a conversation about how it's cheaper to travel the world than it is to live in a major city.

People are like, “No way, no way. You need a lot of money to travel the world.”

I'm like, “No, you don't. You don't. You literally don't. It is cheaper to travel the world than it is to live in a major city like New York or LA.” I find it surprising that people think that's surprising.

Now, of course, it depends on how you route your trip. Waste all your money in Zurich or something like that. It depends on how you route your trip.

But if for example, you spend a good chunk of your time in Asia… Honestly, even if you go to Japan and stay in Tokyo, chances are it's cheaper than most major cities in North America. It just is. The food is way cheaper.

So, school is leaving people with a lot of incorrect assumptions. That, combined with the fact that our ego wants to be right about everything. It's a dangerous combination for getting stuck in a certain way of life that's dictated to you, instead of the life by your creation. Life by default, instead of life by design. That’s my preamble.

School is leaving people with many incorrect assumptions.Share on X

But this one is about focusing on what were the most useful subjects and classes in school.

Number one for me. Absolutely number one for me. It may be something that everyone can do nowadays, but it wasn't always the case, especially when I was growing up, and that's typing.

I did not like my teacher all that much. She had a strict “three strikes out” policy. If you missed your homework, like it was not exactly easy to remember. And this was even an elective course if I'm not mistaken, it was not a core subject. But if you missed your homework three times, didn't get a signature from your parent, you were out. That was it. You were not going to get a pass in that course. I did not like that system. I did not like my teacher.

What did I learn though? I learned how to type. You know what? That's like an essential skill now. I'm just glad that I was ahead of the curve rather than behind it.

Number two is English. I ended up starting in English 10, just like everybody else. I didn't do very well. Probably because I grew up in Japan. I was still only two years living in Canada, not even one full year. And so, I'm taking English at the level that everyone else is taking it and I'm struggling a little bit.

And the biggest thing was reading speed. I don't know. I don't even know that to this day I have a reading speed that exceeds most people. Just that I'm far more dedicated to reading, period.

I've read a couple hundred books going on to 300. I plan to make my way to hundreds, maybe even thousands of books in the following years.

But at the time I was not a good reader. I struggled with that. I think I got a passing grade, but just barely good enough.

And from there I went into English 23, which is the lesser one. If I'd done well in English 10, I would have moved on to English 20. I didn't, I went into English 23.

I did very well in English 23. And part of that was I'd always had this innate fascination with vocabulary. I was obsessed with it. I just wanted to learn more words. I thought it was amazing that some people could sound so smart and intelligent. It's a silly thing looking back now, but these are the thoughts that occur to a 14-year-old, right?

I thought, “Wow, these people sound so smart using all these words that I didn't even know existed and don't know what they mean.” So, I became quite obsessed with vocabulary.

Because of that, I'd gotten a lot of practice reading and writing, and I built my own websites too. And that's not thanks to school. That was something I learned on my own, even though I did end up taking computer programming courses and other classes where I was able to build a website for extra credit. But that had nothing to do with me learning HTML from scratch or anything. I already knew how to do it because I'd spent a lot of time doing it myself. And I'd also written content for my websites.

People are lazy now. And they want to rely on AI to write everything for them, but I think there's incredible value in learning to write.

So, I went on to English 20, I upgraded the same year. So that was my third English class. And then in, in grade 12, I took English 30.

By that point I had gotten so good at it and had dedicated myself to it that I ended up getting, I think it was 70 or 80% on the multiple choice. Which is fine, I'm satisfied with that. But I ended up getting 100% on my English essay. And I'm rather proud of that fact. So, I ended up doing very well in English.

I still wasn't a great reader. And, honestly, you think I would be able to tell you what a verb or an adverb is, or an adjective… That stuff never stuck with me no matter how many times I learned it.

Plus, it was too remedial for at the point at which I was entering into English classes. I never needed it though.

I wouldn't say I've never needed it. Sometimes people are talking about tense and adverbs and adjectives and incorrect writing or grammar, spelling or whatever.

My whole thing is “Who gives a damn if you can't communicate a message in a way that anyone can understand it?”

I see a lot of writing like that, and I've had to process a lot of writing like that and turn it into my own language at this point. If you can't get your message across in a way that anyone can understand it, do you understand it?

And then the third most useful or valuable class, at least for me in high school was art. I took as many art classes as I possibly could. Obviously an elective and not a core subject, but I always loved drawing and painting and doing things with my hands and crafting.

Weirdly enough, those classes ended up offering the opportunity by the time I was in grade 12, I spent some of the time in class playing guitar and chatting with my buddy sitting across from me instead of drawing anything. And I was starting to feel a little bit uninspired by drawing at that point for whatever reason.

