WEBVTT - Don't be a one-hit wonder

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:15.400
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:20.680
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to always be thinking about your next

0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:25.800
<v Speaker 1>big idea. Yes, we want to see things through and

0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:30.240
<v Speaker 1>ride the waves that they create, but your last project

0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:34.960
<v Speaker 1>never completes your next one. Being willing to try things

0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:39.360
<v Speaker 1>that aren't as successful as your first big idea paves

0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:44.960
<v Speaker 1>the way for more success in the future. I have

0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:50.560
<v Speaker 1>long been fascinated by people who have some big early success.

0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:57.240
<v Speaker 1>Their careers can go in wildly different directions. Some folks

0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.560
<v Speaker 1>managed to use that early flame to ignite a long

0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:06.280
<v Speaker 1>slow burn, getting the chance to do a lot over

0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.960
<v Speaker 1>the years. Some of those projects aren't as good as

0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:15.080
<v Speaker 1>the first offering, but over time skill improves and what

0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:20.160
<v Speaker 1>required luck in the beginning to achieve becomes more repeatable

0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:26.400
<v Speaker 1>later on. Others, of course, experience early success and then

0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:31.120
<v Speaker 1>completely flame out. The early win is the only win.

0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.400
<v Speaker 1>This dichotomy is more readily apparent and fields like pop

0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:41.360
<v Speaker 1>music and books, but even regular jobs can reveal these

0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:46.880
<v Speaker 1>two paths. Someone gets a big opportunity early on, does

0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:51.200
<v Speaker 1>well with it, and gets more opportunities to do bigger things.

0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.080
<v Speaker 1>They can even shape their identity past that first job.

0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.680
<v Speaker 1>Other folks get offered a big promotion or opportunity and

0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:05.720
<v Speaker 1>then can't follow up. So how do you avoid being

0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:10.440
<v Speaker 1>a one hit wonder? First, I think it helps to

0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:14.280
<v Speaker 1>accept the reality that a big early success means your

0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:18.399
<v Speaker 1>next offering is probably not going to go as well

0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:23.560
<v Speaker 1>as the first. Every success is a combination of skill,

0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:29.320
<v Speaker 1>hard work, and luck. You can repeat the first two

0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.560
<v Speaker 1>or maybe even improve on them, but the last comes

0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:38.400
<v Speaker 1>and goes. A fortuitous opening in the market means you

0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:43.280
<v Speaker 1>were able to double one products revenue. You probably won't

0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.880
<v Speaker 1>instantly do that for a bigger and more established brand,

0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:52.320
<v Speaker 1>but so what you can do something. The key is

0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.600
<v Speaker 1>to make it clear to yourself and to everyone else

0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.440
<v Speaker 1>that you don't think your second big project is going

0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:03.160
<v Speaker 1>to be your past one. You will continue to work

0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:08.320
<v Speaker 1>hard and to challenge yourself to keep getting better, and

0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:13.600
<v Speaker 1>you won't view a smaller success as failure. You will

0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.920
<v Speaker 1>view it as the next step that will then allow

0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:21.720
<v Speaker 1>you to move on to other possibilities. You can also

0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.040
<v Speaker 1>increase the odds that you are not a one hit

0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:28.960
<v Speaker 1>wonder by continually trying to think of new ideas. You

0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:31.799
<v Speaker 1>build in time into your life to think about these ideas.

0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:38.520
<v Speaker 1>You capture them, you explore them. But and this is key,

0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:45.400
<v Speaker 1>I really do believe that ideas are plentiful. Success is

0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:49.160
<v Speaker 1>largely about whether you are able and willing to execute

0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:54.920
<v Speaker 1>on those ideas, and that means doing the work. So

0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:57.920
<v Speaker 1>if you are a writer, you have to keep writing,

0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.160
<v Speaker 1>even if you know this book won't do as well

0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:04.920
<v Speaker 1>as the last one. You have to sit in your

0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:09.000
<v Speaker 1>chair and finish it and make it as good as possible.

0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.200
<v Speaker 1>If you are a painter, you have to keep going

0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:17.800
<v Speaker 1>to your studio and finishing new canvases. If you have

0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:23.440
<v Speaker 1>launched one wildly successful product, great, you want to make

0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:27.400
<v Speaker 1>sure that is well supported, And then you probably want

0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:31.160
<v Speaker 1>to keep thinking about what your customers want and what

0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:35.000
<v Speaker 1>you suspect would thrill them, and keep trying things out

0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.520
<v Speaker 1>and work every bit as hard to make the new

0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:43.000
<v Speaker 1>products as important and meaningful as the first one was.

0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:50.039
<v Speaker 1>Your sophomore effort probably won't be wildly successful, and some

0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:54.280
<v Speaker 1>people will grumble and note this, But if you keep

0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:59.080
<v Speaker 1>producing good new things, eventually some will be able to

0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:03.000
<v Speaker 1>stand a lot inside that first hit, and the first

0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:07.039
<v Speaker 1>hit will look less like a one hit wonder and

0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:12.919
<v Speaker 1>more like a harbinger of good things to come. In

0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:18.800
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's

0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:28.760
<v Speaker 1>to making the moose of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.240
<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:35.000
<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:40.839
<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the

0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:45.160
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:48.560
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.640
<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.400
<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

0:05:54.440 --> 0:06:02.640
<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.000
<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:10.000
<v Speaker 1>visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.240
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows. Ye