Personal Development & Death Metal
So hopefully you read this before you watch any video so that I can explain who it is and what the hell you’re experiencing.
The cat is out of the bag and I’m sure you’re wondering what in the world personal development and death metal have to do with each other at all?
Well I happened to be in death metal bands from the age of 16 till I was 21. It all came out when I was at our Tampa Meet Up for internet marketers the other night.
I’ve never really talked publicly about my Cynic experience but when it’s on Youtube It’s found pretty easy.
Anyway I’ve been getting garbage about not sharing it and being totally transparent about it.
What does this have to do with you?
Change.
Change Is A Choice
Even back the late 80’s and early 90’s when I was doing this metal band thing with my first band, Epitaph, the lyrics weren’t anything to do with much doom, gloom & death.
The themes were all about stretching the mind. With titles of songs such as “Transgression of Dreams“, “State of Being” & “Quantum of Solace” I was even back then pushing the boundaries of development and thought.
It was only the nasty growling vocals that I did that pigeon holed it as death metal.
Then I auditioned for a band by the name of Cynic in ’92 and later toured with the band in 1993. The video I linked to is the last show I played with them in 2004 in Davie Florida. (Yes that’s me on the far left screaming)
The band pushed even further past the boundaries of normalcy with song tiles such as “Uroboric Forms“, “The Eagle Nature” & “I’m But A Wave To.”
The songs were of the spirits journey and the development of ego in our journey here as human beings. Nothing to do with the traditional blood & guts of most death metal. It was a great message shrouded in what seamed chaotic to the untrained ear.
Growth Through Death
Though my experience with the band Cynic was short, my growth because of my experience amongst those members, was great.
My spiritual growth & development took on a whole new meaning because of that part of my journey. Being a musician by trade (classically trained violinist for 8 years, guitar for 24 years and piano now for 4) my urge to be creative & expressive is strong.
I’ve always loved to write poems & stories even as a child. Which lead me to write all of the lyrics for the 1st band I was a part of and later journaling and now blogging.
I embrace my past experiences even though much of the time I felt as if I was In The Storm. I felt that my growth was because I faced the storm, I braved the storm and made it through the storm.
Had I been delivered through much of my past experiences (the storms) I would have lost many of the valuable lessons which serve me even today with my current relationships & ventures.
Even right now with this post to you my past serves me because I choose it to.
What Does It All Mean To You
Everything today is about relationships.
Your happiness is even based on relationships. Such as your relationship with your creator & yourself. Which could be seen as one and the same.
The way you perceive your past experiences either pulls you up or holds you down. Your choice.
Social media today is built on relationships first. I really feel our approach to social media exposes how we approach engage & connect with many people in our every day lives.
I believe social media, much like sales, either promotes or exposes our level of personal development & understanding of others outside of our own needs. (ouch, I know)
You don’t want to be seen as a prospect do you? You want to be seen as a person right?
Just because we are online today more than ever doesn’t mean that we should be seeing people as icon’s and boxes. There is a person behind that screen and you don’t know their story until you take time to find it out.
Whether online or off line get to know people and find an interest in them. People are starving for someone to take an interest in them, their challenges & their desires.
What is their story & their interpretation of it?
Well now you know part of my story and you may see me completely differently.
However the bottom line is relationships are paramount in these days and times and we as marketers, sales people or social media moguls need to understand people.
So how will you allow your current storms to influence what you do & how you do it today?
Think about how you may influence those you come into contact with tomorrow by how you handle today. 🙂