It’s not your fault! Or is it? Is there something deeper going on?
Constantly you’re challenged to change the layout of your day only to face change and change again; and we’re not talking lost nickels, dimes and quarters under the front seat of your car.
Trust has evolved into workplace extinction.
Nobody enjoys having their name connected to dysfunction and failure therefore change becomes the only tool offered in a business world where tight last second decisions can become the empty handed reason why failure was painted onto the picture.
If so much change has destroyed a once valuable level of trust; why then do decision makers rip from their belts newer brands, attacks and visions? My radio mentor Andrew Ashwood reminded us daily that he wasn’t paid to like people but lead the company signing his check to break through walls that gifted his bosses with achievable success.
Might it be the employee at fault and not the leader?
Seth Godin of Tribes fame writes, “Faith is the unstated component in the work of a leader which makes it underrated. Faith leads to hope, hope overcomes fear. Faith is the dividing line between humans and most other species. We have faith the sun will rise tomorrow.”
Brace yourself…with so much pressure from upper levels of management; having faith in the work you perform hourly consumes so much energy that some circles have begun calling the eight hour American workday a new religion.
Compare the two!
Godin explains, “Without faith the leap never works. Religion supports the status quo and encourages us to fit in not stand out.”
How many company meetings vow to pull you into newer methods of delivery that now require missionary service between the departments?
This isn’t a new millennium or a post recession reaction to locating instant gratification; Godin reveals in the 1960’s IBM perked up their masses by enforcing workplace protocols, dress codes and precise methods of presenting ideas like that of a religion.
With faith shouldn’t there be trust? Trust has evolved into workplace extinction. Success of any type must be fed a full stream of communication.
Godin continues, “Faith at work needs to be amplified. It makes things easier for your peers to encourage their employees to embrace for the constant need for change.”
Woolworth’s once held its employees to it highest standards because being different made them competitive. Country clubs hold down a major set of rules that must be obeyed.
Godin warns employees, “Challenge a decision makers workplace religion and you’re taking on their faith.”
Suddenly your eyes open almost popping the sight machines out of their sockets when you stand back and view how the average person accepts the message; from sporting company colors and clothes to wearing badges and electronic keycards with their pictures to motivating the owner of the cubical next to you to continue believing in the reasons why there are so many demands compared to one or two years ago.
Godin points at Apple when explain how Steve Jobs has managed to lead millions to a brilliant display of computers at work while masterminding a plan to incorporate play things too like the Ipod. Phil Knight of Nike is no different.
Faith is what humans were born to do. Having faith creates action then reaction. Leaders are compensated for the people they deliver therefore risks are taken to maintain a presence. Having faith can be well worth it but doesn’t the journey truly begin with trust?
Trust has evolved into workplace extinction. Until today… Now you know what to look for when everything at work seems like it’s completely out of place and horribly out of tune. How many coworkers are truly seeking the very thing decision makers are determined to conquer? With so much preaching is anything sinking in?
Take notes! Visually watch and compare. Be a leader in the way that you can help spin bad times around by becoming part of a solution rather than developing circles that aim to challenge change.
Godin wraps things up, “Change is made by people, by leaders who are proud to be called heretics because their faith is never in question.”
Where do you sit on the path of rediscovery?
I will always believe in you first…
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
Showing posts with label success at work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label success at work. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
How to finally get over it...
I didn’t realize this but new studies show that being a “Team Player” stifles your creative end result. Helping others achieve success steals from your personal goals often leaving you depressed, confused and several miles off what you assumed was the right path.
I first bumped into this thought process while studying the words of former Philadelphia 76er’s owner Pat Croce who vibrantly pointed out how unimportant being a “Team Player” is. It doesn’t have the potential; it without a doubt the energy to generate an avenue for the lazy to become weaker and the strong to locate ample space to discuss last night’s game.
I’m often accused of being a loner. Laughingly I point out that my process of doing has yet to position itself in the center of a team that sees where I’m going. I’m the kid on the playground that doesn’t play tether ball or four square; the visionary that walks below the tall 200 year old Oaks wondering if a leaf finds fascination in feeling the sensation of falling during an extremely important part of the year.
