What difference do I want to make?
That’s a question that I find both easy and difficult at the same time. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to answer it in a way that’s completely satisfactory to me. I touched on it in my previous blog, covering my elevator pitch. My elevator pitch tells people that I aim to make a difference with my music, by taking them to a higher place, and better place. But…that’s not very unique, is it? That’s my first thought. My second thought is, does it need to be? Well, I kind of think it does. If I’m going to offer something in what I say, that people won’t get anywhere else, that is.
The self-effacing side of me says that the statement “They won’t get me anywhere else” just doesn’t cut it. An in and of itself, that statement is true, in my opinion. It’s not enough. On the other hand, it depends on who I am and exactly what I do, doesn’t it? If I think of some other people in history who also called themselves ‘me’, like Nikola Tesla, Terry Pratchett, or Marie Curie, well, then we’re talking about some pretty significant ‘me’s, aren’t we? Amazing, inventive and ridiculously smart and cool people who made something truly special and wonderful out of the word ‘me’. And in the world of music, my field of work, what about Brian Wilson, Nina Simone, Lucinda Williams, Stevie Nicks? There are some pretty amazing folks there who also call themselves ‘me’. So, really, at the end of the day, all you need to do, is be someone super freaking amazing. O-K…maybe way out of my reach. Going to a local, more accessible scale, how about, just being the most awesome version of ‘me’ that I can be, making the most of my time, skills and talents, and producing work that’s the best I can produce given all that. I guess then, if you also want to have a successful blog in terms of making a living out if it, then you also need to write stuff that encapsulates your ‘freaking amazing me’ status, while also (according to Scott Dinsmore’s 4 Pillars to Starting a Blog that Really Matters) doing the following:
- Having a cause worth following
- Helping people
- Producing mind-blowing content
- Making real connections
So in conclusion, if I think about the difference I want to make in terms of the above four points, and in light of the people I look up to and want to follow in the footsteps of (in my own small way), i.e. singular and brilliant musicians and songsmiths such as I’ve listed above, then I’d put it like this: the difference I want to make is to move, touche and help people with the music I create, and to make a connection with those people, through my music and through speaking to and with them. How that happens will, I think, become evident over time.