{"id":5512,"date":"2011-12-16T12:45:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T20:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/?p=5512"},"modified":"2011-12-16T12:45:26","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T20:45:26","slug":"it-does-not-happen-overnight-it-happens-over-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/it-does-not-happen-overnight-it-happens-over-years\/","title":{"rendered":"It Does Not Happen Overnight. It Happens Over Years."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OvernightThank you to Bob Baker<\/a> for posting this on his Facebook wall. Everyone should read this, and read it again in a month, and keep it for future reference. This article originally was posted on Study Hacks.<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Thompson and I just talked about this on the Music Biz Weekly podcast<\/a>. How 37 episodes ago we just started and kept going, kept recording weekly episodes, didn’t give up. There are way too many blogs, websites, videos and techniques which sell you on how to get instant success. All BS! They are counting on you to part with $29.95 in the hopes of finding the “magic pill” which will do all the work for you. Sorry but that pill does not exist.<\/p>\n

Your content is king. That content could you songs, lyrics, videos, playing live, blog posts. The point is you need to start and keep doing it. Don’t stop. Don’t worry that nobody is reading, watching or listening. Keep doing it. Your audience will find you if you keep it up and your content is good.<\/p>\n

It does not happen overnight. It happens over years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read on…<\/p>\n

Action Paralysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

J.D. Roth of the popular Get Rich Slowly<\/a> blog recalls a conversation he had with a friend who had just started his own web site. As J.D. recalls, after the friend posted an introductory article he asked: \u201cCan you point people to the site?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot yet,\u201d J. D. replied. \u201cYou don\u2019t have any content.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of writing, the friend tweaked the layout and introduced advertisements. Several weeks passed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s coming to my site,\u201d the friend complained. \u201cNot a single person has clicked on an ad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because there\u2019s nothing there\u2026you need to focus on content,\u201d J.D. replied.<\/p>\n

The friend posted a new article, then let the site lay fallow for another month. Finally, he wrote J.D. again, this time pleading: \u201cCan\u2019t you please point people to my site?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe in a couple months,\u201d J.D. replied. \u201cMaybe once you have some content.\u201d<\/p>\n

Empty Inspiration <\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider another example. I have a friend who is a successful entrepreneur in the movie industry. He\u2019s a strong believer in the power of consistent action. When giving talks to student crowds he likes to sum up his entire approach to life as a two-step process: \u201c(1) Get started; (2) Keep going.\u201d
\nThis friend told me that he\u2019s often asked for help from both entrepreneur and movie producer wannabes. Not surprising, considering his views on the subject, his reaction is always the same: \u201cSure, go take two or three concrete steps toward your goal and then we\u2019ll talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost no one ever gets back to him\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

The Schemers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The type of people described in the above stories are so common that I\u2019ve given them a name: The Schemers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Schemers are young people who are talented and ambitious. They have some sense that they\u2019re destined for something big and they often feel frustration that they haven\u2019t yet earned much distinction.<\/p>\n

What defines this group is a belief that the key to big achievement is finding the magic formula for breaking through. The blogger bothering J.D. thought the key was getting that one high-value link. The wannabes contacting my movie producer friend wanted a high-prestige job handed to them. Before I wrote a definitive article<\/a> on the subject, I used to get a lot of e-mails and calls from young people who wanted to publish a book. I always told them to keep me posted. But I never heard back. I got the feeling that they didn\u2019t like my advice: become a better writer and back-up your idea with widely recognized expertise<\/strong>. I think they were hoping instead for the name of the editor that would immediately buy their rough proposal.<\/p>\n

They were all hoping for that magic formula that would make the big break happen all at once\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Beyond Schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Schemers rarely earn lasting distinction. Real achievement, as it turns out, almost never comes from a big break that comes out of nowhere<\/strong>. There is almost always a long history of consistent action that builds, over time, to the state where they finally tip into real fame in their field. People who are constantly looking for an angle to induce a premature break \u2014 attempting to sidestep the years of consistent action \u2014 never find what they seek.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my advice: If you\u2019re young, and talented, and ambitious, and have this feeling like you\u2019re destined for something impressive, then take note of the lessons of J.D. and my producer friend. Once you\u2019ve chosen the general direction you want to pursue \u2014 a choice that shouldn\u2019t be taken lightly<\/a> \u2014 just start doing things.<\/p>\n

Start. Work. Finish. Start. Work. Finish\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a simple rhythm. But it works. There is no magic formula; no one big idea or powerful contact that can grant you distinction. Compulsive networking and the sending of inspired e-mails will not get you to your ambitious goal. Real achievement is not the result of single well-chosen action, it is, instead, an epiphenomena of years of hard work.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be a schemer. Be a doer. Over time, action \u2014 not scheming \u2014 is what breeds achievement momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thank you to Bob Baker for posting this on his Facebook wall. Everyone should read this, and read it again in a month, and keep it for future reference. This article originally was posted on Study Hacks. Brian Thompson and I just talked about this on the Music Biz Weekly podcast. How 37 episodes ago […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1267,804,1268,958,1269,1270,1271,1272],"class_list":["post-5512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-marketing-2","tag-big-break","tag-bob-baker","tag-consistent","tag-content","tag-j-d-roth","tag-keep-trying","tag-schemers","tag-study-hacks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}