A Not So Funny Joke
Question: How do you get a musician to complain?
Answer: Give ’em a gig.
15 Minute Conversation
I was at the office of a business associate this past Friday when one of his staff members said, “Hey, did you ever talk to that girl interested in the Knoxville job? What did you think?”
To which he replied, “Not good. Basically, nothing was her fault. All I heard was how bad all her former employers were, that they all had bad policies and rules, and that she had been fired by all of them for no reason. I heard more complaints and excuses than I’ve ever heard in a 15 minute conversation.”
She won’t be getting the job.
No One Likes a Complainer
We live in a society of criticizing and complaining – just think Reality TV and Political Campaigns, right? We are a society that feels entitled to complain about everything because we feel entitled to have everything.
But don’t be fooled by this “norm.” While it can indeed make “Must See TV,” all complaining does in real life is make you a “must avoid at all costs.”
You Might be a Complainer, If:
- You’re answer to how ya doin’ is, “I’m tired,” “just trying to make a living,” “alright I guess,” or similarly depressing answers.
- You talk behind the back of players, singers and songwriters telling others how bad they are, how they can’t sing or how bad the songs are while you’re actually working with them at the time (like backstage).
- You honestly believe everyone in your past has done you wrong in one way or another.
- You talk about how you honestly believe everyone in your past has done you wrong in one way or another (and you can’t understand why nobody agrees with you).
- You feel tired and drained all the time.
- You say things like, “I’m doing this for now, but someday I’m going to…”
- When people compliment you, you’re response is, “nah, it was nothing” or, “I screwed up the section…” or something else that sounds humble but actually tells the other person they don’t know what they’re talking about.
- The only good thing you can say about your current gig is, “it sure beats digging ditches” and you actually SAY that out loud.
Attitude Determines Altitude
I’m not suggesting that you have to be bubbly, excited and sickeningly positive all the time. I am suggesting that many, many musicians I know have torpedoed any chances of success because no one wanted to be around their bad attitudes. Make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
What are some tips for staying positive in situations that BEG for complaining?
