Reach your highest potential! Your altitude is the highest potential that you want to reach although is easier said than done it can be done. It can be a daunting task and these tips will assist you.

1. Envision Your Future Self

Picturing yourself in the future can be challenging – look in the mirror and really ask yourself what is my altitude, what is my highest potential and do I want to achieve that? Some people are able to do this quite comfortably and others find asking trusted friend or engaging a coach to be helpful.
If your altitude or highest potential relates to your career and it is to become a Vice President – envision yourself in this position. What will your office look like, how will you treat your team and peers, what will you wear to work, what will create a great day, what will create a bad day? Really spend some time envisioning yourself in your new role.

2. Become Comfortable with Failure

This is a tough one. The concept of failing is hard to accept and even harder to become comfortable with. Many people are raised to succeed, to ‘win’ and be competitive. There are high expectations to meet, failing is often not an option. One of my best lessons learned in recent years is that one cannot truly succeed and enjoy success until you have taken a risk, tried and failed.
The feeling of defeat can be overwhelming and filled with regret – we tend to ask ourselves “why did I do that, why did I say that, I should have done, I wish I did…, etc.” It is these questions that encourage us to reflect on our decision making process and to learn.
Failure is a very powerful change agent – failing allows us to move forward and improve. We do not want to fail because we do not want to disappoint our colleagues or loved ones and we do not want be vulnerable.
J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) presents the benefits of failure during her 2008 TED talk on "The Fringe Benefits of Failure". There are many benefits of failure and sharing these and the relevant learning is important for success.
The amazing thing is that when you fail and you are comfortable with it, others are rarely disappointed – they admire your vulnerability, how well you bounced back and how resilient you are. Not only will you appear stronger, you will be stronger. Being vulnerable is a great strength that will make you stronger and push you closer to your altitude.

3. Have Self-Awareness

To reach your altitude you need to have a great sense of self-awareness – ask yourself these questions (and answer them)

• What impact do I have on others?
• How do others perceive me? Is this the same as I perceive myself?
• What are my strengths? What would others say my strengths are?
• What are my weaknesses? What would others say my weaknesses are?

There is often a disconnect between how we see ourselves and how others see us – these are often called blind spots.
Speak with a friend or engage a coach to work with you to improve your self-awareness and work to work on your blind spots. Once you have a great sense of self-awareness including your strengths and weaknesses you will be well on your way to reaching your altitude.

4. Ask for Help

Once you answer the questions about self-awareness it is time to ask for help. Being comfortable with asking for help is another strength – it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It is a sign of being smart, being able to understand yourself and knowing who you have in your network who may be able to help you.
No one has ever reached their true potential and become successful all on their own, with no help.
Most people have a wide network of contacts – some you know well and others not so well (think about your LinkedIn network!). Become comfortable asking for help from others, take a chance and call them or e-mail them. Most people are willing to help and if they are not that is OK, thank them and move on.
Reach out and ask for support or advice if you need help going around, over or through any challenges – having support to improve is a critical to reaching your altitude.

5. Be Humble and Show Gratitude

Humility and showing gratitude are two of the most important character traits that are an absolute must for reaching your potential. Very few great leaders or successful people have reached their potential without being humble or thanking people along the way.
One can be confident and humble. Finding the right balance of these is challenging but important – it can be part of self-awareness building.
Humility shows through as one becomes more comfortable with failure, being vulnerable and asking for help. And of course when one asks for help or anyone provides support directly or indirectly this is a great opportunity to say Thank You! Be gracious and let them know their support is appreciated and how the help has contributed to you reaching your potential!

file sharing and labels faltering

You've heard all of the panic over file sharing and labels faltering, but what are the REAL issues in the music industry? Consider these four problems that don't get much attention in the music media but that have a huge impact on the industry.

1. Royalty Collection Companies Antics

Of course you should get paid when your music is used, but royalty collection companies are crossing the line of idiocy in your name. From trying to collect additional royalties on music usages you are already compensated for (ringtones) to demanding music fans pay for a public performance license for listening to the radio in their stable with their horses, the actions of these companies seem to have more to do with making up for their own financial problems than making sure you get your due.

The problem - aside from the fact that you pay a fee for this service - is that your fans don't know that you have little control over what your royalty collection company does in your name. To them, you're the greedy one. Great impression.

2. Internet Copyright and Royalty Issues

Sure the internet offers lots of options for music promotion, but what licensing regulations should be in place? Who gets to decide what is fair usage? Should labels be able to pull their artists' music off of sites like YouTube against the artists' wishes? Speaking of YouTube, what is a fair royalty for video plays on such a site? How do you balance the need of musicians to be paid for their work with the realistic earning potential (and ability to pay) of sites that host music?

