This was the fridge at Rubicon Artist Development, my studio and artist development space:
In hindsight, I have to wonder what I was thinking. I am thirsty for growth, success, and peak experience. This is not how one gears up to quench that thirst. It’s most certainly not how to make a space welcoming and abundant to my recording and coaching clients.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting CreativeLive’s Studios in San Francisco, as a guest speaker on Ann Rea’s Course, Fulfill Your Creative Purpose. It was an honor to be there, and I was highly impressed with CL’s large, beautiful workspace. Filming a course involves staying close to the set all day. Recording albums at my studio involves a similar “hurry up and wait” offensive. The first time I sought out a drink from the CL fridge, my hair blew back. Wow. It was like a portal to a stocked convenience store. I felt so provided-for. They had really thought of everything.
Which got me thinking about something bigger: Thirst, and how to best serve your clients. What are your clients thirsty for? It’s not enough to just do your service any more. You have to find low-cost ways to create comfort, closeness, and a feeling of abundance in your entire presence. This could mean physical amenities, like drinks or a clean and stocked bathroom, or something more business-minded, like extras thrown into a sales package, check-ins via phone, or any number of simple acts of generosity on your part.
This feeling of plethora, abundance, and wealth is exactly how I wanted my artists to experience their time at Rubicon. Because when we feel those emotions — that support, that feeling of being stocked — within, it allows our talent to pour out. This naturally brings success. Understanding this, I took control where I could. I do not have access to the kind of funds it would take to match the scope of Creative Live’s studio. I do, however, have a Costco card. For $200, I was able to up my drink situation toe to toe with CL’s.
Each one of us is given tools and resources to survive. How we choose to view them is another story; when we start to focus on what we have, rather than what we don’t have, we allow the flow of positive energy into our lives. I had a refrigerator and enough money to stock it. I had witnessed first-hand of what more successful people in my industry were doing, and had a comparable fridge in two days.
Ask yourself where you can rearrange your resources to feel abundant. Pinpointing is the first step, and then take QUICK, inspired action. Find the shift that makes you or your business feel abundant. In divine timing, Rubicon will be a million dollar studio with abundance as the foundation. As for now, my shift for Rubicon came with the simple act of quenching a thirst – in the refrigerator.
Here’s the fridge now. Which studio would you rather hang out in all day, all week?
