The Fifth Beatle

I was very saddened today when I heard about the death of George Martin, the fifth Beatle.

 Growing up, I was a huge Beatles fan.

 In my teens, I read lots about them and knew all about the role George played in the success of The Beatles.

 He was 90 when he died, 15 years older than Paul McCartney. I was slightly surprised by that as he always seemed to be like an older brother to Paul and the others.

 People forget how young The Beatles were when they shook the world with their amazing music as they were just out of their teens. A recording studio would have been alien to them and yet George Martin helped them adjust, so it became their second home.

 The Beatles were hugely innovative and created music like no one had ever done before. George Martin was the link between the mad ideas of the Fab 4 and getting them onto record.

 Of course, this email will revive the argument I have with one of my friends, who is delusional enough to think that Abba are better than The Beatles.

 My normal reply to her is that Abba are the poor man’s Beatles

 Now don’t get me wrong.

 Abba were a good group.

 ‘Dancing Queen’ is probably their best song.

 Good as the song is, it might just scrape into a Beatles top 20.

 See while Abba were a good group, they were only trotting after the Beatles.

 Not fit to lace their boots.

 Take the best parts of ‘Dancing Queen’, multiply it by 100 and you have

 The Beatles.

 Without The Beatles – there would no Abba, or Oasis or…….

 It’s difficult to even attempt to describe their music.

 All I know it’s that’s it’s up lifting, energetic and passionate.

 It’s puts a smile on my face, gets my energy levels up and puts me in a good mood.

 Without fail – every single time.

 Yet anybody born after 1990 may be under the false impression that Abba are actually better than The Beatles. Sacrilege.

 Why?

 Because of the attention and hype that’s surrounds them.

 What’s the lesson here?

 You don’t have to be the best to be considered the best.

I regularly hear idiots on the radio who don’t know their arse from their elbow yet they are considered experts in their field.

 How do they get on the radio?

 You see there are ‘expert’ roles in most fields.

 And they somehow managed to get that slot.

 In your business, there are slots for so called experts.

 Are they all gone or could you grab one?

 Not suggesting that you go waffling on the local radio.

 You need to know your stuff.

 If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you have expert knowledge in your area.

 How do get that expert role?

 You can write articles.

 Get on the radio.

 Get in your local paper.

 Get speaking engagements.

 Write a book or an e-book.

 One or any combination of these can get you seen as an expert.

 This can have big benefits for your business.

 I wrote an e-book last year and got on national radio with George Hook.

 Believe me – if people think Abba are better than The Beatles, anything is possible.

 Neil