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Listen "110 – Who Do You Align Yourself With?"
Episode Synopsis
Many people will cross your path. Some will want to work with you. Others will offer you valuable opportunities. What do you do when you’re confronted with a new possibility? Do you jump on the chance and hope it works out? Do you weigh your options carefully before moving forward with it?
In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share some thoughts on who to align yourself with.
Download the PDF Transcription
Podcast Highlights:
00:14 – Choosing who to work with
00:42 – Thinking like an entrepreneur
00:55 – Who to align yourself with
01:40 – #1: Working with people because it will make you look good
02:45 – #2: Working with people who share the same values
04:06 – #3: Working with people you’ve worked with before
05:08 – #4: Working with people you trust
06:05 – There’s no perfect way to choose who to align yourself with
Transcription:
As your career or business advances, you’re going to have the opportunity to partner, collaborate and work with a variety of people.
What’s surprising to me is how some people make decisions. I’ve seen some artists turn down offers from well-intentioned, well-meaning people who would have fairly compensated them for their work. But because of some underlying emotional baggage or stress in their daily lives, they made the rather unlikely choice of staying put instead of moving forward with their creativity and passion.
Now, I’m an entrepreneur. So, if I was in their position, I would have jumped at the opportunity. But not everyone thinks like an entrepreneur, and not everyone is comfortable taking a chance upfront and problem solving along the way.
This is what got me thinking about this topic of who to align yourself with. Sometimes, no matter how influential or highly regarded someone is, associating with them can bring you down. At other times, you might be surprised by how the most unlikely people come to your aid or rescue at just the right time.
Regardless, you become like those you spend time with, so as you continue to build your career or business, it’s going to become increasingly important to be more selective in who you associate with. You’re going to want to build your support group or inner circle, because you’re going to come to depend on those people, especially when the going gets tough.
Who you align yourself with is critical to your success. Here are several methods people use to decide who to work with, and the upsides and downsides of each.
1. I Choose Who to Work with Based on How I’ll Look
This is one of the worst criteria for choosing who to align yourself with.
Now, given, there may be some people you don’t want to be associated with, such as extremists, controversial figures, criminals and so on.
I’m not saying there aren’t reasons why you might associate with people like that anyway, but you must consider your reputation as well as the long-term consequences of associating with someone, no matter who you’re choosing to be involved with.
So, to make all decisions based on how you’ll look is the most superficial way to decide who to work with. If this is how you make decisions, more than likely, you’ll make some poor choices and miss opportunities to work with some great people.
We as people are much too concerned with appearances. Just look at all the ways people look for validation on social media. My coach, James Schramko, once described seeking validation on social media as a mental disorder, and I don’t think he’s too far off.
If you’re only concerned with looking good, then you’re not making a balanced decision. And, odds are you aren’t living authentically either.
2. I Work with People with Whom My Values are Aligned
The best way to decide who to work with is to choose people with whom you have shared values.
The best way to decide who to work with is to choose people with whom you have shared values.Share on X
Honestly, virtually every relationship works better when the peo...
In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share some thoughts on who to align yourself with.
Download the PDF Transcription
Podcast Highlights:
00:14 – Choosing who to work with
00:42 – Thinking like an entrepreneur
00:55 – Who to align yourself with
01:40 – #1: Working with people because it will make you look good
02:45 – #2: Working with people who share the same values
04:06 – #3: Working with people you’ve worked with before
05:08 – #4: Working with people you trust
06:05 – There’s no perfect way to choose who to align yourself with
Transcription:
As your career or business advances, you’re going to have the opportunity to partner, collaborate and work with a variety of people.
What’s surprising to me is how some people make decisions. I’ve seen some artists turn down offers from well-intentioned, well-meaning people who would have fairly compensated them for their work. But because of some underlying emotional baggage or stress in their daily lives, they made the rather unlikely choice of staying put instead of moving forward with their creativity and passion.
Now, I’m an entrepreneur. So, if I was in their position, I would have jumped at the opportunity. But not everyone thinks like an entrepreneur, and not everyone is comfortable taking a chance upfront and problem solving along the way.
This is what got me thinking about this topic of who to align yourself with. Sometimes, no matter how influential or highly regarded someone is, associating with them can bring you down. At other times, you might be surprised by how the most unlikely people come to your aid or rescue at just the right time.
Regardless, you become like those you spend time with, so as you continue to build your career or business, it’s going to become increasingly important to be more selective in who you associate with. You’re going to want to build your support group or inner circle, because you’re going to come to depend on those people, especially when the going gets tough.
Who you align yourself with is critical to your success. Here are several methods people use to decide who to work with, and the upsides and downsides of each.
1. I Choose Who to Work with Based on How I’ll Look
This is one of the worst criteria for choosing who to align yourself with.
Now, given, there may be some people you don’t want to be associated with, such as extremists, controversial figures, criminals and so on.
I’m not saying there aren’t reasons why you might associate with people like that anyway, but you must consider your reputation as well as the long-term consequences of associating with someone, no matter who you’re choosing to be involved with.
So, to make all decisions based on how you’ll look is the most superficial way to decide who to work with. If this is how you make decisions, more than likely, you’ll make some poor choices and miss opportunities to work with some great people.
We as people are much too concerned with appearances. Just look at all the ways people look for validation on social media. My coach, James Schramko, once described seeking validation on social media as a mental disorder, and I don’t think he’s too far off.
If you’re only concerned with looking good, then you’re not making a balanced decision. And, odds are you aren’t living authentically either.
2. I Work with People with Whom My Values are Aligned
The best way to decide who to work with is to choose people with whom you have shared values.
The best way to decide who to work with is to choose people with whom you have shared values.Share on X
Honestly, virtually every relationship works better when the peo...
In God we trust