Being successful is more stressful than being unsuccessful.
You don't believe me? Picture this.
Imagine you get a call today from someone at Sony saying, "We want to fly you out to New York tomorrow morning to sign a deal with us.
And oh yeah, you're going to go on tour real soon.
" I could bet you a million bucks you'd absolutely crap your pants if that happened to you.
Yeah, that's right, you'd crap your pants.
Not when you got that call, but when you started doing all the things the label required of you.
"But not me," you say.
"I know I can handle the pressure because I'm hungry.
" Let me just reiterate, you'd crap your pants.
Why? Because real success is very different from what you think it is.
It doesn't just happen.
You see, handling success at any level takes much more than being "hungry.
" I always love the guys who say stuff like, "Yo, when I sign that deal and make it man, I'm gonna' roll my sleeves up, put my feet up and chill.
" One of the problems with the way many people think about success is that they believe there's a thing called "making it," or a point you arrive at where you can say you've "made it.
" Let me let you in on a little secret.
There isn't.
It's made up, like unicorns and goblins.
How many one hit wonders are roaming around out there? Hell, VH1 has an entire show around the idea.
Nobody's indispensable.
People don't understand that the real work begins once you've signed the record deal.
But even if you're a megastar, you can lose all your money in an instant if you don't act smart.
And these days, with the major label deal becoming a thing of the past, attaining even modest success will mean spending years laying a foundation, brick by brick, for what is going to become your money making record label.
It takes far more than being hungry to do that.
Being hungry and motivated is crucial, but not enough.
It takes one very particular quality to be successful that very few people possess; not just in music, but in general.
And it's why so few people ever get what they truly want out of life.
Without it, you can kiss success goodbye.
Let me illustrate what this quality is by telling you a little story about a guy that this one friend of mine was producing a few years ago.
This kid was a young, 21 year old impressionable rapper.
I mean, talent-wise, this kid was a virtuoso.
He had the sickest flow this side of the Atlantic.
He also had qualities anyone could ever hope for in an artist; charisma, the right look, experience and that all important "X" factor.
Together, they recorded about 10 songs and got incredible responses to the first 3 singles.
These songs were so impressive that within about a week after the last song was done, they were on their way to meet with record executives at Arista, Sony, Def Jam, and Capitol.
The meetings went well.
There was a feeling of electricity in the air after the meetings went down because for the first time, these guys felt they had a real shot at major success.
But here's what went down.
The next day my friend calls the rapper into the studio to discuss the previous day's meetings.
The guy shows up in the studio high on coke.
My friend asks him what the hell he's doing.
He says, "I feel like we've made it and I just felt like celebrating.
" It turned out this kid had a mild recreational drug habit nobody really knew about and it spiraled into a full fledged habit once he began to feel the potential of success.
It ended up destroying him professionally.
This kid was a lyrical phenomenon, but he absolutely lacked that most valuable of qualities called discipline.
The only thing that will turn hunger and motivation into tangible success is discipline.
Many, many, many people lack it, and they blame their failures on outside things.
And it's the main reason most people fail at achieving their dreams.
They lack discipline.
You want to know why Lil Jon, who produces some of the worst music, is so successful? Because he planned well and was very disciplined about his product.
He knew that once he blew up, he would have to quickly flood the market with song after song to keep his brand at the front of people's minds.
And he did so like a fusillade of gunfire.
He did so because he knew that that's what the market demanded of him.
And arguing with the market is suicide.
Here's a practical suggestion for how to maintain iron discipline in your daily life and get things done consistently and well: DEADLINES.
As inherently lazy creatures, we need deadlines to be effective.
Do you know why most albums never get done? Because there's no deadline.
Because people make vague plans about doing this and that.
And it never happens because there's no deadline.
Don't cut yourself any slack.
That just makes you a slave to your emotions.
Be brutal on yourself.
You should feel bad about yourself when you miss a deadline.
Why? Because it protects you from yourself.
Real life ain't like high school where you can come up with excuses like, "My dog ate my homework.
" The universe doesn't care about your excuses and you end up losing if you don't act.
Get yourself some sticky pads and a pen and turn your life into a series of to do lists with strict deadlines.
At the end of each day, think about what needs to be accomplished tomorrow and write it down.
It's the only way to make yourself accountable and disciplined and it will do wonders for your career.
