datamusicata

Using What You’ve Got

The other night as I was channel surfing, I came across Kathy Griffin, a “comedienne”  whose presence on earth I can barely tolerate.  (www.kathygriffin.net)    I think of her as the illegitimate son of Joan Rivers.  

To be fair, I find many people in show business repugnant.  They seem to demonstrate no gift other than self promotion and the public responds as though these clowns are actually bringing something to the party.    Kim Kardashian (www.kimkardashian.net) or Paris Hilton (www.parishiltonzone.com ) come to mind.  

I can't help but wonder why would anyone care that these folks are even on the planet, let alone want to watch what they do with their self indulged and wasted lives?   There are literally hundreds of thousands maybe millions of wonderful, remarkable, productive people out there.   Finding them is its own reward.

In any event, I asked myself how in the world this "comedienne" could carve out a career in show business to such a successful level.   She’s not funny, attractive, or clever.   Most people find her abrasive and if I saw her coming towards me, I would, in the words of Monty Python, “run away!”.

But here is where her genius kicked in.   She recognized that she was not likeable, personable or someone anyone wanted to be around, and THAT’s what she use in her act; to create her act actually.   Brilliant!   I've got to give it to her.

It is essentially, demonstrating over and over again, how many people find her repellant, and how she goes up in their faces anyway and then reports how badly they handled her insensitive interjection of her personality into their space.

It’s truly amazing and a lesson for all of us.    Take a look at yourself.  Whatever your most salient traits or gifts are, those are what you should use.

She used her very repellant nature to create a career, a brand if you will and she demonstrates over and over how to use whatever one’s gifts are.

How many great singers are there, who decided, because of the Beatles, to write their own songs?   Now ask yourself how many truly bad songs are on so many recordings?   Far too many.

Bonnie Raitt (www.bonnieraitt.com)  a gifted performer and a wonderful singer and guitar player.   She has written a couple of really great songs, but look at how many recordings she has released.   She only puts a song of her own on a CD when it’s truly a good song.  

She recognizes where her gifts lie and she uses them.   When the muse strikes and a song like “Nick of Time” shows up, she records it.   Otherwise, she showcases her gifts and strong points and hides any weaknesses she might have.

Take a good look at who you are and what you can really do well.   Go after that.  Some may call it the path of least resistance, but I call it taking advantage of what you have been given.   It worked for Kathy.