Team work for me is a joke. The moment you’re forced to depend on someone’s dedication and loyalty is an agreement that far exceeds the expectations of marriage. Once those vows are shared it’s a nonprofit organization but in the world of business survival, a working relationship feeds the pocket with a canal of loose change and without a doubt there’s always a team player more willing to take then give…which in return silences your endeavor to maintain success.
I live and work by a single rule self dubbed The Beatles. Four diverse guys with enormous amounts of visibly different talent and yet there was harmony. If Lennon had chosen to silence McCartney you might not be singing Yesterday. Paul once said, “I never feared taking my music to John. I knew who I was and knew he’d make my music better.” Lost but not forgotten is the impact that each of them invited after the divorce. George Harrison helped to raise millions of dollars for Bangladesh while continuing to inspire guitarists that arrived decades after his inception and through his willingness to share music continues to change the face of current disasters.
I’ve yet to read the radio book that tells the true tales of a pied piper. Publishers aren’t interested in the battle wounds required to make a dent in an industry that’s endured more changes and challenges than any other medium and it still continues to hold up its arms with fierce fire shooting from its nose. It doesn’t require a Team Player to enhance your interest to listen—radio is still visual pictured by a passerby and ultimately it’s the weekend or late night talent on the air that’s creatively designed the canvas that’s given birth to a safe place for your imagination to travel.
It may have taken a team of people to clear the way for a single thought to travel the distance between a control board and your car stereo but ultimately the loner has carved out the connection.
Look what happens on television when two and sometimes three news anchors spout their waves of thought all over your flat screen…count how long it takes for you to tune out. Mike Edwards used to tell me, “People don’t know why they find dislike in a broadcast…they just know they don’t like it. Your job is to make sure you don’t provide that stage.” He didn’t say “Our” job…he said “Your” job.
I pulled into an RV outlet one afternoon basking on the idea of letting go of the world to dine on the wonders of nature. The sales rep had me until the team playing manager walked onto the scene and boldly told me how bad the economy is and that with prices like this the unit will be gone tomorrow. I had no problem looking the rep in the eyes and calmly saying, “You had me at hello but lost me when you decided that you needed him to seal the deal.”
The banking industry has a CEO not CEO’s. It’s called a Department Head not heads. If we are to find truth and faith in research than the releasing of there being no true purpose behind investing in Team Work should be looked upon as being a tool. The report didn’t say we shouldn’t work together. It viably points out that dumping all your Doritos into the chip bowl doesn’t guarantee you something to pour your salsa on during the big game.
Players bring things to the table. Team Players kick the chair, mumble while stumbling through the hallway, hated the idea of having to wake up so early and usually take two hour lunch breaks or munch a bunch of snacks at their desk where communicating to the client. What they don’t see, a client can feel inside the depths of their presentation.
Players are leaders. Team Players are followers. Players calmly walk up to a Wal-Mart manager and gently share “You spend millions of dollars in advertising every Christmas promoting how your guests never have to wait in long check out lines and in the off season I’m spending fifteen minutes wondering why I shopped you and not Target. Am I supposed to believe the only money you want from me is what I might make this December?”
It opens gates…
Oh! Speaking of Wal-Mart…those electric fans in front of the cashier are purchased by the minimum wage employee. I asked, “Do you take it home with you after the shift is completed?” Shaking her head from side to side she said, “No…the majority of us can’t afford this fan so we’ve learned to share it.”
That’s not team work…that’s a Player who saw a need then decided to share. Leaders are born everyday…even at Wal-Mart. Know the difference and start having a better day at work. If you’re depressed, angry and torn a part…before you quit, decide first to participate as a player and not a follower.
I believe in you…
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
I first bumped into this thought process while studying the words of former Philadelphia 76er’s owner Pat Croce who vibrantly pointed out how unimportant being a “Team Player” is. It doesn’t have the potential; it without a doubt the energy to generate an avenue for the lazy to become weaker and the strong to locate ample space to discuss last night’s game.
