What Makes You Happy?

Hey all, how are you? I’m sitting here right now working and read an email from Brian Austin Whitney, the founder of Just Plain Folks. It’s an organization for Indie Musicians that helps you network, and many other things. Each month Brian starts off with some quotes from famous people and then adds one of his own plus an opening dialogue…I want to share his opening this month as it’s awesome….
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From Brian Austin Whitney’s Just Plain Folks Newsletter…
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” -George Carlin

“I don’t have hobbies; hobbies cost money. Interests are quite free.” -George Carlin

“It’s never just a game when you’re winning.” -George Carlin

“Everybody dies, but not everybody lives the life they want.  Have you?” -Brian Austin Whitney

My Take:
When NBC commentator Tim Russert passed away a few weeks ago, one of the most interesting stories I heard about him in the coverage came from his old boss Jack Welch.   Jack said that when Tim was negotiating his last contract, he did so without an agent, which was unheard of.   His only concern in the negotiation was that he could keep doing his job for at least 12 more years, which would represent 3 full US Election styles.   He was so passionate about his work that the money didn’t matter to him, only the comfort of knowing he could keep doing what he loves no matter what.  On the day he died, he was in the sound booth doing exactly that.   Though it’s really sad that he’s gone (he was a great fair minded journalist) isn’t it great that his priorities were in the right place.  A big contract will never be paid out.  But he got to do what he loved up until the last moment.  We should all be so lucky right?  

We’ve always strived to provide our members with some motivation and support to pursue real world success.  To me that means learning to write better songs, learning to perform better and learning how to make enough progress in your passion to keep doing it.   That might mean an extra gig here or there to cover the cost of the babysitter needed to give you time to play.  That might mean learning how to sell 10 more CD’s at a gig so you can quit the part time job that takes you away from playing.   That might mean getting a placement for one of your songs on a TV show or movie so you can make enough money to go to a songwriters workshop to improve your craft.   You get the drift.   Sure, we’ve been very fortunate to boost and then cheer on many JPF members who have crossed over into mainstream popularity and success, but we all know the truth is that out of our 52K members, most of you simply won’t reach the pinnacle of success in the music industry.   But so what?  Our goal is to help you be like Tim Russert and keep doing what you love for as long as you possibly can.  

Just Plain Folks has been around now for 10 years.   We started with 60 people in a chat room on AOL and now have over 50,000 members in over 150 countries around the world.   Like Tim, I’ve never done this for the money.  I work hard to find enough sponsors (several of which we feature today in the newsletter) to give us enough funding to do the amazing things we do and keep it all free for you.   Our awards passed the half million song mark this year and getting to do that program is like Tim covering a presidential election.   Like Tim, I always want to make sure I can keep doing this as it’s my true passion in life.   My goal has never been to die rich, but rather to live the richest life I can while I am alive.   Everybody dies, but not everybody lives the life they want.  Have you?  If not, I bet you still have time to do it.  

If you love to make and perform music, I hope you’ll get even more involved with Just Plain Folks as we enter our second decade.  We’ll do everything we can to educate you (or find the answers when we don’t know them) and point you in the right direction.  All our volunteers do this for the same reason.  We love being facilitators as much (or maybe even more) than you love writing and performing music.  The more involved each of you are, the more likely we’ll also get to keep doing this.  I’m game if you’re game!

Here’s to our second decade of JPF and rest in peace Tim and George.  You guys certainly lived the way you wanted and left the world a better place for it.”
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I was sad to hear that George Carlin passed as well as Tim Russert. Tim was too young, George was in his 70’s but still too young. I grew up on Carlin and his rantings. He made sense in so many ways. He wasnt a comic, he was a realist who pointed out life’s absurdities and made you laugh your ass off in the process. The thing about George and Tim both, as Brian pointed out, was that they knew what they wanted and lived the lives they truly loved and wanted to be doing. I honestly only know a few people that do that…and thankfully, they are some of my closes friends. Ari Nisman from Degy Booking, Ariel Hyatt from Ariel Publicity, Bob Baker of The Indie Buzz Factor, Josh Rifkin from B-Dreams Music, Edgar Montesdeoca, Brad Whitley…the thing they all have in common is that they are all entrepreneurs and have made careers on their own doing what they love. Its funny. I just got back from the Indie Buzz Bootcamp a week ago where i was talking about this very same thing to a group of indie artists. Thing is, that i started my talk telling them that I wasnt going to tell them anything they didnt already know…just some things they may not be thinking about.

