What's Your Biggest Failure?

Gave a talk on radio syndication last week and a guy in the audience asked me if I had ever had any ideas that didn't work.

The answer is in this short video...

Take 8 minutes and 19 seconds to watch it.  When you're done, post your biggest failure below...

Comments

[misskristin@misskristin.com]

Honestly,
I cannot think of any...
now this may be due to the fact that i learn from every experience...

[Timothy Dark]

I'd have to agree with Miss Kristin and say that I can't say I've had any "failures" just learning experiences.

TD

[J. Adams]

Failure is a/on continuum; currently my biggest failure is not clearly seeing the answers to questions I have verbally yet to ask.

[drew Roberts]

Something along the same lines:

Fail Early, Fail Often - http://newmusicstrategies.com/2009/03/06/fail-early-fail-often/

From over at New Music Strategies.

all the best,

drew

[Mark Shepard]

My biggest failure was buying a bunch of houses for nothgint down at the top of the 1980's real estate bubble. I did it so I could be rich enough to market my music...:o) when I ended up bankrupt and homeless...I started playing kid songs for schools. so ultimately my biggest failure led me to actually making a living as a musician...

Mark Shepard http://MarkShepardSongs.com

[Stephen Monroe]

Are you all Zen Bhuddists?? It is not that it didn't work that I see it is the eternal light of day that continues to burn from the soul of the desimated abivalence of the two of life.....
I trusted people that had no work ethic. I put my musical life into the hands of a drugs and took all the drippings and told myself it will work when egos took over for work and treating people like they don't matter was swept under the table. All in the name of music....which it wasn't. It was an excuse to party. I had lost my best friend and now I ended up in a room over an appliance store sharing the bathroom with winos. It was my fault and I didn't take responsiblity for it and do something about it until it caved in on me.

[Christopher Thomas]

not giving it 150% every waking second of my life....

[Gord Yelich]

My biggest mistake, has been to allow space for negative thoughts. I became critical about my music, and the whole industry. These 'projections,' and this inner tightness that I felt, all but shut down any progress, growth and kept key connections and relationships from happening. My frustrations, and the negative 'conclusions' that I came to about the music industry, the 'fickleness of fans' permeated and came to the forefront of consciousness regarding music... these things always came up in conversations. I talked about how difficult it was to 'make it' in music, especially in Canada, and especially if you're an original artist, not doing covers, not playing music that people would like to drink to in bars etc. This thinking tired me out. It wasn't 'the industry, other people that was causing my troubles... it was me. I remember playing at a convention centre with a few other bands. They were playing one of my CD's at a break before I had performed. A female vocalist who I had been talking with, (whining to), referring to my music said... Is that you? If that's what you sound like, and you haven't been able to make it in this business, you have a problem. Something inside you is blocking your success. It's you!
So, I have a day job now. I've continued to write but I haven't gigged or performed much, but when I have, it's been great. I still want to sing and be an artist for a living, but have lightened up about how it can happen. I'm focussing on the inner game. Jewel had success so quickly in her career, compared to others, and I think it had a lot to do with the attitudes and thoughts of her and her mother, who is her manager. A great book to read is The Architecture of all Abundance by Lenedra Carral, Jewel's mom.
I have a lot of enthusiasm for the music I'm creating now, and the art projects that I'm involved with. I'm excited about the future. I don't allow myself to dwell on negative thoughts. Sometimes I catch myself being critical, and I notice how distasteful it is. I'm really grateful for new information like what's being offered on this blog. The internet has changed the music industry, and I think for the better, especially once we learn how to navigate in it. Music can be such a powerful benefit to lives, a gift, a catalyst, inspiration, really an integral part of life itself. When we are inspired, as artists to create, it's primarily for these purposes, to share, to uplift, to impart a message, for the betterment of humankind. What better invention, to share and distribute art, especially music to the masses, around the world, than the internet. Never in history have musicians, songwriters been in a better position to have our songs heard by more people, so easily. We're in a truly great time of opportunity. As well, if there are troubling times ahead for humanity, our talents and art will be greatly needed.
I'd like to thank David Hooper for putting all this information together... a really great service to all.

[Jackie Stanwood]

My biggest mistake was sending my music to Nashvile.

[Doctor Oakroot]

Probably not my worst failure, but one that jumps to mind:

In my first serious band, I let the drummer - a pretty slick salesman - do the booking. He lied to the venues about our (then very very small) draw. Took me a couple of years to figure out why no one wanted to book us again.

[Michael Brinkley]

My biggest failure, was not completing college. Now I am forced to give 125% of my Time, Efforts, and Energy....rather than balancing it with Brains.