I’m often accused of being a loner. Laughingly I point out that my process of doing has yet to position itself in the center of a team that sees where I’m going. I’m the kid on the playground that doesn’t play tether ball or four square; the visionary that walks below the tall 200 year old Oaks wondering if a leaf finds fascination in feeling the sensation of falling during an extremely important part of the year.
Team work for me is a joke. The moment you’re forced to depend on someone’s dedication and loyalty is an agreement that far exceeds the expectations of marriage. Once those vows are shared it’s a nonprofit organization but in the world of business survival, a working relationship feeds the pocket with a canal of loose change and without a doubt there’s always a team player more willing to take then give…which in return silences your endeavor to maintain success.
I live and work by a single rule self dubbed The Beatles. Four diverse guys with enormous amounts of visibly different talent and yet there was harmony. If Lennon had chosen to silence McCartney you might not be singing Yesterday. Paul once said, “I never feared taking my music to John. I knew who I was and knew he’d make my music better.” Lost but not forgotten is the impact that each of them invited after the divorce. George Harrison helped to raise millions of dollars for Bangladesh while continuing to inspire guitarists that arrived decades after his inception and through his willingness to share music continues to change the face of current disasters.
I’ve yet to read the radio book that tells the true tales of a pied piper. Publishers aren’t interested in the battle wounds required to make a dent in an industry that’s endured more changes and challenges than any other medium and it still continues to hold up its arms with fierce fire shooting from its nose. It doesn’t require a Team Player to enhance your interest to listen—radio is still visual pictured by a passerby and ultimately it’s the weekend or late night talent on the air that’s creatively designed the canvas that’s given birth to a safe place for your imagination to travel.
It may have taken a team of people to clear the way for a single thought to travel the distance between a control board and your car stereo but ultimately the loner has carved out the connection.
Look what happens on television when two and sometimes three news anchors spout their waves of thought all over your flat screen…count how long it takes for you to tune out. Mike Edwards used to tell me, “People don’t know why they find dislike in a broadcast…they just know they don’t like it. Your job is to make sure you don’t provide that stage.” He didn’t say “Our” job…he said “Your” job.
I pulled into an RV outlet one afternoon basking on the idea of letting go of the world to dine on the wonders of nature. The sales rep had me until the team playing manager walked onto the scene and boldly told me how bad the economy is and that with prices like this the unit will be gone tomorrow. I had no problem looking the rep in the eyes and calmly saying, “You had me at hello but lost me when you decided that you needed him to seal the deal.”
The banking industry has a CEO not CEO’s. It’s called a Department Head not heads. If we are to find truth and faith in research than the releasing of there being no true purpose behind investing in Team Work should be looked upon as being a tool. The report didn’t say we shouldn’t work together. It viably points out that dumping all your Doritos into the chip bowl doesn’t guarantee you something to pour your salsa on during the big game.
Players bring things to the table. Team Players kick the chair, mumble while stumbling through the hallway, hated the idea of having to wake up so early and usually take two hour lunch breaks or munch a bunch of snacks at their desk where communicating to the client. What they don’t see, a client can feel inside the depths of their presentation.
Players are leaders. Team Players are followers. Players calmly walk up to a Wal-Mart manager and gently share “You spend millions of dollars in advertising every Christmas promoting how your guests never have to wait in long check out lines and in the off season I’m spending fifteen minutes wondering why I shopped you and not Target. Am I supposed to believe the only money you want from me is what I might make this December?”
It opens gates…
Oh! Speaking of Wal-Mart…those electric fans in front of the cashier are purchased by the minimum wage employee. I asked, “Do you take it home with you after the shift is completed?” Shaking her head from side to side she said, “No…the majority of us can’t afford this fan so we’ve learned to share it.”
That’s not team work…that’s a Player who saw a need then decided to share. Leaders are born everyday…even at Wal-Mart. Know the difference and start having a better day at work. If you’re depressed, angry and torn a part…before you quit, decide first to participate as a player and not a follower.
I believe in you…
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Why do bosses hire others rather than you?
Nothing is more liable to misuse than power therefore personal growth becomes the newly shaped spirituality.
Would this be the reason why books based on motivating your workplace, favorite hiding place and places to reach are constantly found in or around the New Age Religion section of most book stores?
