I’m speaking this morning in Los Angeles on the subject of making music in noisy world.
Truly, we either make noise or we make music with our lives.
Noise is rarely noticed in a world full of a billion tweets, pokes, pins, texts, products, and ideas.
Music, on the other hand, the masses can’t seem to get enough of.
I love the guy that is unashamed on the dance floor.
I would like to offer you the invitation to be that guy/girl.
You are free to be WHO you are and move HOW you like/love in the marketplace (dance floor).
Just keep dancing to the music you’re hearing and making the moves that feel right.
The masses may not be getting it, but slowly – if you are notable, getting talked about, being pointed at, and sometimes even being mocked…you are on your way becoming a very desirable dance partner in the marketplace.
Watch musicians while playing with their instruments.
Musicians make funny faces. Musicians have weird moves. Musicians have their eyes wide open. Musicians move with their eyes shut.
Now turn and watch the musician’s fans…they are not bothered by the weirdness. Actually, they promote it – talk about it – sometimes even reenact it. The strange ways of the musician are why the fan buy his album, his shirt, and the ticket to his show.
Remember, our instruments make our music and our music tells our story.
The marketplace gives you a lot of freedom to be you when your instruments are in hand.
Let the music play.
At some point we will realize “we” have no control over the stock market, what Google will do next, why our neighbor won’t mow his yard, or even the election.
However, we can control our thoughts, our dreams, our ideas, our actions, and even our reactions.
Grasping the idea that these things can be held and controlled should lead us to forming them well, protecting them better, and sharing them in the right places – with the right people.
We call those wanderers who are constantly jaded in managing the control panels of the world they think they can maneuver. These guys get out of bed, jump on to the hamster wheel, and stay on until bedtime.
We call those leaders who are in constant pursuit of making what is inside of them physical in this world. These guys constantly refine, define, and disect the controllable.
What you can’t control doesn’t deserve an ounce of your thinking. What you can control deserves every ounce of your being.
And while we’re on it, the concept that the weight of the world can fit on your shoulders is a misnomer.
A big world requires a big voice to be heard.
Just a few short decades ago the world was huge, spread out, and humanity was not fully connected.
A spread out world needs televisions, newspapers, and radios to let the masses know what’s up, what’s down, and what bleach can make Dad’s undershirts the whitest.
In the flip of a switch the world shrank, all humans connected, and billions of neighborhoods (web sites) configured into one zip code – 9021WorldWideWeb.
Ever since that switch was flipped, billions have been migrating this zip code exchanging, questioning, searching, sharing, and learning.
A world that operates as a neighborhood dilutes the efficiency of the mass media mediums.
This is not an argument against marketing. This is plea to redefine marketing. The old definition has simply lost its mojo.
Welcome to the neighborhood. Please use your inside voice. Your whisper will be heard over the others screaming.
…..and a few other rules should you decide to pitch your tent in the hood: Be nice, build lasting relationships, and be yourself.
Ashton.Gustafson 