STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH-SOME INSPIRATION FROM MR. STEVE JOBS

As I was searching on TED.com for class, a website that I had never heard of before, I clicked on inspiring (because thats the type of person I am) and I saw a video that stood out to me more than all the other ones. The name of the video was "How to live before you die". Not only was the title intriguing to me but what was most intriguing was the person speaking in the video, who happened to be Mr. Steve Jobs. As we all know Mr. Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple, He is the reason for majority of the technology that we have now. I just knew that this video was going to be inspiring, seeing as how Steve Job passed last year and the title of this video was "How to live before you die". I believe and see that this was a man who stood and lived for what he believed in.

Steve Jobs story was very inspiring, as he stood before the students getting ready to graduate from Stanford, he passionately told a story that I am very sure the students will remember for as long as they live. Steve started off telling about how his parents gave him up for adoption, they wanted so badly for him to succeed so they sought out couples who were college graduates to adopt him. As I heard that, i started to think about how many parents push their kids to go to college without really finding out what their children's dreams and goals are. I started thinking about how many people enter into college pursing a major that their parents wanted them to pursue. Now do not get me wrong, I definitely think that college is great but not when it is forced and most importantly not when your not going for something that you have a passion for.

Continuing on with Steve's story, The adopted parents did not meet his real parents expectations because they had not graduated from college but his real parents allow them to adopt him only if they promised that steve would go to college which they did and HE did. The greatest part of this story is simply steve because guess what? Steve DID in fact go to college BUT Steve did not graduate from college. As with most college students, steve was bored with the classes that did not apply to his major. I can definitely relate to that, when I first started undergrad, I too got bored with the classes that did not apply to my major. Instead steve chose to leave college and guess what? HE IS AND WILL FOREVER BE ONE OF THOSE MOST SUCCESSFUL NOT ONLY MEN BUT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

What I admire about steve was that he never gave up, he said that we should follow our passions no matter what other people say or think about us which is something that I firmly believe because guess what? Those people do not have to live your life, you have to live your life. Steve said to hold on to your faith or whatever it is that drive your passions! I felt like steve was speaking to me as I watched this video. I remember steve talking about when he first got fired from Apple and how he felt like a failure. I can relate to him not the being fired part but I remember when I first graduated from college in 2007 and as time went by not being able to find a job and I started feeling like a failure. I spent all this time into going to school and I can't find a job for what I went to school for but during that/this time I have decided to follow my own dreams and goals and that is what is best about the time that I have had between first graduating and now.

Now that I am in graduate school for something that I have a passion for, I can honestly say that there is a HUGE difference when you are going to school for something that you LOVE versus something that you think will make you some money. At the end of the day money is nice but you need be happy with what you are doing because being miserable and having money is not a good thing. Toward the end of Steve's speech, he began to repeat "stay hungry, stay foolish" and that sparked something in me and that stuck with me and that is why this is the title of this blog post. So just like Mr. Steve Jobs, I want to encourage you to "STAY HUNGRY AND FOOLISH"! Now what does that mean? I can only imagine that the meaning will vary for different people BUT for me it means that you should always keep striving, always keep believing, always keep moving forward and never give up(stay hungry) and also that people are not always going to agree with you, they may not even support you. In fact, they may even think that what you want to do or your ideas are FOOLISH but you must keep on going. You must know that God has giving you your passion, talents and gifts from a reason so STAY FOOLISH as long as you know that you have a purpose. So I will end on this quote "STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH"


Here is the video of Steve Jobs speech at Stanford University

What resources are available to the Independent Artist (Part 1)

This blog post will basically address some resources out there for independent artist. I think that many independent artists do not know about all the resources that are out there for them. I also think that some artist stray away from being independent because they feel there is no support. There are many associations out there for independent artists that will provide them with an array of information and guide them along their career. Some of those associations are American Association of Independent Music, Association of Independent Music Publishers, Independent Music Companies Association, The American Christian Music Association, and The National and Independent Gospel Music Association.

So what do all of these associations have in common? They are all advocates for the independent artist, no matter what genre you consider yourself, there is an association out there for you. These associations have the resources and the knowledge to help the independent artist become successful in their careers. I would encourage you to visit one of those sites and see what they have that can benefit you as an independent artist.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, which discussed the importance of Artist Development, The industry is something that has to be learned, an artist cannot just enter into the industry knowing everything. I believe the associations listed above will guide you and help you learn about the industry and some of these associations even work closely with major record labels. All of these associations have workshops and conferences that are beneficial to the independent artist. Joining one of these associations will probably one the one time where an artist would be happy to be guilty by ASSOCATION!

Most times people say it’s not what you know but about whom you know but I personally believe it is both as it pertains to the entertainment industry. You have to have knowledge about the industry in order to succeed and yes it does help to know some people to but as the saying goes “Knowledge is power”. Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog.

Check out this video clip regarding the important of networking through professional organizations from Dave Olsen, the VP of Alfred Publishing.