John C Maxwell, Anthony Robbins, Character is Destiny from John McCain, Andy Andrews, Harvey McKay and Lynn Robinson have left their pages to be hung in the quiet word galleries in areas of the store that almost seem empty until you begin to push your imagination into the ink stains they’ve left behind.
But never once did I make the connection that each of them took from the wind a source of information based on power making it the new found religion.
Blame it on my connection to a Montana county line childhood caked with church studies and outings; never once did someone explain that an increase in sales and performance plus the reconstruction of a business lifestyle is looked upon as being spiritual.
Why then is being a work-a-holic frowned upon? It’s no different than a minister, preacher or pastor carefully laying out the groundwork of this Sunday’s message. Oprah couldn’t have said it better, “Employees and business owners who understand the secret tend to have better and longer lasting success.”
The secret being; what you’re expected to bring to the surface of your daily duties rarely has anything to do with your personal gain and everything to do with the product reaching a client that will use it to better their way of living. The misuse of power creates a crack in the process of exceeding the limits of expectation.
A police officer doesn’t enjoy pulling speeders over; the paperwork is excruciating! Yet without their guidance speeders have the ability to wreak havoc on other peoples lives, stealing from them at times when least expected. The officer serves as a middle man, a messenger of sorts, making sure both parties involved are safely delivered to their proper destination with the least amount of difficulty.
So how does that fit into the New Age section of a book store?
When you stop to realize your job isn’t just a job. When you learn to recognize your efforts at the workplace are valued more by outsiders and not a constantly nagging boss glued to facts and figures.
Self evolution is experienced when you decide to develop the powers that offer you motivation without misusing the abilities that made you who you are. Everyone has countless amounts of possibilities, reaching them fairly isn’t always worth the struggles so we’ve evolved into a nation of shortcut takers masterminding plans that make working an individual sport rather than a team effort. And in the end…growth isn’t achieved because those holding the experience to achieve have no room for someone willing to pay their dues, they can’t locate a wide enough space to fit their personal growth into. Therefore, we have in essence a modern day religious war.
Think about it; if personal or work environment growth is recognized as being a form of spirituality the end result is going to always be different beliefs and a misuse of power which in the long run generates poorly developed skills as communicators and I don’t need to remind you of the days when you’ve bumped your nose into someone’s silence then spent the next eight hours worried about your own position on the company ladder.
Progress: perfecting capability, possibility, faculties and qualities. A development of deeper truth helps educate the wandering mind. I tend to call it Radio Reality. You might call it A Bankers way of living or Behind the Cupcake’s. Show me a business that isn’t overflowing with employees that have willingness but no clue as to where they’re going to get the necessary experience to obtain success.
Employees are no longer developed they’re dropped into an arena and expected to survive.
Make it your goal to stand next to a coworker and figure out how to make progress. Success loves to take naps and in each of us there is a bear waiting for the opportunity to pop open its eyes and discover a higher level of performance. If the worker within isn’t shown the way…we become a nation blessed with multitudes of wanderer's who find more pleasure in being unemployed than actively affecting the lives of people who pass you by.
Personal and professional growth is spiritual. No wonder it hurts like hell when you keep walking into windows and walls designed by coworkers and bosses that have not a passion in the world to help you make it. They’re more interested in their personal gain therefore the misuse of power is evident making what we do wasted time for one and for all.
I’m not asking you to stand on a box and preach a good word. One coworker…stand next to them today and listen. What you hold is experience and it’s that adventure that becomes the missing link. Never forget this important rule; one that I have officially dubbed The Beatles floor plan: four completely different guys…yet there was harmony.
Stop treating your job like a job and begin to put focus on the people buying the product. What are you doing to guarantee a service or product to make somone's life better? If your response is, “What’s in it for me?” Don’t expect personal and professional growth this year. Wall Street, bosses and family members find no reason to invest in objects with no value. Raise your worth by participating in the presentation of letting one steal your art.
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
Would this be the reason why books based on motivating your workplace, favorite hiding place and places to reach are constantly found in or around the New Age Religion section of most book stores?