Focusing on fan file sharing turns attention away from the real problem: the inability for music rights holders to hammer out a realistic game plan for licensing and compensation with websites that host and promote music.

3. The RIAA/File Sharing Lawsuits

Much like the first item on our list, we have a group that is damaging the relationship between musicians and fans, all in the supposed name of their music industry members. Many musicians and labels have spoken out against file sharing lawsuits, but for the RIAA, debate is out of the question. The average music fan doesn't really know enough about the industry to understand that their favorite musician isn't the one going to around suing fans for hundreds of thousands of dollars for sharing music. Their actions don't do much to stop downloading, and they create a bad impression of the music industry with fans.

Also, we don't have any good answer about how these judgements that the RIAA have won will be distributed to musicians. Interesting.

4. Radio Royalties

The US is one of the only countries in the world that does not require terrestrial radio stations to pay royalties to performers. A proposal is in place that would change that. The plan includes a sliding scale so that small stations would pay as little as $1,000 per year. Community stations would almost always be exempt.

Unfortunately, the debate over the issue has been controlled by Clear Channel - the Wal-Mart of radio stations - and people who make a lot of money for hosting shows and making radio appearances. They don't want these royalties to be paid because they would lose a lot of money, and they've managed to frame the debate so that they seem to be championing for the little guys. Don't you believe it. Musicians deserve to be paid.

 

Making money in the music industry isn't always as simple negotiating a salary and waiting for your paycheck to come in. The pay structure of many music industry jobs is based on percentages for one-off deals and freelance style work, but different music industry careers are paid in different ways. For this reason, the music career you choose will have a big impact on how you make money in the music business. Here, you'll find a look at how several common music industry jobs are paid, but remember, as always, that this information is general, and the deal you agree to will dictate your circumstances.

Managers:

Managers receive a pre-agreed percentage of the income from the artists they work with. Sometimes, musicians may pay managers a salary as well - this often works like a retainer, ensuring the manager doesn't work with any other bands. However, it should be noted that this latter scenario really only comes into play when the artists are making a sufficient enough income to support themselves comfortably and legitimately have a need to make sure their manager focuses only on them. Find out more about music managers

 

 

Music Promoters:

Promoters make money on ticket sales for the gigs they promote. There are two ways this can happen:

The promoter takes a percentage of the proceeds from the show after recouping their costs, giving the remaining money to the artists - this is known as a door split deal

The promoter may agree a fixed payment with the musicians for their performance and then any money left after costs is theirs to keep

Music Agents:

Agents take a pre-agreed percentage of the fees for the shows they arrange for musicians. In other words, if an agent negotiates a fee with a promoter for a band they represent to be paid $500 for playing a show, the agent takes a cut of that $500. Learn more about agents:

 

Record Labels:

At a very basic level, record labels make money by selling records. Your job at the record label and what type of label you work for will determine what this means for you. If you have your own record label, then you make money by selling enough records to cover your costs and make a profit. If you work for someone else's record label, you will likely get a salary or hourly wage. The size of the label and your role there determines how big that salary/wage will be. Learn more about record labels:

 

Music PR:

Whether radio plugging or conducting press campaigns, music PR companies get paid on a campaign basis. They will negotiate a flat fee for working a release or tour, and that fee will usually cover a set amount of time for the company to promote the product/tour. Music PR companies may also get bonuses for successful campaigns and reaching certain thresholds - for instance, a bonus if the album sells a certain number of copies. These agreements will be made before the campaign begins. Learn more about PR:

 

Music Journalists:

If music journalists work freelance, they will be paid on a per project or contract basis. If they work for a specific publication, they will likely receive a salary or hourly wage. Find out more about music journalists:

Music Producers:

Record producers may receive a salary if they are tied to a specific studio or be paid on a per project basis if they freelance. Another important part of music producer pay can be points, which allow producers to share in the royalties from music they producer. It should be noted that not all producers get points on every project. Learn more about producers:

Sound Engineers:

Sound engineers who work independently get paid on a per project basis - this can be a one night deal, or they may go on the road and do sound for a whole tour, in which case they will be paid for the tour and may also receive P.D.s. Engineers who work with a particular venue exclusively are likely to receive an hourly wage. Learn more about engineers:

Musicians:

What about the musicians themselves? Musicians make money from royalties, advances, playing live, selling merchandise, and licensing fees for their music. Sounds like a lot of revenue streams, but don't forget they often have to share the money with the people listed above. Learn more about making money as a musician:

Obviously, there are lots of different way to make money in the music business, and many of them come down to percentages and contracts. For this reason, it is crucial that everyone is on the same page about the hows, whens, and how muchs of the pay up front - and you should always get it in writing.

