I am blown away when I speak with an event coordinator or
venue owner and they tell horror stories of nobody artists who bring a list of
demands to the table. The artist gives attitude about breaks, stage setup, and
attendance and the venue is left with a seriously bad taste in their mouth and
the artist walks away unhappy and complaining.
This is a terrible lose-lose situation, when it so easily
could have been a win-win. As an independent artist, it’s my responsibility to
book shows and make sure the venue, my band, and my listeners are all happy.
The sure fire way to ensure this is by having gratitude. It’s a big word that
carries a lot of meaning. Gratitude.
When I start to think gratitude and express gratitude,
relationships are instantly built, walls are broken down, deals are done, and I
am even more thankful than when I walked in. Now, I understand that you may not
also be an independent artist, but I felt it was so important to write about
this, because it affects us all!
That person you work with that always seems to have a chip
on their shoulder…the barista at a coffee shop who is clearly having a pissed
off day and leaves a bad taste in your mouth, no pun intended, haha…your
girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse/roommate that did that thing again that really
annoys you. We run into negativity everyday in ourselves as well as others.
Now, let pride roll off your back and turn it around:
At work, imagine saying, “Bob,
you look really sharp today. I really like that tie and great work on the Ninja
report. I hear that it’s going over very well upstairs!” You’d feel pretty good
about yourself for putting that positivity and happiness on someone else
right?! Plus, Bob might just respond with a smile! Weird, right!
At the coffee shop, imagine asking
with a smile, “How’s your day going? It looks pretty busy in here!” Do you
really think you’re going to get a pissed off response? And if you do, just
say, “Well, I hope your day gets better”. By now, the barista has to at least
flash a smile. J
You feel good about yourself and can take that first sip of wonderful coffee
with a smile.
At home, think to yourself, ‘You
know what, I love my boyfriend and ya, he does this thing that annoys me, but it’s
not on purpose and he also deals with my makeup and hair all over the bathroom.
Plus, in the grand scheme of things, this is minor. It’s not worth fighting
about or stressing about and I am so thankful to have such a great person in my
life. I’ll just clean it up and go on being happy about us.’
Imagine how your life would change! With all this happiness,
positivity, and gratitude, it’s going to be hard to stay upset about the minor
things or let someone else’s negativity affect your day. And when it does,
because we can’t always be chipper, we just remind ourselves of all the
wonderful things in our life that we’re thankful for.
Gratitude is a magical thing. Instead of thinking how this
person shouldn’t be doing xy&z to YOU, instead think what you can give to
them and be thankful for everything that you have to be happy about. Give it
out. Happiness and gratitude are not commodities that run out. They multiply
like bunnies!
Have a fantastic day! Check back with you soon!
