Ah, yes. My old friend Unprepared. Unprepared and I, we go back a looooong way.
You see, as a young singer who was very naturally talented, it was seductively easy for me to just show up and sing. Especially as I was powered by ambition and hunger for that hot, sweet spot somewhere smack bang in the middle of stage left and stage right.
But there’s a catch – as a singer, you have to do what is affectionately called “note-bashing”.
This is the act of forcible holing oneself up in an enclosed space with a keyboard-like instrument and pounding various black and white keys until the Notes. Stick. In. Your. Brain.
Note-bashing is an inescapable part of being a professional singer. Without notes to sing I am merely potential noise.
Ah, my other old friend, Potential. Potential and I, well we’ve known each other for yeaaaaaars.
So I would frequently flirt with Unprepared, safe in the cushy knowledge that Potential would always be there to bail me out.
I got addicted to the adrenaline rush that being with Unprepared would give me. The shot in the arm of “Shit I need to do some work!” actually energised me to a point. Until, inevitably, Potential got fed up with my antics, shouted “I’ve outgrown you!” and left me. Of course.
The day I got dumped by Potential was the day I realised that being prepared is actually the Most Important Thing, Ever.
Being Prepared means knowing your shit. It means reaching out to the right people to help them before you ask them for a leg up. It means when the blessings come knocking, you hear the door and go you answer it.
Being Prepared means that if it doesn’t go your way – and let’s face it, sometimes the universe has other ideas about the best way to get stuff done – then you can at least look yourself in the eye and say “Dammit, you did your BEST.”
Most people don’t do anything to get prepared. And as Orson Welles used to say (and I’m paraphrasing) “Opportunity only knocks a few times before its knuckles get sore – then it goes away.”
So if you are flirting with Unprepared, I would say stay the hell away. Do whatever it takes to distance yourself – tiny steps every day, will work. Learn a few notes. Read a few pages. Write 100o words. Buy a domain name.
And you know what? Magical things start to happen once you commit to a life of Being Prepared for Awesomeness.
Comments – Sing It Back To Me
Why is the fear of “being prepared and failing” seemingly bigger and more powerful than the fear of being “publicly unprepared and possibly even humiliated?” Have you ever indulged in shameless rubbing up to Self-Sabotage and lived to flirt again?
(Notice how this post was about actually Being Unprepared as opposed to Feeling Unprepared. Two very different things – more on this in another post.)
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But the ‘Unprepared’ is sooo cute.
Hi Natalie.
I really related to your experience of just showing up. For me I think there was always the fear that if I really worked at my art and THEN sucked there was no coming back from there. But if I didn’t work at it, then I always had some sort of an excuse, a lame one, but an excuse.
But, as you pointed out so well, you can only keep that rubbish up for so long before the rug gets pulled out from beneath you.
Loved the post!
Cheers,
Dave Rowley´s last blog ..6 Impossible Things: #3 The Melancholy Piano
Leigh Sales (a Walkley – Award – winning journalist who anchor ABC TV’s Lateline) in her book on doubt discusses her committment to preparedness. This book is a great little read that was published in 2009. She quotes her dad in “preperation and planning prevent piss poor performance” – I like it a simple yet effective message.
living savvy´s last blog ..Living Savvy Episode #3: Meet Vicky – starting her life coaching journey
Hey Nat!
There’s a fine line between being unprepared and knowing what it takes to get the job done, and not doing anything more. That is, I think it’s equally bad to be overprepared than unprepared, especially since deliberately being overprepared is a sign of anxiety, which will definitely haunt anyone when it comes time to perform.
The key is when to know when enough preparedness is enough, and have the ability to be confident in our training when the curtain rises.
Brett – DareToExpress.com´s last blog ..Being Naked and… Glowing. Now With 72% Identity!
It’s not the will to win but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference right? (Old Quote)
You were dead on with your “notes” in this post let me tell you. Very articulate in the manner you wrote this. Sometimes living on the fly can be attractive to a particular personality. Um yeah, that would be my personality.
But lately the idea of having clarity has been popping up in my everyday experiences. Where’ Clarity prevails, purpose can lead and action will follow. Preparing is so crucial even if my personality believes the details aren’t as sexy as the end result lol.
Being a musician myself I never went on stage without mastering my craft (violin, guitar and keyboards) I wouldn’t even think of stepping out and making a foot of myself.
For me my writing, my music and my over all expression came (and still does) naturally because I felt passionate about it. I was inspired to put effort into the details and didn’t need to be motivated.
It may even be said that if you don’t want to put effort into the details don’t expect to conceive the end result you desire. If you’re aligned and operating within your highest values the unprepared isn’t an option.
Great writing
Tony Teegarden´s last blog ..Get Naked With Me (Using The “F” Word)
Wow, this sounds so much like my friend “good enough”. I was “good enough” and singing in chorus. Then I decided I’d rather be “more than ready.” Well without doing much else I got the opportunity to start doing outreach solo gigs for the same company. Lesson learned. Good enough is obviously not that good.
If the perfect audition opportunity comes up and you are pissed because they require 5-6 arias instead of the general 2, I know who to blame! “Good Enough” that ……
That’s such a great point – so often singers allow their ambitions to be dictated by their readiness to put in the work required to practise, or learn new rep. Such a shame to never become as great as we could be – just for want of a little more preparation! Welcome Monifa and thanks for your comment!
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