John C Maxwell, Anthony Robbins, Character is Destiny from John McCain, Andy Andrews, Harvey McKay and Lynn Robinson have left their pages to be hung in the quiet word galleries in areas of the store that almost seem empty until you begin to push your imagination into the ink stains they’ve left behind.
But never once did I make the connection that each of them took from the wind a source of information based on power making it the new found religion.
Blame it on my connection to a Montana county line childhood caked with church studies and outings; never once did someone explain that an increase in sales and performance plus the reconstruction of a business lifestyle is looked upon as being spiritual.
Why then is being a work-a-holic frowned upon? It’s no different than a minister, preacher or pastor carefully laying out the groundwork of this Sunday’s message. Oprah couldn’t have said it better, “Employees and business owners who understand the secret tend to have better and longer lasting success.”
The secret being; what you’re expected to bring to the surface of your daily duties rarely has anything to do with your personal gain and everything to do with the product reaching a client that will use it to better their way of living. The misuse of power creates a crack in the process of exceeding the limits of expectation.
A police officer doesn’t enjoy pulling speeders over; the paperwork is excruciating! Yet without their guidance speeders have the ability to wreak havoc on other peoples lives, stealing from them at times when least expected. The officer serves as a middle man, a messenger of sorts, making sure both parties involved are safely delivered to their proper destination with the least amount of difficulty.
So how does that fit into the New Age section of a book store?
When you stop to realize your job isn’t just a job. When you learn to recognize your efforts at the workplace are valued more by outsiders and not a constantly nagging boss glued to facts and figures.
Self evolution is experienced when you decide to develop the powers that offer you motivation without misusing the abilities that made you who you are. Everyone has countless amounts of possibilities, reaching them fairly isn’t always worth the struggles so we’ve evolved into a nation of shortcut takers masterminding plans that make working an individual sport rather than a team effort. And in the end…growth isn’t achieved because those holding the experience to achieve have no room for someone willing to pay their dues, they can’t locate a wide enough space to fit their personal growth into. Therefore, we have in essence a modern day religious war.
Think about it; if personal or work environment growth is recognized as being a form of spirituality the end result is going to always be different beliefs and a misuse of power which in the long run generates poorly developed skills as communicators and I don’t need to remind you of the days when you’ve bumped your nose into someone’s silence then spent the next eight hours worried about your own position on the company ladder.
Progress: perfecting capability, possibility, faculties and qualities. A development of deeper truth helps educate the wandering mind. I tend to call it Radio Reality. You might call it A Bankers way of living or Behind the Cupcake’s. Show me a business that isn’t overflowing with employees that have willingness but no clue as to where they’re going to get the necessary experience to obtain success.
Employees are no longer developed they’re dropped into an arena and expected to survive.
Make it your goal to stand next to a coworker and figure out how to make progress. Success loves to take naps and in each of us there is a bear waiting for the opportunity to pop open its eyes and discover a higher level of performance. If the worker within isn’t shown the way…we become a nation blessed with multitudes of wanderer's who find more pleasure in being unemployed than actively affecting the lives of people who pass you by.
Personal and professional growth is spiritual. No wonder it hurts like hell when you keep walking into windows and walls designed by coworkers and bosses that have not a passion in the world to help you make it. They’re more interested in their personal gain therefore the misuse of power is evident making what we do wasted time for one and for all.
I’m not asking you to stand on a box and preach a good word. One coworker…stand next to them today and listen. What you hold is experience and it’s that adventure that becomes the missing link. Never forget this important rule; one that I have officially dubbed The Beatles floor plan: four completely different guys…yet there was harmony.
Stop treating your job like a job and begin to put focus on the people buying the product. What are you doing to guarantee a service or product to make somone's life better? If your response is, “What’s in it for me?” Don’t expect personal and professional growth this year. Wall Street, bosses and family members find no reason to invest in objects with no value. Raise your worth by participating in the presentation of letting one steal your art.
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
Friday, January 22, 2010
Yes you can...if you have training wheels.
Where did you stuff your training wheels?