[Michael Annotti]

My biggest failure was taking peoples opinions personal, until I read a book called The Four Agreements, I would spend time arguing with people I didn't agree with, now I've learned to let it go, and that they are only talking about themself.

[Joe]

i am a successful car dealer in New York using my profits to finance and manage a rock band. After 10 years of showcasing and member changes we inked a deal with UMG Island Records. Everything was Great, went in the studio cut the record did all our PR (magazines,radio shows,records stores) THEN when the record was slated to be released our A&R person called us and said Guys the record company is being sold to a whisky company and everyone is losing there jobs and artists are being cut.The new owners loved the band.(OK so the team of people at the record company that we got close to that belived in us were all gone)We managed to release the record and go on tour, we were on tour with some of the biggest headliners in the business.We were on the road for 3 months supporting our new record We were # 10 on billboard. We were a self contained power house. Another problem came about the record company stoped producing records for us to sell,we had no product on the road. and our PR field staff were all fired we were on our own. Now were playing 6 nights a week doing PR on our own booking radio shows driving, hauling gear. We did this for 21 months opening for head liners doing one offs we would not give up,untill our tour support was pulled. I wish there was a happy ending to this story but there isn't.. Remember this, if you get in the music business make sure you can do everything yourself.

[Greer]

What happened Jackie?

[Ryan Wise]

I lived in NY for over 20 years and spent lots of that time hitting parties and clubs. I've met producers, dj's, talent agents and even Seymour Stein. Although I learned a lot from the different music scenes I never really payed attention to the people I was meeting daily, I was so focused on the music. Living further from NY and starting my own music company makes me realize how valuable all those connections may have been. Not staying connected is my biggest failure.

[Vikki Flawith]

My biggest mistake? I used beat myself up for not starting sooner. For not standing up for myself when I was in school. For eating too much. For doing too little. My biggest mistake was believing the messages I got from other people, messages that seemed to say I was stupid, lazy, wierd, ugly, worthless. That made me think I was unworthy of love, and certainly not good enough to be a wife or mother or manager of my section. My biggest mistake was buying into the idea that you can't do art for a living (people still try to tell you that, while you're standing there making a living at it). Human beings are complex. I was able to heal from these things and move forward from them by *doing music*. I'm certainly not a perfect human being, I certainly make mistakes. My hard drive is full of musical tracks that went nowhere. My bedroom is stacked with canvasses, illustrations of ideas that dried up. I have the half-finished books and scripts. But I consider these educational experiments, playing, trying things out, doing art for the sake of doing art. My biggest mistake is when I think too much about the end product, what other people might say about what I'm doing. If I can focus on the moment and trust my instincts... who knows where I will end up.

[shea breaux]

My biggest mistake has been dropping out of college and having a mental breakdown. I've been putting my music dreams on the back burner out of fear of success and becoming successful and having the skeletons in my closet exposed to the light. Up till now it was the negative thoughts and beliefs that I've been holding onto since childhood that have been the biggest mistake that I've made. Now as I'm unlearning these negativisms, I still find myself thinking "why did I wait so long? I'm gonna be 40 in 5 more years, how am I gonna make it in this business?" Then again that's another negative thought and belief that I'm doing my best to master and overcome.

[tracy]

starting and not have the confidence to continue no mater what. When I was 24 just out of college I was the new kid the up and comer in the jazz world in 1985 ( jazz almost imploded) so I started to do cassuals with a known band. The worst 10 yrs of my life. when I finally left, My skills had shrunk to the point of not beeing able to play anything. I do not want to go back there again

[Damian Sol]

My biggest failure has been quitting a process because it seemed impossible, or I felt I wasn't good enough or didn't deserve success. I have repeated this many times over the years, and I have just recently learned that the most critical element to succeeding at something you are passionate about is -- DON'T GIVE UP.

Sometimes the only way to know if a thing is worth doing or not is to succeed at it first. By going through that process, by not giving up on it, you will learn what you need to learn to either: A) Do it again for more success, or B) set it aside in favor of something better.

[Cheech Barry]

I think my biggest failures were the fact that I surrounded my self with people who always had the devils advocate side of things. People who questioned there own faith in themselves. Failure happens 90% of the time because we talk ourselves into it or are coached into it. Positive Faith in the mind to complete a job or a show or a song is what we need to consistently think about. If someone in your band or company is being negative to progression needs to be bypassed so you can reach your goals. Try and learn from what you do RIGHT and not what you do wrong.

Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what
happens to you. - Aldous Huxley

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth -- not
going all the way, and not starting. - Buddha