Why do people become successful?

Science says only 8% of people achieve their goal according to Inc.com.  However Woody Allen said 80% of success is just showing up.  Putting yourself in the public eye is crucial.

I got a tiny part in a very bad Hollywood movie although I am not an actor.  I did it for self promotion.  A friend told me about an audition for a part which was a musician.  I was tall and thin with hair below my shoulders so I looked the part and got the part.

The movie was horrible, I could tell that just from being on the set and I had never been on a set before.  It went straight to VHS (this was before DVD) and to the best of my knowledge never opened in a theater.  I would not have watched it myself.  However I did get them to call me by my first name because the character in the script was simply “the musician”.

When I was still playing in bands, which was years ago, my press kit legitimately stated I appeared in a Hollywood movie called by my real name.  This was true and it looked impressive.

If you work for someone else they will have a different goal than you.   So they want you to multitask to get as much work out of you as possible.  Working for yourself you should want to have as much impact as possible doing the least amount as possible by concentrating on one thing at a time.

In today’s digital age music industry you will have to do multiple things.  This is not the same thing as multitasking.  Develop your system so you can do one thing at a time very well.

The people who I have known before they made it big, which were few, had more than talent and skill.  Most name people I met was after they had made it.  One of the things they all did was promote themselves.  If you believe you are too good to do this or it is beneath you, then Good Luck.  You will surely need it.  To even get professionals to look at or work for you, you will have to promote yourself.  You will need not only good recordings but photos, a press kit, and as many fans as you can muster.

Anyone who knows me knows that I consider shameless self promotion not a skill but a virtue.  This is closely related to living in west Los Angeles, home of Hollywood, for almost 20 years.  The movie studios are actually in Burbank or Century City and Hollywood itself is a dump.  However Hollywood promotes itself as Home of the Movies so people think it is.

Are you following where I am going with this?

Hollywood itself is nothing but Hollywood as the dream looms large in the public imagination.  You are not what you are or even what you imagine yourself to be, you are what OTHER people imagine you to be.  Promote not yourself, promote what you want other people to imagine you are.  This is NOT dishonest.  This is branding and merchandising.

Let me give you an example.  There are only 129 oil refineries in the United States.  There are only a handful of really big ones.  This means all of the gasoline comes from the same place according to the region you live in although there are 10 major gasoline brands.  The additives come from the delivery driver pouring a SMALL bottle into his load or into the station’s gas reservoir.  So whether you buy by price or brand you are getting the same thing.

Why are some more expensive?  Branding… Not quality, branding.

There are only a few really superstar talents, they may or may not rise to the top depending largely on how they are promoted.  There are many mediocre talents who do.  Why?  Packaging, promotion, and branding.

Branding and promotion are more the battle than quality.  Record companies are run by accountants.  They like to know what sells.  Selling yourself on the Internet requires promotion, there are more acts now than ever before in history.  If you want to take the battle to the enemy you have to beat him with your branding before you can ever conquer him with your quality.