I was watching the X-factor last night and there was this 60 year old dude singing like Michael Bolton. This guy was off the charts good and it occurred to me, why the hell don’t I submit to be on this or any of these talent shows?
Pretty simple, I was afraid to fail. Gotta be perfect because thats what I was conditioned to believe all my life. I started at the top, the superficial top that is, born good looking, athletic and smart, I never had to work for any of these things or fail in my attempts. Failure was not yet in my vocabulary. That is of course, until I began doing things that required work and failure like becoming a musician.
Well its been over 10 years now of breaking down this huge monster of an ego to feel what its really like to fail and “Learn its Lessons.” It wasn’t easy and even for those that didn’t grow up with this false sense of confidence know very well that Failure is a beast to conquor. I remember a time about 8 years ago when I was in complete denial of Failure because a fellow bandmate mentioned I should join a choir or get a voice coach becuase I couln’t sing on key. But I had already been taking voice lessons for 3 years, who the hell was this guy with no real successes of his own to tell me I couldn’t sing?
It bothered me so much that I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t sing and was bitter and resentful to people around me. Eventually I sought out the guidance of a world reknowned producer friend named Geza X. I had used his studio to record some of my earlier songs from “Good Vibrations” and I respected him greatly. He said, “you gotta take it to a whole new level, get another voice coach, spend a few years and really own it.” Although this task of suspending my dream of becoming a full time professional singer for another 3 years was a heavy weight to carry, I trusted him and took his advice.
I dug in and found the best voice coach in the world, Joel Ewing a master of masters. He teaches teachers and has top 10 grammy winning clients. He took me on as a student and corrected all my erroneous vocal techniques and gave me a whole new perspective of what it means to be a professional singer. I comitted to seeing him 2-3 times a week for 2-3 years. After that it was obvious what Geza had said was spot on. I had conquored failure by stepping up and taking it to a whole new level. As a result I was now getting regular compliments on my voice like: “you sound like Seal, Eric Clapton, Jim Morrison, Bare Naked Ladies, etc.
Looking back on this experience and all the other failures I can say that the “Failure Led Me To Success” and without it I would never have pushed myslef to pro level. With this new attitude I can look at a show like the X-factor or Americas Got Talent and say: I’d love a shot even if it means failure because whether I succeed or fail it will push me to a whole new level. Its the perfect example of a Win Win situation for me and you. So the next time you feel afraid to fail think about Love To Fail, as it will bring you Riches, perhaps beyond what you would have received if you had won.
Stay tuned for my results from X-factor and Americas Got Talent. If you haven’t already please like my fan page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chadscottmusic or get you 2 free songs and sign up for the email list on the left of this website.
Peace, Chad