I was still doing it, but I just didn't feel super inspired by it. So, sitting there playing guitar was the exciting new thing to do at the time.

Maybe if I'd spent more time looking and assessing what sort of electives and classes were available, as well as what I could expect to learn in them, I might've taken away a few more useful things from high school.

Nevertheless, in becoming an independent thinker, at some point you’ve got to choose. It's not something that people are going to give you permission to do. And in fact, people are sometimes even going to criticize you and look down on you for being an independent thinker and questioning everything.

You don't need permission to become an independent thinker.Share on X

That's why you’ve got to choose to do it. It's so important, especially if you want to create a life that you love, not one that's been dictated by others.

We can all find ourselves in desperate situations from time to time. But feeling desperate and acting desperate are two separate things. A feeling is something you can resolve within yourself. But acting desperately may do nothing to resolve the situation you’re facing.

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares why desperation tends not to move money and what to do instead.

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Highlights:

00:17 – Desperation doesn’t pay

00:44 – One of the best books on the topic of money

01:21 – The cry of the desperate

02:41 – When asking isn’t enough

03:43 – What David would do if he was in a desperate situation

05:20 – Desperation isn’t what’s standing between you and abundance

Transcript:

So, I was driving home from grocery shopping today and there was a panhandler at the side of the road and there are some thoughts that occur to me. Such as “What's the mentality of someone who's in that spot as well as the level of desperation?” And I'm reminded of something that is key to money.

And it may sound simple, but it goes much deeper than you might think. And that's that desperation doesn't pay.

One of the best books on the topic of money that will help reprogram your mind, I've read many, but one of the best ones if you already have some level of training in money and abundance thinking is Dan Kennedy's No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy.

Now, with a title like that, you might assume it's about something else entirely, but the entire book is about “Wealth Magnets,” and there are many principles in there, some of which I've referenced in past podcast episodes, and I wholeheartedly recommend that book.

But one of the things I realize, I've been approached by people before that want to do business with me. They're looking for anything to do. And that's not always convenient for someone like me.

Like, yes, there's always stuff going on in my business, but if I want someone to take over social media, for example. I’ve got to train them and how that's supposed to happen.

Now, of course, there's going to be people with a degree of competency and experience and skill in that field already, but most people are still going to require a little bit of like, here's our brand. Here's what we want to post. Here's the frequency. Here's what should happen. Here's how we want to distribute our content more broadly.

And without that type of direction, they're not going to succeed. We simply wouldn't want to keep them on our staff for no reason, if they're not going to do a good job, they're not going to elevate our business.

If they're not going to help bring in customers, why would we keep them on staff? It doesn't work like that. The world of business is cold. The way it works is if I'm not making money off you as an employee, I'm not keeping you. That's just how it is. It doesn't make sense to hire willy-nilly.

So, this whole idea of “desperation doesn't pay.” I think many people are sort of in this mindset that, “Oh, the only reason I don't have what I want is because I haven't asked for it.”

And yes, there is something to that, right? It is a biblical principle. If you don't have, ask. It's because you haven't asked, and you’ve got to keep asking and asking and asking and knocking on doors until you're blue in the face.

Yeah, but you think about panhandlers and it's like you're asking money from people who are in a variety of situations. Some of them are house poor, some of them are car poor. Some of them might be wealthy and well off but in an economy like this, if you expect that people have thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up in an inflationary economy, I think in most cases you're mistaken.

And so, the only thing missing from you getting what you want is asking for it? If you're asking for something for free, that's just not going to ring true, right?

If it were me, and if I were in a desperate financial situation, here's what I would do. I would prioritize reaching out to five prospective clients every single day. I would hang my shingle and I would start my business and I'd probably do something like content or web design or graphic design.

Maybe those jobs will soon be extinct and no longer applicable in the modern world because of AI. But for the time being, people are still looking for experts to handle different stuff.

And if that wasn't the case, then people would be laid off in droves. Which again, that could be coming, but hasn't happened yet, right?

Anyway, over the course of the year, I would have reached out to well over 600 prospective clients. If I prioritized reaching out five per day.

But you might be wondering, “Why five when you could do 10, you could do 30, you could do 80?”

I'm not coming from desperation. I'm coming from, there's a lot of people out there that may need my services and the right fit is what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for just anyone. Even if I am desperate, I'm not looking for clients that are going to be nothing but pains in the butt.

If you're spending all your time hustling and reaching out to 100 or 200 people per day, it's being seen by the universe, even if it's not being seen by anybody else. And the universe is perceiving that as desperation unless you're not coming from an energy of desperation. But if you're coming from an energy of desperation, the universe is going to sense it and not going to reward you for all that effort.

You’ll make a couple of hundred bucks here and a hundred bucks there. But you're not going to hit it big. You're not going to have a good, sustainable business where new clients regularly come in to support it.

