Pathways to More Success

I’ve always thought of myself as someone who’s “had the answers,” though never really having the experience. I just did a lot of research but almost 3 years ago to this day, I wrote an article on my now, old and dusty Medium page called “Pathways to More success.“  Reluctantly, I moved on from it not long after publishing it because, truthfully, who was I to teach anyone how to become successful when I was still reaching for the stars myself?

Or so I thought.

No, I haven't become famous but in the last few years I've had a few proud and monuments moments. Though, at the time of writing this, I was still in my career and the social media landscape was a bit different. There were no “clout chasers,” SoundCloud rappers were popping up faster than popcorn and Facebook was still the #1 platform.

Though almost an entirely evolved landscape, I've found that my tactics remained the same and are still relevant, 1095 days later. Here were my keys to the pathways of success:

Key 1: Create

2016: No matter the project, or product, it needs to be made. Point blank. Plain and simple. Create, create, create. It may turn out to be a genius idea.

2019: The same goes. Don’t worry about speed or let the internet make you to feel rushed. Of course, work within deadlines from work but don’t let the rate of meme culture rush your output.

Key 2: Network

2016: Get out and talk to people. You never know what kind of information the person might have or the kind of friends they might want to introduce you to. Talk to anyone who might be interested and shows interest. Make them remember you and always, always stay in touch.

2019: If you start networking early in your career, the people that you connect with become your peers that you build with in the future. Those connections can lead to jobs, collaborations, and maybe even business partners.

Key 3: Share

2016: Show people what you’ve made and accept feedback. Ask people to share with their friends. This is where social media is your friend. Post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Get others involved and see what they think.

2019: Sharing can your work can definitely put you in front of people that wouldn’t see your work otherwise. Every time your work is shared, it’s an opportunity for someone new to stumble across it or for someone else to share.

Key 4: Collaborate

2016: What better way to be introduced to new and potential fans than to collaborate with another artist. Share ideas and build on each others creativity. Not only is it a great process to grow from but you will also learn a lot.

2019: Collaborations are like the lifeblood for artists this era. It’s still one of the best ways to share audiences and gain new fans. Good collabs can place you in front of tons of new and potential buyers or clients, or even new supporters.

These keys aren't guaranteed to grant you success but if followed, it will definitely help toward building a better network, put you in front of more like minded people and help you in finding a community.

I followed these keys in 2016 and i still follow them to this day. Perspective is everything and as they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”