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Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007
A NEW YEAR IS THE BEST TIME TO MAKE POSITIVE CAREER CHANGES
A New Year's Resolution is simple Goal-Setting in action... and this annual ritual offers us a good opportunity to adjust our strategy for personal improvement.
The beginning of another year is always a great time to reflect on our progress and analyze the results of our efforts over the previous 12 months. The purpose of this exercise is to encourage ourselves to make better choices, set challenging goals, and develop a detailed action plan for the coming year. This article will review some practical and useful tips that I hope will help you to passionately embrace the New Year with purpose and hope.
The pursuit of excellence goes hand in hand with confidence. And, how we achieve confidence is by continually setting goals and reaching them... one little step after the other, over a period of time. There is no shortcut... there is no magic wand. I cannot overstate the importance of goal-setting, focus and commitment... these are the characteristics that are always inherent with highly successful people in every field. Goal-setting can be very intimidating for the insecure performer who is often afraid to setup any chance for failure. However, this fear can be overcome. You are unconsciously setting goals when you systematically set out to get a certain gig and get it... that is definitely achieving a set goal. Just because you don't have a written plan doesn't mean you're not setting goals. So, most of us are halfway there without even knowing it. But, writing down our goals gives us a stronger focus and a much better picture of where we're going, where we want to go, and how to get there. This step by step process will be invaluable when it comes time to prepare a full-scale marketing plan... which every career performer should be thinking about.
Whether we become world-class performers or not is unimportant, but when we begin demanding higher standards through goal-setting and personal accountability, we are giving ourselves the opportunity to develop the self-confidence necessary to advance our expectations to another level. The following tips will help you start the year in a positive direction...
1. List Failures & Achievements - If you are not already keeping a "book" of activities, dig out your date book, contract agreements, etc. and list all your performances over the past year with a brief comment about each gig. Review everything and highlight your failures first... YOUR MOST UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR GREATEST SOURCE FOR LEARNING. Analyze what went wrong. What part did you play in each failure? What could you have done differently? What can you do in the future to improve your performance?
Now, highlight all your successful dates and contact each one of these buyers to remind them of your past performance and announce your availability for the coming year. You can also take this opportunity to disclose any new accomplishments, additions or changes you have made since your last engagement with them.
Satisfied customers are usually more than willing to give you a good reference. Therefore, you should encourage them to put their good comments in writing... especially the high profile engagements. Always think about adding prestigious referrals to your promotion package. These testimonials may help you move to another performance level.
2. Update Your Contact List - Review your achievements and successful gigs over the past year and go after more of the same. Check available listings of similar agents, producers, buyers, companies or venues in the telephone directory and/or other sources and prepare a target group of potential clients. Then, call to find out the name of the correct recipient for your publicity materials and send him/her a variety of promotional items that accurately represent you and your services. Be sure to reflect that past success you have had with them, or refer to a similar venue or event where you were well accepted.
Pull out all your old business card files and contact names (especially those that haven't hired you in a long time) and send them an e-mail and/or a regular mail postcard informing them of your availability and updated information. Your dead file list of old clients is the best source of future business. They may have forgotten about you, or lost your contact information... so, renew the contact and make sure they know you haven't forgotten about them.
3. Set Your Goals For The Year - Don't make the mistake of setting unrealistic goals. You're not going to go from being a club band to an international concert star overnight. Set your sights on getting better club dates, or trying to book one more special event, casino or corporate show. Try and increase revenues by making catchy t-shirts or a CD/DVD of your music (or show) that can be sold at all your performances. Make plans to promote at least one special event (on your own) to showcase your talents to prospective agents, buyers, etc. while raising your profile at the same time. A feature spot at your local fair, or an appearance at a high-profile charity function are great ways to attract some valuable attention
4. Take Care of Your Health - Success depends a great deal on our happiness - and our happiness depends a great deal on our health. All three are intertwined... when the mind and body are in balance, the things you tell yourself you are going to do become much easier to do. It has been proven that those who take care of the soul or spiritual aspect of their health are in fact mentally, if not physically, healthier than those of us that do not.
If you don't believe it, try a little experiment. The next time you see a young child in torn and tattered clothing beside a broken, destitute mother... watch the gratitude expressed when you unceremoniously give them a $20 bill just because you care. Your mind and spirit will be magnified immensely by reaching out to enrich the life of someone who needs you to make a difference in their life... and you'll feel so much better about yourself.
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