I see too many artists asking for and/or demanding respect.
I have come into contact with endless throngs of people throughout my life experience that DEMAND respect because of their job title, social position, or just because they’re so damn narcissistic that they really think everyone should respect them.
Why do people do this?
Do you think this way?
Real respect has to be earned. It doesn’t automatically come with a title or a gig regardless of what anybody thinks.
Think about the boss you’ve had or have who is an idiot. You know he/she is an idiot. You feign respect to appease his/her ego and to satisfy office politics so you can keep your job and a calmer work environment.
But they don’t have your respect do they?
Do you want to be respected superficially or do you want to be genuinely respected?
As an artist.
As a songwriter.
As a lover.
As a significant other.
As a musician.
As a parent.
As a confidant.
As a boss.
As a teammate.
Do you want 2 handfuls of BS or do you really want people to look up to you?
Respect is about altruism.
When you truly have the other person’s best interests at heart, as opposed to your own agenda, you sow the seeds for admiration.
Think about that in terms of the relationships you are trying to make online with your fans.
Are you truly thinking about them or yourself?
When you make it about them you will crack the code for online marketing and social media marketing.
Selflessness is a trait that will always manifest the keys to everybody’s heart and soul.
Sometimes the other person will take advantage of your selflessness which means sometimes you have to pull back to protect your energy.
I get it.
I’ve had to do that often, unfortunately.
Even if that happens, which is the worst feeling, I promise you have touched them, regardless of their inability to acknowledge the gesture. Know that.
Respect also comes from truth.
We respect people that are true to themselves.
We stand in quiet awe of someone who has a real deep grasp of their authentic self; they seem more at peace.
We naturally gravitate towards the people in our lives who are comfortable in their own skin.
It’s a positive energy attraction. Some of us can’t articulate why we are so attracted but we ALL respond.
The Law of Attraction.
We respond because on some subconscious level, we recognize the WORK that person has put into THEMSELVES.
Most people don’t have the stones to face a mirror, define the traits that they wish to change about themselves (to become a more impeccable person), and take action towards self-improvement.
Life just seems to get in the way, doesn’t it?
Seriously addressing the things we want to change about ourselves pisses us off.
At least it pissed me off.
I had to change though or I was going to continue down a path of confusion and that would manifest itself in the form of bad behavior and poor decision making.
It still pisses me off because I am still learning.
About artists.
About marketing.
About the music business.
About relationships.
About people.
It’s hard to put a mirror up in front of your face and deal with the reality I don’t care who you are.
The champions, the icons, the respected community elders, the leaders, and the life changing teachers have all gone through this because nobody is born perfect and nobody has all the tools they need to improve.
You have to search for the utensils and then do the work on yourself.
We adore our favorite artists and their seemingly effortless performances. That phenomenon is a result of years of WORK. Often we fail to recognize the work behind the veneer because we are only exposed to the veneer.
They make it look easy.
True greatness is not veneer, it’s a lifetime of work and focus spent on something that makes us happy.
This is why we respect them so much. Not because they should be respected.
Because they command respect.
 There’s a difference between demanding respect and commanding respect.
The bright lights disdain people who feel their title should come with respect whatever title that is…
We absolutely gravitate to the people we genuinely FEEL a reverence for.
We respect them because they’re real
We respect them because they’re HONEST
We respect them because they found a way to feel comfortable in their own skin
Which is to say that they HAVE DONE THE WORK on themselves
The bright lights recognize this even when they cannot articulate it. THEY RESPOND TO GREATNESS
They are solid.
This is you.Â
This is what you have in you.
This is your potential.
But you have to do the work
As a musician.
As a songwriter.
As a singer.
As an artist.
As a parent.
As a lover.
As a significant other.
As a marketer.
As a business person.
The work has to be honest, genuine, and heartfelt. In other words, you have to do the work because you have to do the work, NOT because you should do the work or you’re told to do the work.
Forget about avoiding the work or trying to “find a way around the systemâ€.
That’s false.
You Can’t CHEAT
While we can’t always be clear as to why, we ALL definitely recognize and respond to posers.
Whether they are posers in life or posers in art, we find superficial people to be weak, gross, and unattractive.
Even those of you who run with the superficial, you wish you could get out.
You wish you could rise above.
You can, ya know.
Start working on yourself and the rest will fall into place.
The answers you seek for your life are hidden in the work.
The answers you seek for your art are hidden in the work.
The respect you desire from your fans, your family, your significant other, your team, your band, and peers is hidden in the work.
It’s all right there, man.
The question is will you demand respect or command respect?
Stay
In
Tune
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