Nothing to fear but fear itself

I recently read an article in ArtBistro entitled: Overcome Fear to Succeed in your Career.  The article talked about one's fear of failure in new roles (primarily speaking in terms of job roles).  The article went on to say that if we make mistakes in a role and later vow to not make those mistakes again we may condition ourselves into becoming more cautious than we were before we made the mistake, and thus we would not take, what may seem to be a similar risk in the future.  By doing this, we think we are taking the "safe route," which may be true, but we may become overly cautious and miss out on a larger reward had we taken even a little more risk than we've been conditioned, by that point, to take.  

In other words, we don't want to take such a "safe route" that we miss out on potential opportunities that could lead us to some great success or the kind of small success that we need to springboard us into larger future successes.  Bottom line is:  sometimes we fear making the same mistake twice, but sometimes we're really more afraid of actually succeeding.  

I think this happens in the independent music business a lot.  In indie music there's really no standard road map to success (at least not anymore), and what works well for one band's success may not work for another band, even a similar band that plays the same type of music.  For example, when a band plays a show in a new city at a new venue and the band did what they thought was a phenomenal job promoting the show and still only four people showed up.  That doesn't mean that the band shouldn't try to get another show at that venue.  The next time they play there they may need to try some additional, or different, marketing tactics to effectively promote the show.  Or, it may be that they just need to keep doing what they were doing, but just play there two or three times before that city and it's community knows that the band regularly or periodically plays that particular venue.  

In my own personal life I've recently felt the woes of the "safe route" cautious path I was on, but have since taken some risk to venture in a different direction that I hope will offer a larger reward than the path I originally started down.  Many of the readers of my blog know that in addition to my work as an indie musician and arts professional I work in the higher education industry.   

Well, last summer I took what was a good higher ed. professional opportunity that moved my wife and me from the Madison, WI area to Milwaukee, WI.  This job was a good job, and potentially a great opportunity; however, in the big picture it was the safe route for me.  The only problem was that my wife and I weren't sold on our new location, away from family.  Plus, other than a very small part of my new role, it did not offer the kind of fulfillment I was looking for.  Also, my wife and I found out she was pregnant, which made the idea of being away from family harder to swallow...and of course, I know that the economy isn't the greatest right now, so any consideration of quitting my job was certainly not the safe route.   

However, I knew in my heart of hearts that I had to do something.  I tapped some of my education contacts back in the Madison area and ended up discovering a Minnesota-based school that was opening a brand new campus in Madison, back where my wife and I wanted to be--to raise our growing family and be near our extended family.  So, I left my good, safe job in Milwaukee to help Globe University start up a new campus in the Madison, WI area.  Part of my decision to join Globe University is that they have an exciting Music Business program, which is something I'm looking forward to being a part of.  If you have an interest in Globe University's Music Business program feel free to email me at:  [email protected].  

I think I originally took a "safe route" with the Milwaukee opportunity that ended up being less fulfilling because I was afraid of actually succeeding if hadn't followed that route.  Not following that route meant taking a route that I thought might be a more risky, yet ultimately, a more fulfilling route.  Hindsight is 20/20, and perhaps I wouldn't have gained the perspective I now have had I not taken what I now perceive at the "safe route," but needless to say, I think I made the right decision.  I'm happy to be a part of something new for both Globe University and myself, and my wife and I are happy to be back in Madison.