Rising Star Systems

Maintaining Focus in the Face of Chaos – 1st Key

The Holiday Season can be so joyfully chaotic, can’t it?  Parties and travel and family (with all the baggage that goes with that!).  For many performers there are also holiday gigs and holiday gift promotions to promote on top of that.  It can all be so overwhelming.  So many things to do, so many demands […]

Embrace Your Unique Voice as an Artist

This is primarily directed to artists, but really, it applies to all of us.  Being a unique voice in a world that values sameness can be a rough row to hoe.  As children, we’re taught, encouraged, sometimes even bludgeoned and beaten into sameness.  Don’t be too loud.  Don’t show how smart you are.  Don’t blow […]

Don’t be a Needy Artist

Over the past few years, since I started doing the Ask Coach Debra Calls and being more active on Twitter and Facebook, I’ve had many encounters that go something like this:

How to Maintain Consistent Growth and Development

Have you ever pushed yourself out of your comfort zone?  You know, created something really different, taken a risk that felt scary and hard, pushed through a tough learning curve, talked to someone who totally intimidated you? And after that push – did you feel the almost irresistible urge to pull back to your safety […]

Goals and Success

In my practice I come across a lot of artists with big dreams. Whether it’s a Grammy Award Winning music career, winning an Oscar or getting a show at MOMA, we dream of a level of success, recognition and income for our creative efforts. It’s human nature to dream of success, however you define it. Where a lot of artists (and other people) go wrong in their pursuit of those dreams, they never make the transition from dream/fantasy to vision/goals.

2 Lessons from American Idol – Top 12

The format of American Idol requires artists to create cover versions of other people’s music. This is only slightly artificial as many independent artists perform songs written by someone else. And so, the ability to take a song written by someone else and make it your own is a critical skill for your success in the music industry.

No Failure – Only Feedback

Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a series of calls for the Artists Marketing & Business Academy based on Christopher Howard’s Assumptions for Empowered Leadership. For this edition of the Words to the Wise Newsletter, I’m focusing on Assumption #9: “Only feedback – no failure; therefore utilize everything” I’ll go much deeper into […]

7 Lessons from American Idol – Top 16 Results

In the writing of this blog series – I will not be commenting on who stays and who is voted off, no matter how tempted I may be. My purpose in writing this blog is to help you in your serious pursuit of success doing what you love.

Leadership

I believe that Leadership, or the lack thereof, underlies many if not all of the challenges that we are experiencing in today’s world. But what is Leadership?