
Why you may never have your “big break”
Work Smart Show daily blog.
The big break. The moment that you are spotted by a talent scout and signed to a major label to instantly become a superstar. The moment that you are taken from obscurity to a hugely successful, and did I mention wealthy, person that everyone knows. We all know it from movies and wait that’s it, just movies.
Although this does happen sometimes for the majority of people there is no such thing as a big break. I don't say this to kill your dreams but to ensure you realise that dreams are not given to you they are worked for and earned. Hopefully you have realised that for anyone hoping for their big break is simply daydreaming or very immature or spoilt in their view of the world.
Granted at some level we all do hope for a big break in any work we do but this is more often optimism more similar to “I hope I am recognised for the hard work I put in and product I created” rather than “I hope I am recognised for my brilliant work with my report and made CEO of my company“. The difference is largely and obviously in the reach of the expectations and also the attitude that you will adopt if you are not recognized or promoted to CEO.
And of course there are people that have become huge successes from a big break but they have always had a framework behind them. Ken Coleman blew up after an interview with the CEO of Chik-fil-a but he was then working a good position as a radio presenter and had worked hard to get himself there. People like Nicki Minaj and Drake both were amplified by their big break being signed to Cash Money records but both were working hard on their craft for several years before being picked up. Almost every example of a big break is explained in this one phrase often bandied around the business and entrepreneur space “overnight success takes ten years.”
Consider this, why would a major record company, that exists primarily to make money first and music second, sign a singer with no experience in the industry; songwriting, performance, interviewing or PR? Even if they had a amazing voice, of which many regular people do, and even less pop singers actually do, this isn‘t enough. The same applies to anyone in business, why would a company promote you without you providing you have the skills to live up to the expectations of the CEO role?
My favorite story around this is recorded in a song called Jason Geter by Dee1 outlining how he tried to get in contact with Jason Geter, TI’s manager, business partner and co-founder of Grand Hustle Records. The fascinating thing is that Dee1 has blown up after signing to RCA Inspiration and again after his song Sallie Mae Back made waves around America but indeed before either of these events he was working extremely hard to build his business knowledge, brand, catalogue and ability.
I challenge you today then to have huge outlandish goals but ensure you are making realistic steps towards them and not waiting for them to be handed to you. You can daydream and think about achieving them but you must always come back to the work, the only thing you can do to guarantee you reach your goals.