Between the ages of three to five tiny tikes free themselves from trikes and brave the odds of balance on two rather than three wheels. One crash and mom and dad are quick to bolt a set of extra balance to your backside which turns bike riding into a seriously cool excursion fed by the need to find speed in exploration.
Once you capture six and no later than seven…the fix is over. If you ain’t peddling on the power of two wheels you become a runner. And just like that…human nature has its first date with the I quit syndrome.
Having those extra wheels behind you didn’t guarantee a solid climb up a sturdy mountain but it convinced your fears that no matter what happened the bicycle wasn’t going to be a problem, unless you were headed south on a northbound hill and the brakes ended up being the page in the owners manual you elected not to study. Even then, you would fly and the bike would still be standing there like Dwayne The Rock Johnson calmly saying, “Get back on…lets take a flight to the moon.”
As a teen, young adult and middle aged to senior, the thought of taking chances has become a passing breeze that nibbles on your nose and quickly says, “Not for me.”
Keeping up with American culture comes with no training wheels.
Setting sail on an open sea of creativity is for failed artists and straight A students who can’t live without a challenge—but in time, like leaves on the tree in the front yard…everything you love hits turn number four inside your squared circle. What you once loved, cherished, found faith in no longer delivers that buzz.
I see the image in the mirror everyday and go totally New Jersey on his attitude, “What’s your problem?”
I have no clue how I reached 2nd degree status in martial arts and even worse…30 years of radio. I can’t finish reading or writing a book. I fell into a bucket of paint and landscaped nearly a thousand canvases only to find myself stuck smelling the fumes from something I used to be. I can start a project in the forest with incredible intensions but end up setting it aside when kicked in the tail by the presence of a tree root that immediately turned my path into a quick turn at the railroad tracks.
Training wheels…
Can’t wait to get them on…can’t stand the idea my friends have turned the enjoyment of bike riding into an Optimist Park comedy act. I love skateboarding! Was doing it before it was cool…kind of—I never mastered the fine art of standing up. Too afraid to fall. The mid 70's didnt come with really cool pads and helmets. I turned out to be the kid who sat on his knees and used his hands to push his dreams to separate parts of the newly discovered world.
Why 30 years of radio? Training wheels…
As much as I wanted to be Cajun Ken Cooper in Los Angeles or Larry Lujack in Chicago, a tiny voice kept whispering, “Loser…” But I couldn’t stop the extremely loud drive to keep pushing my way into an industry that eats up innocent dreamers by the second—I feared this business so bad that a moment of accidentally using foul language on the air finally pointed the way…during the process of being suspended without pay, I calmly asked Terry the GM, “While out…who do you suggest produce the commercials?”
Looking at me with fire in his heart Terry took my visions of one day living in a purple house in the city of angels while cranking Aerosmith and Kiss through guitar amps the size of Mount Mitchell to a level I didn’t know existed until he plopped down in that rich person leadership chair and through those long well tailored fingers said, “If I ever hear you cuss on the air again…you’ll be right back in this office.”
Once inside a radio station production room I realized…this is where the magic of theater of the mind truly lives. Jocks are jocks and they get one chance to make a difference. A great commercial can play over and over again like The Beatles, Chris Daughtry and REM.
Training wheels…
These aren’t bad times in America and around the world—this is the voice you’ve been waiting for, “Build it and they will come.”
Why do we stop? Fear of failure is created by bosses who fear themselves and pass it along to you. Constructive criticism is dynamite. Leadership is the new terrorism and Homeland Security hasn’t devised a plan to save this unforgettable nation. You can’t have an evil takeover if those playing the part of worker bee no longer believe in the selves they haul home everyday hoping to cry but the only thing that comes out is dust.
Training wheels…
We all have drawers in the kitchen stuffed with bolts and nuts we thought we’d never use until today. Grab a wrench and let’s get you saddled up for what’s going to become the ride of your life. Winning is a choice and today…you’ve decided to finally accomplish what you’ve always dreamed.
The day will arrive before you know it, where the only choice you're given is heaven or hell...that’s it man, Wal-Mart won’t give you a refund or exchange...not even with a rain check.
Steal my art...
