My daughter was asking me about a bag of potato chips that was sitting on the table. “Dad, where did you get these? It’s in French – what does it say?” I told her I’d gotten them in Montreal, and that she should know what the label said because she’s taken two semesters of French in school.
I teased her and said “Don’t you know the language by now!” She indignantly replied, “I’ve just learned a bit of French – I don’t even know how to hold a conversation yet.”
Immediately after this discussion with my daughter, I read a post from a friend of mine, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas-Nelson, Inc. His thoughts were appropriate to both my daughter studying French, to anyone who wants to be a writer, AND to anyone who wants to be a great performer onstage!
One of the things that gets under my skin is when someone is dragged to an event where I’m speaking, and they reluctantly come to pick up a “few tips” about performance. When they tell me they are there for those “few tips” (besides wanting to hit them with a whiffle ball bat), I ask them “do you hope to make a living doing music?” Inevitably, most of them do.
Tips are for hobbies. If you want to make a living doing this, you’d better immerse yourself in my Live Music Methods. Make them a part of your thought process. We need to learn to do the right thing, and do it consistently.
Check out this post and tell me what you think – What It Takes to Become a Master Writer…
Tom Jackson
Tom is uniquely talented and skilled at transforming an artist's live show into a magical experience for the audience; helping artists at every level create a live show that is engaging and memorable, teaching them to exceed their audiences' expectations and to create fans for life. Tom has taught indie and major artists of every genre. He has worked with Taylor Swift, Le Crae, Home Free, The Tenors, Shawn Mendes, The Band Perry, Francesca Battistelli, Jars of Clay, & many more. Tom also teaches at colleges, conferences and events worldwide.
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Wow. It is so true. We need much more than a few tips.
My husband, Joe Franco, one time joked with me and put the sign of a BIG “L” on his forehead after doing soemthing he thought was dumb to the 100th degree! “That’s not nice,” I told him! “Don’t call yourself a loser,” I shouted in laughter! Then he said, “no, I’m not calling myself a LOSER, I’m calling myself a LEARNER!” LOL
1- We need passion for what we are doing, singing, sharing, writing, etc
and 2- we need passion for learning!!
Another mentor in my life taught me the same thing about enjoying the learning process:
My voice teacher in Conservatory, Hilda Harris, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC told me to NEVER STOP LEARNING. She was in her 50’s then and still attends classes and workshops today all over the country. Her “NEVER STOP LEARNING” phrase has become something I live by.
The Tom Jackson Worship Conference in TN this November was fantastic!
KEEP LOVIN & KEEP LEARNIN
If you spread it out over 4 years, 10,000 hours works out to about 7 hours a day (48 hours a week!). So, yeah… full time job!
Not at all unrealistic. And, remember, those 8-10 hour days are filled with a variety of tasks.
This is SO true. If we want to make a living from something, must it not be a full time job? meaning we will spend ENDLESS hours WORKING on it? it’s just like any other job except less stable right? But yeah, what Tom is Saying about tips being for hobbies, we’re not going to make a living from tips. Unless we are completely immersed, and it consumes our thoughts, fires up our passion for what we are doing and we get a vision for it, we might as well give up. Otherwise, we will ALWAYS be mediocre and NEVER make a living from it.
WOW!!!! 10,000 hours. I had never heard that before. But it does allow one to concider the cost and then decide if that is what they are will to invest. I do love the “God told me to write it” like that is the end of any critique, HA!!! Brent Lamb once told a “song writer” if God told you to write this, if He gave it to you as it is, then I am leaving Christianity. The song sucks.
Keith Mohr at Indieheaven.com, says Don’t blame God for your mediocrity (my paraphrase).
Tips are for hobbies. Love that! So true.
i like the article, but the 10,000 hours is a bit overwhelming, but, I find my motivation in the hope that I can perform for a living. If that’s the case, the 10,000 hours should blow by in a hurry.
Love your stuff Tom and I’m can’t wait for my “All Roads” DVDs to arrive!