Saturday, June 18, 2011

A New Concept for Self Management


Something very interesting came to light in a recent Career Strategy seminar. Although we usually perceive our career challenges to be a result of the music industry not allowing us to move ahead, in fact my experience has shown me that if we are having trouble reaching our goals the actual place to look should be ourselves. Our Fears. Our Beliefs. Our own Behaviors.

Taking responsibility for our part in the forward motion of our careers is the single most important factor in success in this business. After all we have no control over outside circumstances but we can in fact make changes within ourselves that could hugely influence our ability to move ahead in this industry.

Perhaps this suggests a new concept around the term "self management"!

When I look back at any of the "mistakes" or misguided moments in my career there is usually my own inability to gain a larger perspective at the bottom of the situation.
When the stakes are high we usually explode with expectations both of ourselves and the people who are supposed to be helping us. We become full of anger and disappointment when things don't go our way, sometimes sustaining irreparable damage in the process.
Regardless of whether folks are really on our team, we become deeply suspicious of their loyalty, their abilities and their desire to see us succeed. This only leads to the kind of break down of communication where no one seems to be working towards the same objective and start fighting with each other instead of towards a united goal.
Almost all of us could think of a time when if we had stepped back and gained a larger perspective we could have acted with more clarity about the situation. It's only our fears and insecurities that keep our perspective small.
Reaching our goals should never be done at the expense of our decency or our humanity…and certainly never by treating people badly. That only works when we have leverage of some kind, and people might be letting us get away with it..but believe me they are talking behind our backs and the word gets out fast.
Do you want to be the person everyone "puts up with"? (and only as long as the cash is flowing!) Believe me you don't want to be on the receiving end of the pay back once your wave has crested (and they all do) and you are the other side of perceived "success" having treated people with arrogance and impatience. Trust me, people have long memories in this industry.

Diva behavior is just fear disguised as arrogance. Everyone knows it.

"Self Management" is about staying healthy inside so your sense of self isn't dependent on the outside circumstances of your career. Dig into your self and see where you feel strong and where you feel weak. Put your attention on straightening your sense of self there and you will create the kind of attractive powerful calm and peaceful energy that will attract all kinds of people and situations to you.

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