R-E-J-E-C-T Find Out What That Means to Me
How a life on the fringes of the music industry made me the freelance software developer that I am.
Lessons for the business world from the world of broken dreams.
R-E-J-E-C-T Find Out What That Means to Me
There comes a time in every musician's life when he faces the terrible face of rejection. It could be when he joins his first band and the rest of the band thinks that he sucks and he is ejected from that band. It could be when that band finally scrounges together eight or nine songs and tries to get a gig and the booker says that the band sucks and won't hire them. It could be when the band finally does get a gig at somebody's house party but then everybody at the party stays outside near the keg and can't even hear the band because they have to play so quietly in the basement and the band isn't even told when the keg is almost empty that they should fill up their plastic cups because after that everybody is going to leave. Party's over.
Rejection - one of the first bitter truths a musician learns before they can be called a musician. Really it is the first bitter truth a person-who-wishes-to-be-a-musician learns; and then some time afterward they can be called a musician, you know, once they get all their badges and what not, cords and picks and stuff. It's one of the first bitter truths. Not THE first bitter truth, although it could be the first. Some truths might not be so bitter too. You will learn nonbitter truths BEFORE this bitter truth. That is for sure. Hopefully! I mean, if this is the first truth you learn on your journey to the fringes of the music industry well, you got a great head start and you should not feel rejected. Admittedly that's a hard thing to say since you have in fact been rejected and that's why we're talking about this. But give it some time. It wears off, you get back up, stop drinking before ten am - it gets better, you know, for a little while.
Anyway, it's a hard lesson to learn but learning it can prepare you for the world of freelance software development.
In fact if you face enough rejection as a musician, all the time you waste tooling around in your little band world might set you up for a lot more rejection in life.
All of which is good because there is a lot of rejection in life anyway - from spoiled meat in your stomach to the ladies to job prospects then to your kids, parents, and finally life itself spits you out like a piece of gristle.
So what do you do if you are rejected as a freelance software developer?
How does the lesson you learned as a person-who-wishes-to-be-a-musician help you now?
Well. You're still alive right? And that is the point. It could be worse and it probably will get worse. In fact I know it is only downhill pretty much really no matter if you do get that job with the local government or what have you. You're still gonna have an awful time when your daughter gets old enough to want to go on all those carnival rides; and you realize that you no longer have the stomach to even watch her spin in a cup shaped kiddie ride...let alone get you in that Zipper contraption or some such nonsense.
9 Comments:
Jesus will never reject you.
Ah what a sad little picture of K...but an adorable one of Clara:-)
I guess you didn't get the job. sorry about that.
But hey, I tell you what, when Clara's old enough to go on that Zipper contraption, I'll let Zoey take her on it. Cuz I ain't going near it either.
Mari - It being the local bureaucracy, current sit not yet on list. But you gave me a great idea - Next Week: Effect Processors and Business Processes, similarities and differences (Part One, Delay).
Man, you're sounding more like me every day. Snap out of it Cochise, 'cause trust me, you don't want that. I'll have to look somewhere else for my near boundless optimism.
Truly digging the Seuss onesie.
Awww... If I could trade places with you, and share a little of my glittery sunshine I would.. but being the only white woman working the fryer in a kitchen full of dead beat third ward daddies with nowhere else to prove their manhood-- is a gem and a half, and I wouldn't give it up for the world... Not even to return to the absurdly lucrative pay made in an exciting world of suturing up drunken Bering Sea fishermen and saving the lives of wasted youth who exchanged native tongues for Sega and coke. You can't have this rejection, baby. The worst kind of rejection I have faced, is being overqualified and a mother receiving no child support with a hungry child. Makes my drive along Westpark every morning where dozens of men wait for the chance that someone will pick them up and pay them shit to work in this unbearable heat... for nothing secure STILL look worse than my situation. yack yack yack. Chin up! you have your NAP alliance! One day we will be rich and all of our rejection will be a horrid memory! Love doesn't pay the bills, jackasses who don't know how to run business do. Cute kid, man.
and this week you'll have a charming quasi-international visitor who can tell you stories of chasing away a fox at 6 am on isle royale! oh, the glamour!
Or, you could go form a covers band, get a pile of gigs and and get your own back for those earlier musical failures.
Gang! Do NOT worry about ME - this is an advice column for YOU.
It would sadden me if my story of a boy from extremely limited success in the music industry who climbs his way across to extremely limited success in the business world saddened you.
But good advice all. Carlos - I know, the bible told me so. Actually the bible says he rose and went to heaven so...
John - thank you. Yes my daughter has wonderful taste in clothes.
Gareth - THAT'S THE SPIRIT! I've already been applying your advice to the freelance software development world. Why 90 percent of my code is cutnpaste from developers much more talented than myself.
hey, my little company is hiring and I would recommend joining as a Contractor. have to be jack of all trades and willing to learn the code while on the job and it's due in an hour. want to apply?
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