You don't believe me? Picture this.
Imagine you get a call today from someone at Sony saying, "We want to fly you out to New York tomorrow morning to sign a deal with us.
And oh yeah, you're going to go on tour real soon.
" I could bet you a million bucks you'd absolutely crap your pants if that happened to you.
Yeah, that's right, you'd crap your pants.
Not when you got that call, but when you started doing all the things the label required of you.
"But not me," you say.
"I know I can handle the pressure because I'm hungry.
" Let me just reiterate, you'd crap your pants.
Why? Because real success is very different from what you think it is.
It doesn't just happen.
You see, handling success at any level takes much more than being "hungry.
" I always love the guys who say stuff like, "Yo, when I sign that deal and make it man, I'm gonna' roll my sleeves up, put my feet up and chill.
" One of the problems with the way many people think about success is that they believe there's a thing called "making it," or a point you arrive at where you can say you've "made it.
" Let me let you in on a little secret.
There isn't.
It's made up, like unicorns and goblins.
How many one hit wonders are roaming around out there? Hell, VH1 has an entire show around the idea.
Nobody's indispensable.
People don't understand that the real work begins once you've signed the record deal.
But even if you're a megastar, you can lose all your money in an instant if you don't act smart.
And these days, with the major label deal becoming a thing of the past, attaining even modest success will mean spending years laying a foundation, brick by brick, for what is going to become your money making record label.
It takes far more than being hungry to do that.
Being hungry and motivated is crucial, but not enough.
It takes one very particular quality to be successful that very few people possess; not just in music, but in general.
And it's why so few people ever get what they truly want out of life.
Without it, you can kiss success goodbye.
Let me illustrate what this quality is by telling you a little story about a guy that this one friend of mine was producing a few years ago.
This kid was a young, 21 year old impressionable rapper.
I mean, talent-wise, this kid was a virtuoso.
He had the sickest flow this side of the Atlantic.
He also had qualities anyone could ever hope for in an artist; charisma, the right look, experience and that all important "X" factor.
Together, they recorded about 10 songs and got incredible responses to the first 3 singles.
These songs were so impressive that within about a week after the last song was done, they were on their way to meet with record executives at Arista, Sony, Def Jam, and Capitol.
The meetings went well.
There was a feeling of electricity in the air after the meetings went down because for the first time, these guys felt they had a real shot at major success.
But here's what went down.
The next day my friend calls the rapper into the studio to discuss the previous day's meetings.
The guy shows up in the studio high on coke.
My friend asks him what the hell he's doing.
He says, "I feel like we've made it and I just felt like celebrating.
" It turned out this kid had a mild recreational drug habit nobody really knew about and it spiraled into a full fledged habit once he began to feel the potential of success.
It ended up destroying him professionally.
This kid was a lyrical phenomenon, but he absolutely lacked that most valuable of qualities called discipline.
The only thing that will turn hunger and motivation into tangible success is discipline.
Many, many, many people lack it, and they blame their failures on outside things.
And it's the main reason most people fail at achieving their dreams.
They lack discipline.
You want to know why Lil Jon, who produces some of the worst music, is so successful? Because he planned well and was very disciplined about his product.
He knew that once he blew up, he would have to quickly flood the market with song after song to keep his brand at the front of people's minds.
And he did so like a fusillade of gunfire.
He did so because he knew that that's what the market demanded of him.
And arguing with the market is suicide.
Here's a practical suggestion for how to maintain iron discipline in your daily life and get things done consistently and well: DEADLINES.
As inherently lazy creatures, we need deadlines to be effective.
Do you know why most albums never get done? Because there's no deadline.
Because people make vague plans about doing this and that.
And it never happens because there's no deadline.
Don't cut yourself any slack.
That just makes you a slave to your emotions.
Be brutal on yourself.
You should feel bad about yourself when you miss a deadline.
Why? Because it protects you from yourself.
Real life ain't like high school where you can come up with excuses like, "My dog ate my homework.
" The universe doesn't care about your excuses and you end up losing if you don't act.
Get yourself some sticky pads and a pen and turn your life into a series of to do lists with strict deadlines.
At the end of each day, think about what needs to be accomplished tomorrow and write it down.
It's the only way to make yourself accountable and disciplined and it will do wonders for your career.
SHARE