Language

The inner voice doesn’t so much conjure up the consolation of inner riches as it does a chattering internal radio. Although our inner voice is at least faithful to us—it is reassuringly or irritatingly there on tap. It offers us the unfailing if ambiguous company of a guest who does not plan to leave. It can be companionable or frightening, may range from fascinated eavesdropping of oneself to a brooding censor within—an internal dialogue that occupies both sides.

There is a voice— questioned as to its origin, we have no doubt that it’s ours, but its habitual presence resembles a rapid low-grade commentary without authorship, rather in the manner of Samuel Beckett’s assessment: “whose voice, no one’s.”¹

We are essentially in conversations with ourselves most all the time— conversations about what’s going well and what’s not, what others think, what we think, how we feel, the invariable what ifs, how about, are you kidding?, etc.

That voiceover, that running stream of thinking and history and rumination, is not necessarily bad—it’s just, we never really get to hear another or they us. We pretty much listen only through the filter of what’s in our heads. What we’re saying to others, or they to us, might seep in from time to time, but it isn’t in what we or they are saying—it’s what we’re saying plus what they are saying about what we’re saying, which isn’t what we’re saying, etc., and vice versa.

That inner voice is a subtle and pervasive presence, and unfortunately has us miss out on the full possibility of communication and the infinite worlds it makes available. The business of living—our work, our mores, our relationships with friends, associates, and loved ones—is accomplished through speaking and listening.

 It is through language, through those acts of speaking and listening, that life really happens—in the side rooms, the hallways, the relaxed spaces of being human. Communication is how lives are started, money made, wars begun and ended, freedom realized.

So, back to the “listening” part. Bottom line, how we listen is essentially determined by our concerns—being successful, being liked, wanting to know what’s in it for us, how things will turn out. We can’t really listen to another when we’re preoccupied with our concerns. Listening without those predispositions, preoccupations, and filters has enormous power.

Listening doesn’t receive speaking, it isn’t a receptacle for speaking—it gives speaking. It’s the clearing in which speaking can occur. Listening is the possibility for understanding, for meaning, for being known and loved—it’s the backbone of international relationships, of businesses, of family members and friends. It’s long been a staple of corporate success—in the new media, listening is probably the most important factor in the toolbox. Listening is what allows others to be—it’s where both the speaker and what is spoken come alive, exist, and flourish.

Tina Fey, comedian, author, captures the creative power of listening from an improvisation perspective: The first rule of improvisation, she says, is “agree—agree with whatever your partner has created. So if I say, ‘Freeze, I have a gun,’ and you say, ‘That’s not a gun. It’s your finger. You’re pointing your finger at me,’ our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, ‘Freeze, I have a gun!’ and you say, ‘The gun I gave you for Christmas! You jerk!’ then we have started a scene.

Obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the idea is to ‘respect and listen to what the other person has created’ and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a ‘yes’ and see where that takes you. As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no. ‘No, we can’t do that.’ ‘No, that’s not in the budget.’ What kind of way is that to live? The second rule of improvisation is not only to say ‘yes,’ but ‘yes, and’—agree and then add something of your own. If I start a scene with ‘I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,’ and you just say, ‘Yeah…’ we’re kind of at a standstill. But if I say, ‘I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,’ and you say, ‘Yes, it can’t be good for the wax figures,’ now we’re getting somewhere.”²

Now to the “speaking” part. Speaking is more than just talking, more than the exchange of symbols or information, more than persuasion or saying what we really think, more than just a vehicle for describing or representing reality. Speaking is that which allows for “who” and “how” we “are” in the world. It’s what allows for the futures we create, where we evoke experience in others, where our ideas become clear and possible, where we share ourselves, and where others are expanded by our participation with them.

When we come together to talk, to act in common and listen to what is said, we can create something new between us. Major advances happen as a result of speaking—democracy, relativity, human rights are just a few. People see a possibility, and in the act of speaking can reshape the course of events.
Speaking and listening are not just something we do in response to a world that exists outside of us—they’re what brings that very world into being.

Language is an ontological phenomenon, a being phenomenon, not an auditory one. It’s the bridge between the uncreated and created worlds—it’s both the ultimate reality and the instrument through which reality is brought forth. When we see language this way—as that which gives rise to the world and that which gives access to what is in that world—it alters the very nature of what’s possible. Our conversations constitute who we are, and when we know that, it shifts our relationship to the world, the way we define ourselves—not merely in the way we think about ourselves, but in the actual experience of who we are.

Language is inseparable from who we are, and what gives us access to the full panoply of being human—of creativity, of love, of resolution, of achievement, of contribution. It’s the home, the only home, of possibility.

1Adapted from “The Inner Voice,” by Denise Riley, Harper’s Magazine, June 2005.
2 Adapted from Tina Fey, Bossypants.