#1 You can play without playing
Music is interesting for its practical nature. Of course it is also based on intellectual abilities, but manual skills and physical dedication are more than significant. Despite all of that, the most talented musicians bring their notes to life mentally. To the extreme Beethoven used that attitude to overcome his deafness. But why? Like with music we listen to mentally, having more abstract perception help our mind to take rational solution.
Lesson: Take time to be far from your business operations and think rationally about the high level processes.
#2 Perfection and success are different concepts
Bob Marley was clearly an imperfect singer technically, and Janis Joplin’s voice was damaged by alcohol and smoke. Just a few examples of how imperfections make people unique. Perfection is not smooth, and it is not typical of human temperament. Likewise, it’s important to avoid approximations and to be confident and skilled in our work.
Lesson: Do things! Design, study, test… but try. Look for uniqueness instead of having perfection.
#3 Less resources do not mean less success
It is my passion to listen to music that has extreme tendencies. Then, fascinated about minimal electronic music, nude folk music, Robert Johnson guitar… and people able to create a whole sound ecosystem with less. I like whole orchestral sound too, but that’s another story. It’s not always a philosophical approach. Sometimes using less is a need which then becomes a strength. Like slaves singing in the eighteenth century, or the first Kraftwerk album.
Lesson: You need to start. The lack of resources is a problem, but it is not a block. Do the best with what you have.
#4 Live on your time
It is the sound reference that makes the difference between professional bands and amateur bands. A professional band wants to create its own path, starting with some models. Amateur bands copy artists they love. That’s extremely significant when you need to bring it to the common people. People love to be involved in authentic activities. If you offer them a copy, they turn to the original.
Do business, live on your time. Identify market needs and solve them. There has already been a solution to the problem of “I want to be the new CocaCola, or the new Netflix…”.
#5 The power of listening to
Igor Stavinsky said: “The music is…the coordination between man and time”. Nobody plays music with total perception freedom. A talented musician listens to his fellow musicians on the stage all the time. Otherwise he listens to single instruments or the rhythm. The more he listens to, the more he is coordinated and enhances his/her performance.
Lesson: In business, good listeners succeed while over-talkers fail.