The Handcuffs of Success

I love R&B music. Particularly from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. So when I saw a documentary on Luther Vandross, I was all in on that.

Luther's career started out like a lot of artists/musicians trying to get their foot in the door. He worked on a lot of different projects with a lot of different people.

Over the first decade of his career from the late 60s to late 70s, Luther built a respectable and profitable career as a songwriter, producer and back up singer working with some amazing artists like David Bowie, Donny Hathaway, and Barbara Streisand.

The inflection point in his career came when Roberta Flack (of Killing Me Softly Fame just in case you don't know), whom Luther Vandross had been working with, kindly fired Luther from her band.

In her words, Luther was too talented to be a backup singer and needed to start working on his own projects.

The rest was history.

You and I want success and success is a good thing but sometimes success can be the handcuffs that hold you back from doing the next big thing you were meant to do.

For Luther it was a successful solo career that culminated with a Grammy and a catalog of songs that people love.

As you look at this new year, what's next for you? What's the thing that you want to try or start that would make a big difference in your life and the life of others? Who will support you in realizing it?

Luther didn't need to change but I'm glad he did. Who will be glad that you changed this year?