It's the same thing with anybody desperate to make money right now. Right? And this goes for anyone that's on Facebook or on the streets asking for a handout.

And I'm not criticizing anyone. I hope you understand that. I'm not here to make light of the poor. I've done some humanitarian work. I've supported some humanitarian work financially, and I intend to continue to do that on a larger scale. So, I'm a big believer in doing right and doing good for humanity, and I've given money over the years.

But desperation doesn't pay. That's not the thing that's standing between you and the abundance you're trying to create. It's not desperation. Asking For clients or asking for business or asking for opportunities, maybe, but not desperation. Desperation doesn't pay.

Desperation isn't what's standing between you and the abundance you want to create.Share on X

It moves money a little bit here and there. Sometimes people feel sorry. Sometimes they're like, “Yeah, you know what? I was in your situation. Here's 10 bucks.” Sometimes it moves people, but for the most part, your conversion rate is quite bad. If you're out there trying to get money through desperate means. Stop and think about that.

What sort of energy are you coming from? Are you coming from a place of abundance regardless of what might be happening in your bank account? Or are you coming from a place of desperation because you're worried about going broke or losing your house or losing your car? It's sort of the worst time to try to make things happen, even though it might seem like the best. Like some of us need a fire lit under our butt, or we just wait until things get bad, but desperation is only going to move a little bit of money in the grand scheme of things.

If you want to pursue abundance, then know that opportunities are unlimited.

If you believe in abundance, you believe in unlimited opportunities.Share on X

Are you feeling tired? Are you exhausted? Are you so far gone that you’re not even tuned into your well-being?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares why a dull knife won’t cut through the noise (and there is more than one way to take this!).

Sponsors:

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Highlights:

00:17 – Mental sharpness

00:48 – The importance of rest

01:59 – A dull knife won’t cut

02:39 – The ideal

03:18 – Like a frog being boiled

03:34 – Sometimes it feels unreasonable to take breaks

Transcript:

I've been resting for about a week straight, and today, in conversation with others, I discovered that my mental sharpness was off the charts.

And this tells me a couple things. The first is that I don't know the last time I've felt this sharp. So, I've been operating at dullness, or a degree of dullness, for quite a while. I don't even know how long. I don't know the last time I felt this sharp, which is weird.

The next thing is the importance of rest. Vacations, holidays, breaks, whatever you want to call them. I've been calling this my “break” and people go, “I don't know what that means.” So, I realized I guess I should call it a “holiday” or “vacation.”

I spent a few days in Seattle, but it's not exactly a getaway. It's more of a staycation. So, maybe that's the correct terminology to use here is “staycation.”

Either way, you’ve got to find what's going to work for you. That might mean taking a week off every quarter, it might mean taking two weeks off in a year, but I don't know, I feel like two weeks off in a year is almost the minimum.

You just start to feel normal, at least if you're operating at my level, and the level that some of the other business owners I know. You only start to disconnect and feel normal after about five days. And then the rest of the time you're sort of sleeping and resting off the fatigue.

Next year I'm looking at a week off every quarter because I think every quarter is going to be intense. I'm going to keep to a schedule that allows me to produce a lot of stuff at a high level.

The last thing is a dull knife, or a dull axe doesn't cut through much. You can keep pounding and pounding and pounding away and not get anywhere with anything. And a sharp knife just slices through it all. Or a sharp axe.

A sharp knife can slice through all.Share on X

I think about how long I've not been operating at full capacity and suddenly it comes into view why I was starting to feel a little bit flat in some of these conversations and why I didn't feel as effective in my coaching.

It's like, “Oh yeah, I haven't been completely present. My body has checked out on its own.”

I think the ideal is still to work at a pace that never leaves you feeling tired, right? The 40- to 60- to 80- or 120-hour workweeks… I don't even know if you can realistically pull off 120-hour workweeks. I have my reservations and skepticism about that. In the category of question everything, that's up there.

The ideal is to work at a pace that never leaves you feeling tired.Share on X

But the idea is if you can work about 20 or 15 hours a week, that's a schedule you can sustain and still be sharp. 40 hours a week. I don't know. I think at some point you just run out. You’re going to reach a point where you're not as sharp.

And again, the problem is it's kind of like a frog being boiled gradually. You don't notice it until later until you've had the opportunity to stop and rest and become present to how dull you've been and for how long.

We live in a world where sometimes it feels completely unreasonable to take breaks, doesn't it? Like, interruptions still show up, people still break boundaries, and there can be financial concerns.

And all this stuff can come up as you're resting, but when you get back at it, you’ll be way sharper. And you'll be able to get way more done, way faster.

So, at the end of the day, I think if you want to be high performing, you’ve got to make sure that you're getting the rest you need.

