If you were going to start a rock band, and you wanted to be successful and sell number 1 hits and be awesome, how would you do that?
Becoming a Rockstar
There are really two approaches to becoming a rockstar, and they're very related to how we do business.
Method A:
The first approach is to want to do things right away. These people want to take an approach that's like this:
“I'm going to be a rock star, so I'm going to play gigs, I'm going to play events 6 nights a week and I'm going to work really hard. I'm going to hustle, I'm going to grind, and I'm going to do this for a year. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably run out of money, so I guess I won't be a rock star.”
And that method does work sometimes for some people, and if it does, it can be awesome. You hear about people who become an overnight success and they work so hard and everything happens in a very short period of time.
But if you know anything about music, you know that most people don't reach the level of being able to perform at a rock star level in less than a year, even if they already have all the skills they need.
Method B:
There's another approach that could be taken and this one says,
“I'm going to give this a longer time, but I'm going to balance it out. I'm only going to play gigs twice a week, but I'm going to choose the best venues to play at. And, because I'm only playing events twice a week, I can keep a job and pay my bills because the music's not making any money for me yet. And because I'm doing that, I can open my time window to 2 years, 5 years or even the rest of my life, because now I found a way to make my dream come true by allowing a longer time window for it to happen.”
Of course, neither way guarantees you will or won't become a famous rock star. However, while the first approach might sound romantic and like the plot of a movie, it doesn’t work out all that often.
Finding a Balance
Although it can seem like famous rock stars, authors, athletes, entrepreneurs, or any other celebrities have become overnight successes, most of the time they’ve taken years to do it and along the way, they figured out a way to pay their bills.
They also figured out a way to honor their obligations and because of that, people supported them. So when they had an event, there were all these people around them supporting them, rather than the person who says, “Forget everybody, this is all about me. I'm getting my dream. Everybody else, I'm going to borrow money from you, but I'm not going to do any work that serves you.” That’s just tunnel vision, and once again, it usually doesn’t work out.
If you're looking at your business and you're thinking that you're going to be successful within a year – that, while starting from scratch, you're going to make the income you want and work the hours you want and have the lifestyle you want, within a short period of time, that’s probably not going to happen. Most people just don't get all that done in a year.
In fact, statistically, after 5 years, most entrepreneurs fail. They're just completely out of business and they have to go back and get a job.
This is not to say ”Don't dream big.” This is to say “Make dreams that are big, but be more like the farmer.” The farmer plants seeds and expects that things are going to come over time, rather than somebody that just shows up and hopes that something's going to happen immediately.
There's a better way you can approach things, and this is where you're constantly increasing your game. You're getting better at what you do, you're building relationships, you're building networks, and you're building your ability to earn an income. You’re allowing for a more natural progression that allows you to constantly get better and still, in the meantime, have a life.
