Posted by David on June 27, 2003 at 08:41:14:
In Reply to: Re: Truly Great Teachers/Performers posted by Dave Zerkel on June 26, 2003 at 10:06:03:
While playing and teaching skills are a must to become truly "great", a great amount of marketing skill is required to get the message out to the masses.
I don't know where to draw the line between shameless bragging and marketing, but the line is there. Yo-Yo Ma (business major at Harvard) would not be the great name he is without good marketing and neither would Patrick Sheridan (MBA in marketing). They are both very good performers but I would dare say there are equals out there. The difference is in the marketing and not in the actual skills.
Personality on the job certainly plays a key role in a freelancers life. Contacting all the contractors in the city where you live is a first step. Second comes the chance to show your stuff and, most importantly, is your ability to get along with others and still do a good job playing.
Some would say that luck plays a role in getting to the top. Luck is a function of preparation combined with persistence. Both the aforementioned performers have both so were "lucky". Some of us have the same ability to be "lucky". We just have to be prepared and persistent.