If you want to perform at a high level, ensure that you're getting the rest you need.Share on X

Many of us like to think we’re worth more than we’re being paid. This may be true. But in our current profession, it may not be possible to earn more. Which can only mean one thing – the only way to increase your artistic income is by shifting your mindset.

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares how to break out of the income box you’re stuck in.

Sponsors:

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Highlights:

00:17 – Facing the cold, hard facts

03:22 – Confronting the truth

04:12 – The value that different businesses provide

06:35 – What artists can learn from other industries

08:16 – Finding a music career model that works

Transcript:

You are paid what you're worth. Sometimes this is difficult to accept, especially when you feel like the effort that you're putting in is not proportionate to the payment you're receiving for it.

So, let's look at this. What's the problem? And why do we need to accept that you are paid what you're worth?

Well, firstly, we sometimes need to come face to face with hard realities to be able to progress beyond where we are.

We sometimes need to come face to face with hard realities to be able to progress beyond where we are.Share on X

I've had to do this myself. I don't like looking at the fact that or thinking about the idea that what I'm paid right now by some of my clients is what I'm worth. Because they dictate many of the terms.

I remember hearing that Joe Vitale got paid something like $6 per word. That's insane. Maybe I'm not at Joe Vitale level. I certainly don't have his notoriety.

But I would not say, especially based on the amount of work that I put into writing, I have seven books and three best-sellers out of that… That my value would be equivalent to, let's say a beginner freelance writer.

Five, six, or seven cents per word is totally acceptable for a beginner writer. But as you gain experience, it's got to start to go up, right? Based on the value that you're able to generate for others.

I would not say that my value is any less than 20 cents. I would even say that a dollar per word wouldn't be totally out of the question for someone like me because a lot of people have told me that not only do they appreciate my writing, but they think it's great and they very much resonate with it.

That tells you something because technically, yeah, anybody can write, but writing something people appreciate, enjoy, and resonate with is an entirely different proposition.

Let's say a client is paying me about four grand per month for the content I'm generating for them. Well, if it was four grand per month for three hours of work, I'd say that's extraordinary.

But four grand for 30 hours of work? Well, how much time and energy am I realistically left with? After 30 hours per month of work, not a lot.

Maybe I could put in 10 hours, right? Or maybe I could put in an additional 20 or 30 hours if I was hustling and grinding.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking to myself, “That four grand per month, I'm worth so much more than that.”

At the same time, I realize I can't argue with reality. In an argument between you and reality, reality always wins.

So, facing the idea that I'm worth four grand per month, or whatever I'm being paid in total combined between all my clients, but just for this example, we'll say four grand per month because that's just easier to understand, brings me to the point of going, “Huh. Maybe in this current position or what I'm currently providing to my clients is worth that and may only ever be worth that.”

Why would I want to face that harsh truth? Because it would allow me to take that feedback and go, “I need to adjust course. I need to figure out something else that's going to be of greater value to my clients such that I can be paid more for it.”

There are many examples in the world. Let's look at farmers because I love the metaphor as well as the example in general.

Farmers produce a lot of food, right? That’s the basis of that specific business. So, what does producing a lot of food allow them to do?

When they produce a lot of crops, they're able to distribute it and sell it to a lot of people. Because they're serving larger numbers of people, they're able to earn a lot more money.

In Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, I haven't seen too many farmers with beat-up, run-down homes. In fact, many of them have what I would consider close to castles or mansions,

They make something ordinary, but valuable. Food is valuable, and they serve a lot of people, and that's the basis for the huge sums of profits they're able to make.

I think a good contrasting example, though it's one where a lot of money is still made, so in that sense, it's not conflicting or contrasting, but one good example that sort of contrasts to that is vehicles.

Now we all know that vehicles serve a large market, but in terms of frequency of purchases, food is far more common.

Many of us go grocery shopping. What? Once a week, twice a week? Maybe if you're efficient, once every two weeks if you know what you're doing and you're buying in bulk?

So, we don't buy cars as often. probably the people who buy most often, still only buy once every two or three years. There's just simply no necessity for buying a new car every year. Some people may do that, of course, if they're able to afford that type of luxury.

But many people don't buy new cars for five years, 10 years, 15 years. And yet the car industry, year after year, produces large sums of money, right?

So, it's still serving lots of people. That's true, but the frequency of purchase is considerably less, and the product is sold at a much higher price point than most food would ever be.

Now you might think these examples are irrelevant to a music career, but we can easily transfer them over.

So, for example, the food industry. Okay, so you're producing large sums of crop and serving lots of people. That's a duplicable model in a music career. You could make lots of music that appeals to a lot of people.

