Smarter in :60: You Must “Ignore Everybody”

April 20th, 2011 by Mark Hermann

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There’s an awesome little book I want to hip you to. It’s one that every musician, artist, and otherwise driven creative person should read, and then keep close for reference when the chips of inspiration are down.

This will remind you why you decided to ever create in the first place: It’s called “Ignore Everybody And 39 Other Keys To Creativity” by Hugh Macleod.

Mark Hermann urges us to undertake Hugh Macleod uber urgings.

This book is essentially a conglomeration of 40 blog posts, each of them great little tidbits of life wisdom, that originally appeared on Hugh’s blog, “Gaping Void”. That it’s a book at all that you can buy now on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and read and rave about to your friends — like I’m doing here — is really what the book is all about.

In a nutshell, it says that your creative idea doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be yours. And the sovereignty you have over your truly original work will be far more inspirational to others than the actual content ever will.

Hugh MacLeod’s art is not big. He draws cartoons on the back of business cards. To understand how he got there, you’ll have to read the book. He makes it look really easy. It isn’t. He just put in his 10,000 hours. So he’s really good.

And while there’s really not one chapter worth skipping (it’s a pretty quick read), here are a few of the gems I found inspirational:

Chapter 1. Ignore Everybody (why?) because…

Chapter 23. Nobody Cares. Do it for Yourself.

How many times have you heard this? But did you ever actually listen? It’s true. Nobody gives a fuck. Not about you or your art or your dreams. Nobody has the time.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a recording session, usually with a singer on an original project, and invariably they’ll say, “So who should I sound like on this track?” My response: “Umm, how about like yourself?” As though sounding more like someone else but you (read: someone whose voice is already out there on the radio) at this particular crossroads in the music industry is going to do anything for your career. As opposed to having the courage to forge your own sonic brand, your own creative sovereignty, where no one sounds exactly like you. The real you. And defend it to the death.

There’s nothing wrong with modeling the methods and behaviors of successful people. But when it comes to the art itself, why is it we always want to look for success by copying someone else, who somehow managed to be successful by being completely unlike everyone else in the first place and filling a niche that we didn’t even know existed until they showed up? Which leads me to…

Chapter 4. Good Ideas (and Original Artists) Have Lonely Childhoods

Good ideas alter the power balance in a relationship. This is why they are so often met with resistance. They also come with a heavy burden, which is why they are so rarely executed.

It’s tough to forge new ground, be original, believe in something that doesn’t yet exist and convince people to follow you there. Can you remember a time before Facebook? Google? GaGa? Things we didn’t know we needed until one day when they showed up. Einstein didn’t exactly wow his peers with his crazy theories in his early career. He couldn’t even score a gig as a junior professor. Which dovetails nicely into…

Chapter 12. Don’t Try to Stand Out from the Crowd; Avoid Crowds Altogether.

I always loved this video clip, called How to Start a Movement which I originally got turned onto by Derek Sivers on his blog and ended up being the theme of his talk at the TED conference. Nothing better explains this chapter:

If you want to know what to do with your incredible uniqueness, it’s all spelled out for you in the video. In a nutshell, don’t believe the hype: No one, not record companies, stock pickers, psychics can predict the next big original thing that’s going to change the world. It just happens organically. And then something new and totally unique exists that did not the day before. Watch this video. It’s a gas.

Bottom line: if you’ve truly got it, no matter how far out there on the fringe, you will be found and ultimately supported and your message will spread if it resonates with your core audience.

Chapter 7 (one of my favorites). Everyone is Born Creative; Everyone is Given a Box of Crayons in Kindergarten.

But somewhere in life most folks traded in their crayons for things like careers with responsibilities and they were OK with this because they bought stuff like houses, cars, diapers. Until one day they weren’t OK with it anymore. Something was missing. There was a longing. They wanted their crayons back.

It’s really hard to try and color outside the lines again (i.e. break the rules and follow your muse) after a long chunk of adult life spent making safe, pretty pictures of your safe, ordinary self in your steady job (which should not to be confused with your work). Some call this mid-life crisis. Another suggestion to explain this is…

Chapter 10: Everyone has Their Own Private Mt. Everest That We Were Put on this Earth to Climb.

And somewhere in life we are supposed to give it at least one serious bid to reach that summit and at least get out above base camp. If we fail we will be forgiven but to not go for it at all is to face that day on our deathbed when we will find only emptiness and regret.

Chapter 8: Keep Your Day Job.

(This is tantamount to heresy for the “true” artist, right?)

But every artist has the same fantasy: the big hit song, # 1 app, New York Times Bestseller, etc. that will allow them to stop waiting tables, temping, writing corporate technical manuals, so they can just wake up every morning a wealthy celebrity artist, creating the next big hit.

But the truth is every artist will always have to balance the need to make a good living with maintaining their creative sovereignty. And you will never transcend this duality. No one is exempt. Not the aspiring actor or the Hollywood movie star. The sooner you learn to accept this, I mean really truly accept this, a strange thing happens and your career starts to take off.

This is something Hugh refers to as the Sex & Cash Theory, which states that while, say, a John Travolta may wrangle to do a limited run on Broadway playing Willie Loman for credibility (Sex) you still might be wondering why you saw him in that recent B-movie action thriller that got panned in the press. (Cash)

Everyone is always looking for that shortcut, the quick way out. Anything to avoid hard work. It doesn’t exist. The truth is that if someone is more successful than you at what you do it’s because they worked harder at it. While you were out there at the bar talking to that hottie or the curmudgeon in the corner seat about your soon to be finished screenplay or your incredible new app idea, someone was at home working on the same thing, busting their ass.

It’s a tough pill to swallow when you realize that you are 100% responsible for the life you experience. As an example, Russell Simmons recently spoke at the Learning Annex about how to become rich like him. I have no doubt it was standing room only. No doubt he spoke on how to tap into your true power that allows you to manifest anything at all you desire, no matter how outrageous (Exhibit A: Mr. Simmons’ charmed life). And I’m sure it was inspirational.

But after you walked out and the buzz wore off, where did that leave you? What are you pretending not to know? Rather than concerning yourself with the merits of why a Tom Clancy sells truckloads of books while a Nobel prize winner sells squat, the better question to consider is: “What are you going to do with the short time you have left here on Earth?”

I love this book.

Buy it!

Peace,

Mark Hermann

NYC-based producer/artist/engineer/more Mark Hermann spends his life in the professional service of music. He has toured the world with rock legends, produced hit artists, and licensed music for numerous TV/film placements. Hermann also owns a recording studio in a 100-year old Harlem Brownstone. Keep up with him at his homepage.