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Getting Past the First Gatekeeper

2015 May 27
by Mike Vial

This morning, I received my first poem commission!

Tomorrow, I leave for a  mini tour of four gig dates, 600+ miles on the road.

I pause and reflect on this because when one starts out in any business, one hears “no” more than “yes.” When I was 18, all of the music schools where I applied said “no.” When I was doubting myself two years, I applied to an MFA writing program, and got another “no.”

None of these rejections have been setbacks; instead, they’ve been opportunities for me to reevaluate a new way to pursue what I enjoy doing: writing, playing music, and teaching.

And after 900+ gigs, I keep meeting people who say, “Yes!”

The real gatekeepers aren’t the college board members reviewing applications or the a record label executives listening to a CD. They are the people who host house concerts, the people who leave a buck in the tip jar, the people who attend intimate shows at a local venue; and the first gatekeeper we face is the voice inside our own heads.

Today, I remind myself that the first person who has to say “yes” is ourselves.

Chicago House Concert with Frances Luke Accord

Chicago House Concert with Frances Luke Accord

PS: Still not convinced? Read this: Seth Godin: Pick Yourself 

 

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