It doesn't have to be unique to get the job done, it just needs to be something people like. And if you grow lots of fans by producing lots of music, it doesn't have to be great, but music that people like. You can replicate that and end up serving a lot of people and making good income from it.

And then the auto industry example. There is something that we can compare it to. Like if you produce great music less frequently, you can still find a fan base for it.

Another way of thinking about that is you could create fan clubs and other upgrades for the same fans. You can have fewer fans than someone taking the farmer approach.

But if you've served those fever fans with exceptional efficiency and you're able to upgrade them and increase your customer lifetime value with every fan that comes to you, you would be able to create a great music career without having to appeal to thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands and millions of people.

If you want to create a profitable music career, you've got to begin to look at models that work. What are the models that allow you to serve lots of people? Or what are the models that allow you to serve a smaller number of people, but with increasingly better and greater and more exclusive and interesting offers that they want to buy?

If you want to create a profitable music career, you've got to begin to look at models that work.Share on X

Artists who end up spinning their wheels aren't thinking all that deeply about business models. They're just thinking about, “I want to make great music and hope that there are fans out there who appreciate it.”

That's fine, especially if you want it to be a hobby level or just earn a couple hundred bucks on the side. Nothing wrong with that gig at all. And I've been in that gig and have found it to be rewarding in its own way.

But if you want to produce an income, well you're talking about a business model. It must be. You must look at ways of serving a larger number of people. Or you must look at ways of serving a smaller number of people with increasingly better, higher-priced, more exclusive offers that they will purchase.

If you're not earning what you think you should be earning, this is probably the problem – you're not thinking of it in terms of a business model.

Why is it important for artists to pursue collaborative opportunities? What qualities should they be looking for in collaborators? What benefits can artists expect to enjoy from collaborating?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares how you can grow your fan base through collaboration.

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Highlights:

00:17 – Seeking strategic collaborations

00:54 – The importance of starting where you are

01:28 – The illusion of the creator economy

02:21 – Your core audience is usually made up of people you know

03:15 – The passing of the torch

03:55 – Everyone has a platform

04:42 – When you collaborate with others, you attract different fans

05:06 – The right timing for collaboration

05:30 – What makes for a great collaborator?

Transcript:

Moving forward, I'm looking to produce a lot more music, and as a result, I'm also looking for more collaborators to work with.

I've had the opportunity to meet quite a few people, whether it's through the two-year intensive leadership program that I've been taking, or in the communities that I interact and engage with.

It's not necessarily that I need collaborators, more so that I see opportunities. As I look to collaborate with others, I recognize that they might have access to an audience or a fan base that I don't have.

I am often limited, and artists in general are often limited to their immediate vicinity. Even though we do live in the internet age, or the digital age and you can market to just about anyone across the world, the reality is you're better off starting where you are and finding your audience there. Because the only people who reliably come to your shows and buy your merch and become long-term fans are the people you've met versus those you haven't met.

The only people who reliably come to your shows and buy your merch and become long-term fans are the people you know.Share on X

Even though we have this illusion in the creator economy, gig economy, YouTuber culture of what's going on right now. A lot of people are just subscribing for superficial reasons to some of their favorite YouTubers and aren't necessarily there to buy things from them.

You think about OnlyFans or Patreon or some of these other private subscriptions that have popped up. Yes, there are people who care, but if you dig beneath the surface, you realize quickly that a lot of these subscriptions happen for very superficial reasons, right?

It's like if there's a YouTube model, and she's wearing more revealing outfits in her OnlyFans subscriptions, then people subscribe to that because they want the extra content.

Maybe it's a cynical point of view but I don't think it is. I've seen this whole thing repeat and play out repeatedly because I've been a part of so many communities.

What we've primarily seen is you might attract the occasional person who is part of the broader artistic community that pops up at events here and there. But for the most part, the audiences that pack out the events tend to be people that you know or people that are in that extended network.

Maybe, for example, if it's like the jazz community, then one of your hosts or somebody knows a bunch of musicians in the jazz community that you may not know. They’re naturally drawn to the event because of the other people who are showing up or the performers who are showing up to be a part of the event.

I played in churches years ago and there was sort of a passing of torch. I had Daniel Guy Martin on my first podcast, DAWCast: Music Entrepreneurship, many years back.

He was the one that I saw on stage at that church. He was the lead guitarist and played a pivotal role on the worship team as well.

Well, he passed the torch to me, and he told me – he was clear about this – that I would reach different people than he would be able to reach through that same platform and I think he turned out to be right.

So, when bands or artists collaborate, people aren't always drawn to the same person. There might be something about the band.

Like in Van Halen, people were naturally drawn towards Eddie Van Halen because of his extraordinary playing as well as his childlike giddiness on stage, unmatched by other guitarists.

People also know David Lee Roth, and they know Sammy Hagar, but outside of that, they might not necessarily be able to name the other band members.