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
Between the ages of three to five tiny tikes free themselves from trikes and brave the odds of balance on two rather than three wheels. One crash and mom and dad are quick to bolt a set of extra balance to your backside which turns bike riding into a seriously cool excursion fed by the need to find speed in exploration.
Once you capture six and no later than seven…the fix is over. If you ain’t peddling on the power of two wheels you become a runner. And just like that…human nature has its first date with the I quit syndrome.
Having those extra wheels behind you didn’t guarantee a solid climb up a sturdy mountain but it convinced your fears that no matter what happened the bicycle wasn’t going to be a problem, unless you were headed south on a northbound hill and the brakes ended up being the page in the owners manual you elected not to study. Even then, you would fly and the bike would still be standing there like Dwayne The Rock Johnson calmly saying, “Get back on…lets take a flight to the moon.”
As a teen, young adult and middle aged to senior, the thought of taking chances has become a passing breeze that nibbles on your nose and quickly says, “Not for me.”
Keeping up with American culture comes with no training wheels.
Setting sail on an open sea of creativity is for failed artists and straight A students who can’t live without a challenge—but in time, like leaves on the tree in the front yard…everything you love hits turn number four inside your squared circle. What you once loved, cherished, found faith in no longer delivers that buzz.
I see the image in the mirror everyday and go totally New Jersey on his attitude, “What’s your problem?”
I have no clue how I reached 2nd degree status in martial arts and even worse…30 years of radio. I can’t finish reading or writing a book. I fell into a bucket of paint and landscaped nearly a thousand canvases only to find myself stuck smelling the fumes from something I used to be. I can start a project in the forest with incredible intensions but end up setting it aside when kicked in the tail by the presence of a tree root that immediately turned my path into a quick turn at the railroad tracks.
Training wheels…
Can’t wait to get them on…can’t stand the idea my friends have turned the enjoyment of bike riding into an Optimist Park comedy act. I love skateboarding! Was doing it before it was cool…kind of—I never mastered the fine art of standing up. Too afraid to fall. The mid 70's didnt come with really cool pads and helmets. I turned out to be the kid who sat on his knees and used his hands to push his dreams to separate parts of the newly discovered world.
Why 30 years of radio? Training wheels…
As much as I wanted to be Cajun Ken Cooper in Los Angeles or Larry Lujack in Chicago, a tiny voice kept whispering, “Loser…” But I couldn’t stop the extremely loud drive to keep pushing my way into an industry that eats up innocent dreamers by the second—I feared this business so bad that a moment of accidentally using foul language on the air finally pointed the way…during the process of being suspended without pay, I calmly asked Terry the GM, “While out…who do you suggest produce the commercials?”
Looking at me with fire in his heart Terry took my visions of one day living in a purple house in the city of angels while cranking Aerosmith and Kiss through guitar amps the size of Mount Mitchell to a level I didn’t know existed until he plopped down in that rich person leadership chair and through those long well tailored fingers said, “If I ever hear you cuss on the air again…you’ll be right back in this office.”
Once inside a radio station production room I realized…this is where the magic of theater of the mind truly lives. Jocks are jocks and they get one chance to make a difference. A great commercial can play over and over again like The Beatles, Chris Daughtry and REM.
Training wheels…
These aren’t bad times in America and around the world—this is the voice you’ve been waiting for, “Build it and they will come.”
Why do we stop? Fear of failure is created by bosses who fear themselves and pass it along to you. Constructive criticism is dynamite. Leadership is the new terrorism and Homeland Security hasn’t devised a plan to save this unforgettable nation. You can’t have an evil takeover if those playing the part of worker bee no longer believe in the selves they haul home everyday hoping to cry but the only thing that comes out is dust.
Training wheels…
We all have drawers in the kitchen stuffed with bolts and nuts we thought we’d never use until today. Grab a wrench and let’s get you saddled up for what’s going to become the ride of your life. Winning is a choice and today…you’ve decided to finally accomplish what you’ve always dreamed.
The day will arrive before you know it, where the only choice you're given is heaven or hell...that’s it man, Wal-Mart won’t give you a refund or exchange...not even with a rain check.
Steal my art...
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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