Here’s Why the Rule Really is Golden

I think I’ve written before at some point in this weekly blog about the fact that there are people that you just expect everyone to know, when in fact, you’ll run across folks who you’ll find yourself saying, in amazement, “You don’t know who John Cena is?!”

People like to name drop, period, but also for a sense of self-importance, even though there’s a likelihood that you won’t honestly know who they’re referring to.  I’ve been around.  I have met lots and lots (and lots) of people.  Heck, just from my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast alone I have had meaningful conversations with well over six hundred guests since the show started in February 2014.  (I realize that Episode 650 came out last week, but some guests have been on more than once, plus there are six “Best Of” episodes.  So, it’s not quite 650 guests, for those who wonder about the discrepancy.)

Here’s the thing.  You can’t pretend to know who everyone is – whether it’s a name that someone mentions OR, to get to the real meat and potatoes of this week’s blog, a person you’re encountering that you don’t realize who they might actually be or what they might actually do above and beyond what you think you see.

Let’s dive into some real-life examples so that you don’t commit the mistake of looking down on someone and have it come back to bite you.

Way back when I first started going to Nashville, the folks I knew there quickly taught me the lesson that so, so many people in Music City are doing something on the side just to keep a steady paycheck coming in.  The common example that you will hear cited is a host/hostess or a server at a restaurant who actually is an emerging songwriter.  While you shouldn’t be rude to people in that profession regardless of which city you’re in, just know that in that particular locale, you could be sassing back to someone about how your eggs came out and then see him or her sitting on a stool that night on stage performing in a writers round.

And if you think that sounds far-fetched, (a) I’ve got nothing to gain by lying to you, so (b) don’t find out the hard way how right I am about this.

Another example is – no matter what city you’re in – going to an open mic night and thinking that the person running it is only doing that.  He or she gets up on stage, welcomes people, and introduces each performer.  You write that person off as being insignificant until suddenly they grab their guitar and get on stage and, yup, are the best performer of the night.  Meanwhile, you were sitting there judging and looking down upon them.

I would be remiss if I didn’t offer myself up as an example of someone else you might encounter that you feel isn’t someone important.  While it’s true that I’ve been behind the mic for the aforementioned “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast for practically twelve-and-a-half years now, by no means am I “just a podcaster.”  I mentioned this in a TikTok that I did at the end of last year but can’t pretend that everyone saw that video.

The fact is that I am not only a publicist but a business owner.  I run Now Hear This, Inc. and our PR agency has clients throughout the country – from northern California to southwest Florida and a number of points in between.  So, when you think, “Oh gosh, that podcaster guy,” know that there is so much more than what you thought.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m also a Member of the Recording Academy?  Don’t be so quick to dismiss people or think they’re insignificant.

Another example is the person at the venue you are performing at who you feel is, “Just the sound guy.”  Wow.  You’re the pro and he needs to just do his job and be quiet, huh?  Well, this is where I break it to you that there are people doing this for you – at venues where you would least expect – who have been on the road as part of a national tour doing front of house for major acts.  So, you might not want to say the words, “just the sound guy” out loud.  Remember, you rub him the wrong way and he can make sure you sound really bad that night.

Last but definitely not least are volunteers.  I could fill up a whole blog about events, conferences, and festivals that I have been at where the volunteers are anything but retired people who have nothing else to do with their time.  Many (many) times these folks do what you do too – they’ve just decided to participate as a volunteer this time for a variety of reasons.  Be careful how you treat them before you later find out their actual résumé.

It boils down to something as simple as the Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

A Member of the Recording Academy, I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more for over twenty years.  What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to?  Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.