I can, of course, and I would say anyone who likes Van Halen probably can, but I think you get what I'm saying here is that you're naturally drawn to different personalities and different acts.

People are naturally drawn to different personalities.Share on X

So therein lies one of the benefits of collaboration. You, yourself, are going to attract some people through your platform, but when you're working with others, especially people who are in distant geographical locations, you're going to attract, or they're going to attract, a different audience. And that convergence is where your total audience lives.

So far for me, these collaborations haven't quite panned out. I think there's a timing for everything. And the right timing isn't necessarily the moment you think, “Oh, this would be such a good idea.”

It may not be perfect timing, even if it is for you.

But I would say there are certain commonalities among those who don’t cut it.

I don't mean to be mean to anyone. Some of the people that I've thought about collaborating with were super busy with other projects, so it simply wasn't the right timing.

Whereas others, the opportunity was right in front of their face, but for some reason, they dropped off the map and weren't in communication.

I think the mistake that we so often make is that we think it's going to be our talent. And talent is sort of overrated anyway. I think skill is the right term for most people, but in this example, I'm equating the two.

So many people rely on or think that skill is going to be the thing that's going to make the difference in whether they're going to be chosen versus the other people who are perhaps competing for the same position.

And I can tell you categorically that's not the case. I am looking for people who are already demonstrating some skill. If they’re totally awful singers, why would I collaborate with them? I must wait for them to improve and maybe they'll never improve to the point of being able to work at this level.

If I'm going to collaborate with another guitarist, they better be phenomenal. I mean, preferably better than I am because then I can learn from them, but they're sort of a baseline. They better be good enough to be able to work together. But talent or skill alone just isn't it. I'm not saying it's not important. Like I said, it does play a role, but it's not the key factor.

I think the key factor in all this and having a collaboration work is somebody responsible. That's the big one. If they can show up. If they can stay in communication. If they can commit to some weekly jam or recording session. If they're able to follow through on what they said they're going to do.

It's all about mindset and attitude, isn't it? If they can do all those things, I can tell with a fair degree of certainty that that collaboration is going to pan out. And especially if there isn't any major pressure on it.

If we're just talking about an EP and a few shows, I think anybody with the right attitude is going to pull through.

Meanwhile, someone who maybe has more experience or talent and is demonstrating that side of things, but doesn't have the right attitude and doesn't show up, doesn't stay in communication, and doesn't follow through… It doesn't have much of a chance compared to someone ready to get going, who's hungry for it.

I don't know. I think it seems obvious, and yet a lot of artists don't get this. They need to look at themselves, how reliable are they? Can they be counted on? Do they show up early? With what kind of attitude are they ready to start working when they do show up? Or do they go on and on about their day and how bad it was?

It’s a cliché to say you’ve got to be a good hang, but that's a part of it for sure. So maybe you thought other people were being unfair and passing you up for a gig and never telling you why. Well, this could be it. It could be that you're not responsible. You're not reliable. You're not showing up when you're expected to show up.

You're not working when you're supposed to be working. Skill can be taught. Even if it takes a long time, but the thing that typically can't be taught is being an adult, being responsible, being reliable, having the right attitude. I can't sit there and coach anyone to have that, and I think that's a prerequisite.

I don't mourn any collaborations that haven't happened yet because of timing. I assume that at some point they will happen.

But I think in an instance where talent or skill is up against the right attitude, the right attitude is almost going to win every single time. No one wants to work with someone who’s flaky and can't be counted on.

In an instance where talent or skill is up against the right attitude, the right attitude is almost going to win every single time.Share on X

It seems like “best-selling” authors are everywhere. As with anything else, of course, some are lying about their accomplishments. But some are very genuine.

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David delves into the world of best-selling authors and whether they’re all gaming the system.

Sponsors:

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Highlights:

00:17 – Skepticism regarding best-selling authors

00:33 – Gaming the system

02:30 – The facts

02:57 – A great book

04:36 – Access to a significant following

06:27 – Access to resources

07:15 – You can’t achieve best-seller status without at least one advantage

08:04 – David’s experience

08:23 – Is your skepticism warranted?

09:41 – Seasons in business

11:39 – Different motivations for becoming a best-selling author

13:33 – Crabs in a bucket

Transcript:

Coming soon.

In a world where anything goes, and seemingly the “dumbest” things go viral, it can be discouraging creating quality content daily without seeing any kind of traction. So, what is there to do? Give up?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares the right mindset to adopt as you look to climb your social media mountain.

Sponsors:

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Highlights:

00:17 – Tricking your mind

01:14 – Avoiding discouragement

01:53 – Healthy detachment

02:15 – Publishing, testing, and iterating

03:28 – How to go viral

04:03 – Setting a hypothesis

04:22 – Avoiding analysis paralysis

04:53 – 100 days

Transcript:

Anything can hit, but it probably won't. And I know that sounds kind of goofy. It sounds kind of weird, but it's true.

