HOWDY PARDNER

I am back and if anyone gets the license plate of the truck (sickness) that ran me over for 10 days let me know.? Dang, I tell you I hardly ever get sick, so this was daunting and with this experience, as with any that cause a setback, it makes me appreciate the luck of good health and fortune I have. But perhaps more so, my empathy for those who are challenged on a regular basis continues to expand. I won’t dig into details, just perhaps these experience are making me a better person, TBD…

Getting to the meat of the story, I track a lot of different inspirational people as well as those gracious enough to share career advice and ‘insider tips’ from various parts of the internet. With every post and with every statement, the analytical side of my personality searches for a question, an interactive thought, some thoughts verge on ‘I call BS’ others are ‘yeah but…’ while other thoughts delve into ‘tell me more’? More recently though I have seen a common thread of, ‘if you do this and this you will get that’ for example, ‘if you learn how to play guitar and gain an audience you will be a rockstar’, (by the way no one has professed that…oddly) sure we’d all like to believe this, but we all know of a musician who we thought was great, who never became a rockstar, in fact they don’t even play music anymore.? Ok I am not trying to sound sad and pathetic, hey maybe that great musician you loved is a multimillionaire software developer now. What I want to address is this recipe delivered by many a good natured, supportive folks, who haven’t achieved the exact success you seek, like an online coach telling an athlete what to do to be pro.? Trust me, I love they are willing to give advice, but honestly I see very few people whose footsteps I’d like to follow, professing the same career path simplicity.? I don’t recall Sir Richard Branson, recounting his life as a game plan for career moves and stating ‘do what I did’.? He certainly has wonderful advice, but I think he and many like him understand the complexity of a successful go at a career or discipline and it cannot be broken down to A + B =C. ?

Where am I going with this?? Well, in the current declarations that I have come across I have yet to see much in the way of PARTNERSHIPS, which in my research is one of the few common threads amongst the successful far and wide. I can state examples, mostly from my own personal disciplines of filmmaking and entrepreneurialism, but perhaps it’s best and more rewarding for anyone interested to do their own research and if you like report back and agree or call BS on my theory.? I’m always up for a good thought provoking discussion.? Now if I may, in regard to Partnerships, what do I mean?? In my research it’s generally one person with a vision and another who helps support that vision, the supporter is often someone of equal energy and belief as the visionary, they are complimentary, ego’s are in check and respect is common. Now finding two people of complimentary strengths is quite the diamond in the coal mine, but when it happens the end result for all involved can be magical.

So here is the rub, just as no one knows the actual key to success, very few know the key to a good partnership, but… I do think finding a partner could and should be easier than rolling the dice on a fan base or achieving success just because you are ‘that good’.? Sorry, I don’t think anyone is ‘that good’… OK well Jimi Hendrix, I’ll give that, but even he had a partner.? Getting back to the point, my advice to any and to all, is to find that partner, that someone you believe in who compliments what you want to do, but also that they believe in you, the Yin to your Yang, that opposing and complementary force of nature that governs the universe, your universe. For many this means being open to the possibility. I feel too many are all to willing to ride coat tails of someone who has achieved something and lose site of the authenticity of creating something brilliant. ?

I know there is so much more I want to say on this subject, but it feels more like a discussion than the singular voice echoing in my head. Then as I was proofreading and editing, it dawned on me, I am talking grass roots partnerships, which as one may guess is simply the most challenging, because it is often underfunded and lit by determination and vision and requires a lot of work. ?

So go out there seek your Pardner and don’t forget who inspired you.