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ARTICLE
Don't Make Resolutions, Make Promises To Your Clients
It’s the start of a new year and you probably said going into 2019, “this year is gonna be the best one yet!” You probably made a variety of resolutions and goals for 2019. I am proud of you that you want to level up your success and be the best you. I get it, I do this too. But a couple of years ago I shifted from making resolutions to making promises.
A mentor of mine, Jason Hewlett, who is a world-class entertainer, singer and speaker taught me the power of the promise. He speaks about how utilizing this power can not only impact our business but also our personal lives. Having resolutions and goals for the new year are great, but what Jason has taught me is that a promise is a proclamation. It carries with it a level of commitment. Therefore we are more likely to keep our promises while resolutions are likely to fade into the background within a few weeks or months. How many New Year’s resolutions have you made and not kept? How many promises have you made and kept? I resolve that we strive to make promises for this new year.
But who do we make promises to and what promises do we make? In his training Jason encourages us to make promises to our clients and the audience that we serve. He also recommends making promises to family and lastly to what he calls ‘the one’. Who is the one most important person/being in your life? Is it your spouse? Your God? Yourself?
As entertainers, first and foremost, we should think about making promises to our clients and audience. They have the right to expect a lot from us. I don’t strive to be the best DJ in the world but I always try to do my best for each of my clients. I always try to give my audience the best of myself and 100% of my energy and focus. If you are like me, you may be doing multiple events throughout the week and it can be tiring. But each event is hugely important to that particular client, and they expect us to give them the best show possible. So what promises are you making to your audience this year? Some of the promises I make are simple, but they exemplify my brand and the service I want to offer. I promise to show up earlier to my events that I say I will. I promise to be 100% present at my events. I promise to be prepared with my music and performance materials before my show. If you’d like to adopt any or all of these promises, there are a variety of things you can start doing today to ensure you fulfil them.
With any job, especially one that you love, it can be easy to forget why you are doing it in the first place. One of my biggest ‘whys’ is providing for my family. Keeping the promises I made to my wife on our wedding day is a big motivator. It is why I work; I want to provide and give her the life I promised when we got engaged. But it can be easy to let work end up getting in the way of our most important relationships.
One of the biggest promises I made last year was to take my wife with me whenever I had the chance to travel for my for work. I haven’t been able to take her every time, but when she is available from her career as a performer we make it work. This has had a huge positive impact on our relationship.
Another promise I make is to always try to be present with my family and wife. I try hard not to let work occupy my mind when I should be focussing on them. I also promise to bring energy home. In the past I found that I was putting all of my energy into my events and didn’t save any for when I got home to my wife. I now make it a priority to give her the attention and time she deserves.
The last set of promises are to the ‘one’. For me this is personal, but has a lot to do with my beliefs and faith. Keeping your promise to core beliefs and faith will help you be consistent. There are times when I have been challenged and had to ask myself, “does this go against the promises I have made and the beliefs I hold true to my soul”. One of my core beliefs is in integrity. I am not perfect, but I strive to be, and remembering my promise to the ‘one’ helps me keep on the right track.
One thing I strongly believe in is honouring contracts, which I consider to be promises. I once had an amazing offer to do an event in Venice, Italy. I was very tempted to jump on the offer but I already had a contract, a promise, to do a wedding here in Utah. Utah vs Venice… I know… it’s not a hard choice! But I had made a promise to a client and therefore was obligated to keep it. I turned down the higher paying, far more glamourous booking, in Venice – but felt at peace, as I had stayed true to my principles.
As we move into 2019 I encourage you to look at the resolutions you are making and turn them into promises which are proclamations of who you are. As my friend Jason Hewlett taught me, keeping our promise to our audience, our family and the ‘one’ will define who we are as entertainers and people. Here’s to 2019 and the promise keepers!
A mentor of mine, Jason Hewlett, who is a world-class entertainer, singer and speaker taught me the power of the promise. He speaks about how utilizing this power can not only impact our business but also our personal lives. Having resolutions and goals for the new year are great, but what Jason has taught me is that a promise is a proclamation. It carries with it a level of commitment. Therefore we are more likely to keep our promises while resolutions are likely to fade into the background within a few weeks or months. How many New Year’s resolutions have you made and not kept? How many promises have you made and kept? I resolve that we strive to make promises for this new year.
But who do we make promises to and what promises do we make? In his training Jason encourages us to make promises to our clients and the audience that we serve. He also recommends making promises to family and lastly to what he calls ‘the one’. Who is the one most important person/being in your life? Is it your spouse? Your God? Yourself?
As entertainers, first and foremost, we should think about making promises to our clients and audience. They have the right to expect a lot from us. I don’t strive to be the best DJ in the world but I always try to do my best for each of my clients. I always try to give my audience the best of myself and 100% of my energy and focus. If you are like me, you may be doing multiple events throughout the week and it can be tiring. But each event is hugely important to that particular client, and they expect us to give them the best show possible. So what promises are you making to your audience this year? Some of the promises I make are simple, but they exemplify my brand and the service I want to offer. I promise to show up earlier to my events that I say I will. I promise to be 100% present at my events. I promise to be prepared with my music and performance materials before my show. If you’d like to adopt any or all of these promises, there are a variety of things you can start doing today to ensure you fulfil them.
With any job, especially one that you love, it can be easy to forget why you are doing it in the first place. One of my biggest ‘whys’ is providing for my family. Keeping the promises I made to my wife on our wedding day is a big motivator. It is why I work; I want to provide and give her the life I promised when we got engaged. But it can be easy to let work end up getting in the way of our most important relationships.
One of the biggest promises I made last year was to take my wife with me whenever I had the chance to travel for my for work. I haven’t been able to take her every time, but when she is available from her career as a performer we make it work. This has had a huge positive impact on our relationship.
Another promise I make is to always try to be present with my family and wife. I try hard not to let work occupy my mind when I should be focussing on them. I also promise to bring energy home. In the past I found that I was putting all of my energy into my events and didn’t save any for when I got home to my wife. I now make it a priority to give her the attention and time she deserves.
The last set of promises are to the ‘one’. For me this is personal, but has a lot to do with my beliefs and faith. Keeping your promise to core beliefs and faith will help you be consistent. There are times when I have been challenged and had to ask myself, “does this go against the promises I have made and the beliefs I hold true to my soul”. One of my core beliefs is in integrity. I am not perfect, but I strive to be, and remembering my promise to the ‘one’ helps me keep on the right track.
One thing I strongly believe in is honouring contracts, which I consider to be promises. I once had an amazing offer to do an event in Venice, Italy. I was very tempted to jump on the offer but I already had a contract, a promise, to do a wedding here in Utah. Utah vs Venice… I know… it’s not a hard choice! But I had made a promise to a client and therefore was obligated to keep it. I turned down the higher paying, far more glamourous booking, in Venice – but felt at peace, as I had stayed true to my principles.
As we move into 2019 I encourage you to look at the resolutions you are making and turn them into promises which are proclamations of who you are. As my friend Jason Hewlett taught me, keeping our promise to our audience, our family and the ‘one’ will define who we are as entertainers and people. Here’s to 2019 and the promise keepers!
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 93, Pages 46-47.