And it helps us get into the right mindset. It tricks our mind into going, “Oh yeah, I need to keep producing. Because chances are whatever I throw out there today isn't necessarily going to grab a lot of attention.”

Unless you already have a history of engaged followers who like, comment, and share all your stuff.

But even then, I would posit, I would assert that people who follow your stuff aren't liking, commenting, and sharing it all the time. One post gets more traction than the other, am I right?

That’s how it works for everyone. Sure, some people get consistently one million views or one million likes on everything they publish, but the numbers still vary from one post to the next. Some are more resonant. That's the way it works.

For some it's a depressing thought, because they work hard at what they do and they want their next masterpiece to be the thing that everybody tunes into.

But you can look for example, after example. I mean, if you've listened to the podcasts I've listened to, you don't know how many experts and how many people say that the big, long-form article or piece of content that they’re producing that they expected go viral, didn't. And then this little thing that they never expected to go anywhere... A little idea they were throwing out into the universe suddenly blew up.

So, there’s something to healthy detachment. It's not like I'm saying don't spend time working on what you're working on. I think it's worth putting time and effort into everything.

But there is sort of a healthy detachment to reach, and I feel like this is one of those statements that can trick our mind into getting there:

“Anything could hit, but it probably won't.”

And if you wanted to take a little more of a scientific approach, I do recommend that. I'm not against data or anything like that. You could begin testing certain types of content, but ultimately, you're just going to have to come to the table with a ton of ideas and publish them one by one anyway, aren't you?

The easiest thing to do in that case is to Start making a big list of all your content ideas. “I could try this, I could try this, I could try this.” Some are going to take longer, some of them are going to be easier to perform, and there's not necessarily a right or wrong way to tackle that list. Whatever keeps you consistent, I think that's the key.

Once you have that list, it's about publish, publish, publish, like preferably daily. If you can't do daily, you can't do daily. That's just how things are, but preferably publish, publish, publish every day. Something new. Here's a video. Here's a live.

Keep to one form, don't jump all over the place with different mediums. That's probably not going to help you with platforms. Choose one – podcasting, blogging, or video content and publish daily.

And what usually happens… it could be day 93, it could be day 300, it could be day 1321. But at some point, one of those videos or pieces of content ends up resonating and connecting with people. It just ends up exploding and it provides more for you than anything else.

And that's all you need to get a big influx of customers or listeners or clients or whatever it is you're trying to get.

It certainly isn't about no strategy. It's more like setting a hypothesis based on what I'm seeing out there, based on what I've read and studied and looked at. The kinds of comments people are leaving. What I know about my audience, here are the things that I think are going to work. And then you go and test them.

That helps you avoid analysis paralysis as well, which is another common problem. Because some people like to spend a lot of time on that strategy. And that's not a bad thing. I do think it's a good idea to have a well-formed strategy and well-thought-through strategy. The problem usually comes when people expect perfectionism in executing that strategy.

So, they expect perfection in every piece of content and then it just takes them way too long to create any kind of momentum or traction or resonance with their audience.

So, the first step is you’ve got to do it for 100 days and see where it goes. Because many people do end up finding breakthroughs in those first 100 days, believe it or not.

You may not. The odds are against it because again, the title of this whole thing is “It could work, but it probably won't. It could hit, but it probably won't. And it could go viral, probably won't.”

And it's about having that healthy amount of detachment. Not so much that you don't care at all, but more so that you're in the mindset of, “Okay, tomorrow I’ve got to get up, and I’ve got to put something out there. And tomorrow, I’ve got to get up, and put something out there.”

Stay in that cycle until something happens.

There are many approaches to getting things done and cultivating productive habits. But not all of them work. Not all of them will support you in accomplishing what you’ve set out to do.

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares about his recent reading of The ONE Thing by Gary Keller.

Sponsors:

Clean Slate: The most exciting and inspirational New Year live music and multi-media event you’ve ever been to. Get your tickets now, before they’re gone!

Highlights:

00:17 – Why David didn’t get around to The ONE Thing until now

01:15 – Exploring productivity resources

01:45 – Getting back on track

02:15 – The psychological impact of a long to-do list

03:14 – A new practice that has worked for David

04:00 – Thinking about what one thing would make all others insignificant

04:28 – The impact of task switching

05:21 – A new approach to productivity

06:11 – Should you read The ONE Thing?

Transcript:

Coming soon.

We are all the captains of our destinies. The challenge is that, at times, we don’t want to steer that ship. We’d rather leave it to someone else or stick our heads in the sand and wait. Should we be surprised when our ship capsizes, especially when we leave it to chance?

