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by Michael Laskow
Usually I wait until the deadline draws near before I write this column.
But, I just flipped the page on my daily desk calendar and, based on
what I saw, was inspired to write it now. The message on the page read:
"Keep your mind focused on what you want and act accordingly. You will
achieve success."
Words to live
by. As a matter of fact, "Focus" is my favorite word. Everything I have
achieved in my life has come to me because I was able to stay focused.
I'm no rocket
scientist. I didn't have anything handed to me on a silver platter.
I'm a pretty ordinary person who discovered that staying focused brings
me extraordinary results.
Remember the
scene in City Slickers when Jack Palance's character, Curly,
was dying? He looked up at Billy Crystal and said, "You want to know
the secret of life?" "Yeah, what is it," Billy asked. "It's just one
thing," Curly replied. Then he died.
I was dying
to know what that one thing was. I'm sure everybody else in theater
was also. Funny thing is, Curly actually told us, but nobody, including
myself and Billy Crystal figured it out.
I kept replaying
that scene over and over in my head for months to come. No results.
I went back to my copy of "Be Here Now" by Baba Ram Dass, but that didn't
help. I thumbed through "The Road Less Traveled"—dead end. I concentrated
so hard that my brain hurt. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Two years
later I was watching City Slickers on TV, and as that scene
played again, it finally dawned on me! "The secret of life is just one
thing!" Get it?! The answer is in the clue. The clue is the
answer!!! It's just ONE thing!!!! Focus on just - one - thing!
Finally, I
understood the true meaning of life. I was so happy. I called some friends
and told them. The were non-plussed. I told my kids. They didn't get
it. I told my wife. She smiled politely and asked me to take out the
garbage.
I stayed up
late that night thinking about my profound realization. The more I thought
about it, the more it rang true. Take Donald Trump. Real estate deals—success.
Airline—failure. Out of his area of expertise.
Look at Bill
Gates. He's kept his focus. Now he's worth 36 BILLION dollars. You don't
see him shifting Microsoft in to real estate or airlines. Everything
he does is somehow centered around computers.
Coca Cola.
A winning formula for decades. They introduced New Coke. What happened?
Flop. Hugh Hefner. Very successful as a magazine publisher. Casino—in
the dumper. And last, I'd like to point out the subject of last month's
A&R Insider interview, Diane Warren. She has kept her focus laser sharp
since she was a kid, and is now one of the most successful songwriters
in history
All she did
was concentrate on just one thing, and now (I'm guessing) she's worth
tens of millions of dollars. Nice work if you can get it. And you can!
A couple of
examples from my own life: TAXI. Nobody had ever succeeded at setting
up a company like TAXI that not only worked, but continued to thrive.
I did. Know how? All I did was work on TAXI. Nothing else. I didn't
try to learn how to write songs. I didn't try to improve my guitar playing
(trust me—I need improvement). I didn't take time off to go fishing
or play tennis. I lived a pretty solitary, focused life for close to
two years, and I succeeded.
My wife and
I decided to buy a house last year. Problem was, we only had about 25%
of what we needed for the down payment. I got it in my head that we
were going to buy a house. Everything I did was somehow focused at buying
a house. I didn't wait for a miracle to happen. I kept my nose to the
grindstone, saved my money, and lo and behold, we now own a house. Well,
at least a piece of one. The bank still owns most of it.
Every person
reading these words can achieve his dream. As my calendar says, "Keep
your mind focused on what you want and act accordingly." That's the
part that takes some work. A lot of people know what they want, but
they don't act accordingly.
What would
acting accordingly be? Here's a scenario. Listen to Contemporary Hit
Radio on your way home from work in your car. Pick up a copy of Billboard.
Read it that nightcover-to-cover. Study the charts. Get to know the
songs in the top 40 by listening to more radio that night. No TV! It's
a waste of time unless you want to do film and TV music.
Set aside
a couple of hours every night that are just for songwriting. Lock yourself
in a room. Make sure you don't leave it until you've got something on
paper or tape. Read one of the books we recommend on the back of the
feedback sheets when you climb in to bed.
Make flashcards
of some of the more important information you read in the books. Tape
them to your bathroom mirror so you see them first thing in the morning.
Keep a handheld recorder next to you in your car for moments of inspiration.
Study song structure like a fanatic. Go to every meeting of any songwriting
organization you can.
Don't go out
on Saturday night. Stay home with the TV off and write songs. Get up
before your family on Sunday morning and write songs, then spend the
rest of the day with your family. After you tuck your kids in that night,
write songs. After you make love to your spouse, yep, you guessed it.
Now, that's focus!
I think it's
impossible to do "just one thing," and only one thing and not reap real
rewards. I proved it to myself. If you lock in your focus, make it laser
sharp, and stick with it long enough, you will succeed. If you sit around
whimpering, "I wish I was like Diane Warren", but do not acting accordingly,
I guarantee you that you won't. It's your life. Do something with it.
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