I've never entered a talent competition before tonight. Was a new situation for me. I was just talking with a friend a couple weeks ago about how we both hated sales, but I'm coming now to realize why it was necessary for me to learn sales and marketing all those years in all those various companies. It was all part of my training for this. For such a time as this, I've been prepared. Again, even when I did not follow, I was being led.
I realize that what I hated (feared) was sales quotas. The concept of having to deliver a specific level of performance. Now I find myself demanding a high level of musical performance and measuring that against audience response and feedback, i.e. customer satisfaction. In some ways a great concert performance is to me like a sales pitch. It's a dance of exquisite conversation. It's relating to someone and then creating an experience with them.
I've been looking at this all wrong. See, I love building relationship. My customers/clients/audience/fans can tell that I genuinely love them and they show up in support of that. Now if I can backfill that with an excellent musical experience and the knowledge and chops to back up these lyrics, that's a performance worthy of my audience.
When I arrived at the competition this evening, I saw one of my guitar heroes. He's an amazing player and I look forward to sharing a stage with him and making a couple recordings together. I am a fan. Tonight he was a competitor. I'll admit my heart sank when I saw him. He's light-years better on the guitar than I am.
This evening I received high praise from an audience I am falling head over heels in love with, the community of Mcminnville. Not all 26,000 residents showed up this evening. More like 26, but that's a start, no?
Having been selected by the judges as one of three semi-finalists, I stood there next to my guitar hero and considered that the second prize of two rounds of golf was really not a bad prize. It's been years since I went golfing and I can think of a couple buddies who would love to be my company on days as beautiful as these. Could have been a thing, General.
The final decision was made by audience response.
The award to the second-runner-up left me and him still in the competition. While I sat there planning my golf invites, they announced the first-runner up. It was him!! What!?
To my friend, supporter, collaborator Dawn, thank you for talking me into the competition. It was nice to win, but it was even more special to make another connection with the Mcminnville audience this evening. That, to me, was priceless.
Dawn worked tirelessly to set up this and several other events in the last few weeks as a campaign raising money and awareness for cancer research. Reverbnation says Dawn is one of my biggest fans. For all you do in the community, my dear, you should know I am also one of your biggest fans.
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