In this episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, David shares what he’s noticed about the most effective leaders. Remember – in your artistic career, you are already a leader.

Sponsors:

Clean Slate: The most exciting and inspirational New Year live music and multi-media event you’ve ever been to. Get your tickets now, before they’re gone!

Highlights:

00:17 – A commonality among the most effective leaders

00:37 – We all have circumstances

01:45 – A choice in how we respond

02:14 – Effective leaders don’t let their circumstances dictate their commitments

03:06 – Problem-solving

04:03 – Not looking for sympathy

04:56 – Developing your leadership

05:20 – Showing up

Transcript:

Today I wanted to share about commonality I've seen among the most effective leaders that I know.

As you may know, I've been part of a two-year intensive leadership program. I'm in the second year in the third quarter, so basically one more quarter to go as we speak.

Here's one truth that nobody can seem to escape is that we all have circumstances. Things come up in life. And they always seem to come up when we're committed to something. It's almost as if the commitment itself is being tested. And we can either respond to it in a way that will allow us to continue to be true to the commitment that we've made, but it's also the crossroads at which a lot of people take the other path and give up and don't continue on, and choose not to fulfill all the commitments they've made to themselves.

You often hear people say, “Oh, it's just too hard. It's too hard.” So, they don't do it. And, oftentimes, all that was required was perseverance from them, but something took them out, right? It could have been a breakup, it could have been an illness, it could have been a car accident, it literally could have been anything.

I think in some cases it could literally be spilled milk and some people would be taken out by that. They go, “There's spilled milk on the floor and that's the needle that broke the camel's back.”

And I think here's the thing that we sometimes miss completely that we have a choice in almost everything. If we're tired, we should sleep. If we're sick, we should manage our well being. If we're hungry, we should go eat.

And if we can't figure out where and how to fit these things in, it's usually a matter of planning and prioritization, and not a matter of, “Oh, I can't fit it in because there's not enough time.”

Time being democratic, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. So effective leaders don't let their circumstances dictate their actions and commitments. If for some reason they're not able to fulfill on the commitments they've made, then they will be in communication about that fact as early as possible.

Effective leaders don't let their circumstances dictate their actions and commitments.Share on X

And if there's no way to reschedule the deadline or event or project or whatever it may be, then it's about making reparations then and there.

It could be anything. It could be a gift card. It could be sending the client flowers. It could be apologizing. But something is done then and there to repair the situation so it's not lingering for anyone and it's complete.

So, the best leaders follow up and follow through on the things that they've committed to. Their circumstances don't dictate it. They find a way that has it work. And if it absolutely doesn't work, like, if you were planning to be on a Zoom call, and your computer broke down, and your laptop broke down, and your tablet broke down, and you smashed your smartphone, you could still go to the library.

The best leaders follow up and follow through on the things that they've committed to.Share on X

But if your car broke down, you could still go to the neighbors and request to use their computer for half an hour. Sure, it might be weird, but in the world of problem solving, that is the best way to think about it.

So, in most scenarios, not in every… There are scenarios that are excusable. There are scenarios that are far outside of your control that you could do nothing about. But it overwhelmingly in most situations, you can choose to find a way or you can give up.

So, the most effective leaders, they may share about their circumstances. They don't necessarily share them to get sympathy or empathy from people.

They say it as a matter of fact, because that is the what is so, that is what's occurring in the world, that is what's happening in their world, but they're not making a lot of story and significance and meaning out of it. So, they show up anyway.

It's like, “Yeah, I was sick today. Not feeling my best. Starting to feel better. I showed up anyway.” Like, that would be it. That would be the end of the conversation. No sympathy or acknowledgement needed. Some people might anyway, and that's fine. But they're not stating what is a matter of fact… They're not stating the what is so just to get something out of someone else. They just show up. Do the work anyway. That's what the most effective leaders do.

But I am acknowledging that it can take a while to get to that point. You may not be that kind of leader fresh out of the egg. It may take you a while to develop your character and your integrity and your ability to problem solve when you need to problem solve so that you can always be meeting all the commitments that you've made.

And what is it about these leaders that makes them so effective? Part of it is the fact that they recognize that everyone has circumstances. Like, really, don't we? We all have circumstances. You can say, “Oh, you know, I only slept three hours last night and I'm tired and exhausted.” You know what? There's somebody in that room that could probably one up you that's not speaking.

They may have had an hour of sleep. They may have had 15 minutes of sleep. But they're not sitting there talking about it. They showed up because they made the commitment.

So, decide to be an effective leader. Don't have circumstances and situations take you out, because I can assure you that the most effective leaders don't. They don't let those things get in the way.

Don't have circumstances and situations take you out.Share on X