b, 21I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret: success, especially in the entertainment fields, has almost nothing to do with talent, and almost everything to do with persistence. Not saying that there are no talented people out there, but talent does not play as big a role as hard work. I mean, the Beatles were all good musicians, but none of them by themselves were facemelters. The fact that they had a gig in Germany playing 7 nights a week for hours on hours each night just made them one of the best rehearsed bands out there. So-called 'geniuses' in any field of accomplishment have more failures than successes throughout their lifetime, they just don't let the failures get to them and keep working at it until they succeed. One great success can wipe the memory of 100 failures from people's minds.
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b, 21
b, 21This is most of it. Jay-Z, for example, was 27 when
Reasonable Doubt came out. Not exactly young by rap standards. He never stopped trying though, and look at him now!b, 21Part of it is luck, too, though. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.b, 21b, 21h, 21
font class="post"1b, 21b, 21aspiring novelists can look to Nobel winner Jose Saramago, who didn't see much success until well into his 50s.
b, 21you sound like a twelve year old that isn't sure about his sexual orientation yet.
b, 21what's your job then?
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font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I'm a professional bi-curious pre-teen.b, 21What's yours, big boy?b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" 21
I BEGAN A CAREER IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYb, 21b, 21partly true i guess.. really i don't think i've really hungered for that kind of success in music. i've just kind of kept it a casual hobby and enjoyed it that way. maybe it's in the cards for me down the road.. if not, i won't be mad. right now i got babies to feed = priority numero uno.. daydreams can wait
b, 21I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret: success, especially in the entertainment fields, has almost nothing to do with talent, and almost everything to do with persistence. Not saying that there are no talented people out there, but talent does not play as big a role as hard work. I mean, the Beatles were all good musicians, but none of them by themselves were facemelters. The fact that they had a gig in Germany playing 7 nights a week for hours on hours each night just made them one of the best rehearsed bands out there. So-called 'geniuses' in any field of accomplishment have more failures than successes throughout their lifetime, they just don't let the failures get to them and keep working at it until they succeed. One great success can wipe the memory of 100 failures from people's minds.
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b, 21Part of it is luck, too, though. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
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font class="post"1b, 21b, 21also true. This dude Malcolm Gladwell (I got the beatles reference from one of his interviews) has been getting the press rounds lately with his new book that talks about the hard work+luck formula for successful people. He was a guest on Stephen Colbert last week and here is an interesting factoid:b, 21b, 21in 1969 Bill Gates had a computer terminal at his school. how many kids in 1969 had that? 1!
font class="post"1b, 21b, 21LoLb, 21b, 21I think NZ did actually have that job at one point. (well minus the pre-teen bit) b, 21b, 21b, 21/ The Internet - be all you can be.
font class="post"1b, 21b, 21So did Bowie in about 85 but it hasn't stopped him continuing to release stuff. I guess he now has obligations to the investors in those Bowie Bonds he issued some years back. Gotta keep that back catalogue bouyant.b, 21b, 21I'd have settled for some ersatz immortality in the form of a 45 or album that gets slept on for 30 years and then becomes a grail. Wish I'd done that BITD. Might do it one day soon, just to be able to say I released a record.b, 21So neccessary.
Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
Hey,b, 21b, 21Honestly, I suppose a major reason why I didn't strive to "make happen, baby" was a lack of parental support. I was into music very young, playing drums at age 5. I was an All-State Band drummer (in NC) by the age of 13. I played in adult bands from age 13 to about 16 years old; however, a number of factors stifled my dream of a career in music:b, 21b, 211. My parents re-decorated my room leaving little space for my drumset (which I ended up selling at age 17).b, 21b, 212. My mom criticized my emphasis on music (as a waste of time), and pushed me to go to college.b, 21b, 213. I was living in North Carolina, not exactly a music mecca in the mid to late 80's.b, 21b, 214. Despite being awarded the "Most Musically Inclined" as a senior superlative in high school, I couldn't see the utility in being a music major in college (in North Carolina).b, 21b, 215. I didn't have the guts to move to NYC as suggested by an A&R lady at Idolmakers Management (big up Jillian Rogers!!!) to pursue a production career. When this suggestion came, I was a senior in college and didn't want to piss off my parents (who footed the bill and I lived at home) by leaving short of graduation. Jillian wanted to sign my group Birds of a Feather, but the deal never came to fruition (financial-related).b, 21b, 21So, like has been said previously, I decided to go the path more often traveled, opting for the stability and financial security of a "traditional" career. Now, I'm old, secure, and not crazy enough to take the risks necessary to "make it." I have a wife and pooch to take care of and a mortgage to pay. Now, I just make beats at the crib and hopefully someone with influence will hear them and buy some beats off me. I wish I could get lucky like Switch and hand my CD (or tape in their situation) to an artist I happen to meet in an elevator (in their case, Jermaine Jackson). img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoa.gif" alt="" 21b, 21b, 21Peace,b, 21b, 21Big Stacks from Kakalak
Hey Big Stacksb, 21b, 21great analysis.b, 21Seems like you had a real shot at the main chance for a while back there.b, 21Any bitterness towards your folks for their stance, or do you feel it was down to you for accepting the situation?b, 21b, 21Music is littered with stories of kids not accepting those parental limitations and striking gold, but we never hear of the thousands more who similarly rebelled but didn't make the grade.b, 21b, 21I recently came across a guy called Bobby, who used to play various brass in an 80s UK pop band called Roman Holiday ("Don't Try To Stop It" - anyone??).b, 21After a couple of chart successes, the band faded and he's now a bank clerk.b, 21He said those few years were great, but if he knew then what he knows now he would have rather spent them building his current career into something more meaningful.
Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
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b, 21Hey Big Stacks
b, 21
b, 21great analysis.
b, 21Seems like you had a real shot at the main chance for a while back there.
b, 21Any bitterness towards your folks for their stance, or do you feel it was down to you for accepting the situation?
b, 21
b, 21Music is littered with stories of kids not accepting those parental limitations and striking gold, but we never hear of the thousands more who similarly rebelled but didn't make the grade.
b, 21
b, 21I recently came across a guy called Bobby, who used to play various brass in an 80s UK pop band called Roman Holiday ("Don't Try To Stop It" - anyone??).
b, 21After a couple of chart successes, the band faded and he's now a bank clerk.
b, 21He said those few years were great, but if he knew then what he knows now he would have rather spent them building his current career into something more meaningful.
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font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Hey Skel,b, 21b, 21I used to hold bitterness toward my mother not supporting my musical talents when I was younger. She would belittle my hip-hop production asking why I wasted my time doing it. Ultimately, I had a window to go pursue some work in production up in NYC, but I opted to play it safe and appease my parents. I should've been on some Jodeci shit and just go up to the city and give it a shot. Oh well, that's water under the bridge and I should be thankful that I have a stable career and family that loves me; however, there is that part of me that wonders what would've happened if I jetted to NYC, waited tables, and passed around beat tapes at hip-hop events. Could I have been part of that "golden age" of hip-hop producers in the 90's, ala Pete Rock, Primo, The Beatnuts, Large Pro, Beatminerz, Dilla (and Ummah), etc.? I always thought of how much better my production could have been if I had the opportunity to fully devote my time to it. Yet, I guess stability trumped fancy in my case.b, 21b, 21Peace,b, 21b, 21Big Stacks from Kakalak
In my opinion, if you can't be happy with not being successful. Then you were probably most likely in it for the wrong reasons anyways. b, 21b, 21I'm in 3 bands, I lead 2 and I'm support in the third. b, 21b, 21If I don't make it to led zeppelin, I could give a F*ck. b, 21b, 21- spidey
Thing that surprised me when I was playing the most gigs (90s) was the amount of really talented people that are out there. b, 21b, 21I remember being blown away by an unknown band who were obviously world-class standard on their instruments. I asked if they'd had any shots at the Big Time and how come I'd not heard of them.b, 21b, 21It was because they were all postmen from Edinburgh. Gigging was their weekend footy match.b, 21b, 21Most of the musicians I was impressed by were either students or working people, happy to have the opportunity to play what they wanted rather than cash in their soul for a ticket on the Fame Bus (Max Capacity: V. Limited, standing)b, 21b, 21A few of my contemporaries have gotten world tours, sideman gigs with better-known mainstream acts, but they seem to have nowt to show for it other than toxic ex-wives, and have had to endure living in rented rooms for years on end in the meantime.b, 21b, 21It must be a blast touring the world in your 20s with no obligations on your time/money to wives, kids or mortgages but if you have that in place already, and decide to pursue the touring/working musician lifestyle at that point, expect the family to fall apart and folls to label you with the flake/no-good dad/mid-life crisis dude tags.
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