I live a very blessed life. I live in a nice town, in a great apartment, have the most awesome wife in the world who I love more than anything, and who supports me 1000000%, great friends, a great family, and I get to wake up everyday and do what I truly LOVE for a living. I can put in an 18 hour day everyday and never actually go to work, because it’s what i want to be doing. I never cared about being famous, just making a living at what I love and I’ve achieved that and more. If the fame comes, then great. I’ve flirted with it a few times, but it doesnt matter to me either way. Getting here was a lot of work, but it wasnt really hard. All it took was time, dedication and planning…and truly believing in myself and the things I could do.

I’ve noticed a lot of people that want something, and say that they arent happy with their lives, but do nothing significant to change that. To me, life has always been simple…it’s a choice. You can either choose to be happy or not. Thats really what it boils down to. But most people muddy that up with second guessing, fear, false starts and mindsets that have them convinced that they are stuck where they are. I’ve found that the only thing that seperates a successful person from someone who isnt is the fact that they believed they could do it.

I’m a big believer in positive thinking and the power of positive attraction. Believe it and you can get it. People have always accused me of being non-chalant about my life. And ya know what, maybe I am to an extent. But if i am, it’s because I dont feel the need to stress over the things I believe are going to happen. My wife laughs at my sometimes because I dont say words like “maybe”…it’s always “when”.  I love when people tell me I cant do something, because it only makes me believe in it more and work harder to make it happen.

Like Just Plain Folks, I have hit a milestone in my career in as much as my company, Leap Dog Music is 10 years old this year. Thats pretty cool to me. As someone that started in my bedroom writing my first solo CD, I’m here 10 years later making a fun living. I own a record label with 4 releases, working on a 5th, have a publishing company, signed a film and TV licensing deal with another publishing company, have had songs in an indie movie, have acted, own a nice recording studio, have produced 6 other artists CDs, teach voice, mentor indie artists, work at Ariel Publicity as their Director Of Indie Sales and Affiliates, tour 200+ days a year, have released an audio book with Bob Baker and am working on my first real book, have sang at Giants Stadium 10x, at Shea Stadium, for NASCAR, and much more. I’ve gotten to see and experience some amazing things in my life and I know it’s far from over!! I’m always striving for more and never truly satisfied with things. I’ve always felt that the word comfortable is a bad word. I think when you get comfortable, you stop trying. You should always be just short of it so that you can see it and feel accomplished but still want to work harder because you arent quite there. Celebrate little successes and dont always expect to hit a home run everytime.  Comfort has always equaled complacency to me from what I’ve seen in other people.

It’s funny where you get inspiration sometimes, but believe it or not, my Beagle, Java, is someone that keeps me in check. Ever watch a dog?? Life is just always good. Sleeping is great, but now it’s PLAY TIME!!! And oh, i get to EAT and OH,  i can go outside and OH A RIDE IN THE CAR and OMG THE PARK!!! New People, new dogs, a tree, a bench…EVERYTHING is exciting even if they have seen it 100 times before. I can leave the house for 5 minutes and come back to get something and he acts like he hasnt seen me in a month and is all over me. That kind of innocent joyful exuberance is amazing and has always made me think…what if we acted that way?? Most people would think it’s uncool. I always say i dont ever want to grow up. Ever watch a “grown up”? They tend to be miserable and tell you to “act your age”. Ever watch a child?? They have an innocent joyful exuberance and everything in life is fun…where does it go for some people? How do they lose that? Why dont they just make the choice to be happy and strive to only do things that make them happy? People will do something that they KNOW isnt what they want to be doing…then complain about it…but it was their choice to do it. I dont get it. I vowed to never lose it. I’m adult, handle my affairs and take my responsiibilities very seriously, but i dont ever want to grow up and dont ever want to do what makes me not happy.

I think that it comes down to what you want out of life. I always knew what I wanted…to make a living doing what I’ve loved and have been doing since I’m five years old. We are taught in this country to settle or to fail…but rarely to succeed. There are those who live in the box, those who say they live outside of it and then those who dont even have one and never have…I like to think thats where I am. I’ve never thought that something was out of reach…just might take longer to get to. And if i fell on my face trying, then good. I just learned something new. I like to stay positive and say i never make mistakes…I have learning experiences.  When you look at it that way, it’s far less defeating to your psyche.

So, here’s a question. What makes you happy. And if you can answer that, are you doing it or doing something to head towards it?? And are you the kind of person that can believe in what you say you want?? Chime in…would love to hear what you have to say…

J.T.