Something really struck me yesterday.
I went to listen to an open mic night and outside of it was a young man trying to get people to listen to his CDs and/or buy them. He solicited me once when I got out of the car. I went into the coffee shop and walked back out and he solicited me again (not even realizing he had spoke to me ten minutes before.) Then I walked down the street and back up to go back into the coffee shop and he solicits me a third time (again not even realizing that he had already spoken to me twice).
Here’s my thought on this. If you are going to expect people to pay attention to what you are doing or care about your music or any other thing you want to put out there…when you are making direct contact with them it’d probably be a good idea to look them in the eye and pay a bit of attention to them as well.
We all have certain talents. For talents to take off and become something bigger…to catch fire and become popular…they require adoption by a community. And to create a sense of community you have to participate in it. You can’t expect that people will be interested in what you are doing just because you are doing it.
If I write a blog and want people to read it I realize that it is a good idea to participate and read other people’s blogs as well. I can’t sit here and think that what I have to say is so much better or so much more important that I should expect them to want to read mine even if I am blowing theirs off.
It all goes back to the adage “you have to give if you want to receive.”
Yes, I realize that there are exceptions to this and that once things catch fire it’s not always possible for balance to be created…but until things reach that tipping point I think reciprocation is due.
And for that young man outside of the coffee shop, reciprocation could have been as easy as looking up and paying attention to the people he was thrusting his music at. Even if his music had been good…I tend to support people not just their sounds. He was a long way off from grabbing my attention. Plus, I’m not sure he needed mine – he had quite a lot of his own.
Yogi teabag quote of the day “Your greatness is not what you have, it’s what you give.”
Seems fitting.
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