-----Original Message-----
From: ****
Sent: March 28, 2008 8:08 PM
To: Shaggy
Subject: shaggy
u are very entertaining and u do help me get stress out when u are funny but i have a question can u help me try to get my name out there because ive been trying to get people to help and like idk what to do
It's 4am, I just got home from work... so this may sound a little scattered.
The first thing you got to ask yourself is what are you trying to get "out there" as? Anybody who seeks attention just for the sake of attention is doomed before they ever start to promote their name or ever start a career. What do you want to do once people start noticing you? Nobody sticks around to watch someone just to watch them, and hardly anyone remembers them after they leave. You got to be focused on what you want to do before worrying about people knowing who you are.
I once had a very famous lady in radio history tell me, "remember...you start the day as a nobody, and when that mic is off, you're nobody again." Her name was Chatty Hattie Leeper, and she's beyond a legend in entertainment. I trusted her advise a lot, almost as much as I did my parents...and for a southern boy, that's deep. Hattie told me to make sure I wasn't being like most DJs of the modern era...so stuck on themselves that they failed to entertain anyone else. They had nothing going for them outside of being "on the air." As people, they were horrible...and she scolded me anytime I got a big head. I have to be entertaining to impress her, bottom line period. I try to pass that advice to people wanting to get noticed in any entertainment field. HAVE A REASON FOR PEOPLE TO WANT TO BE AROUND YOU.
Also, be careful what you wish for... I was once a unnoticed, funny kid in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina. My life was simple and I grew up in a great rural community. Entering college, and radio eventually...changed my entire life. I was always shy before, but people rushing to see you for no other reason than your job is CRUSHING. After 13 years of this life, I can no longer enjoy the basic things most people take for granted. Everywhere I go I'm spotted. I can't eat out, shop for groceries, or spend time with my kid because of who I am. My life is so different from when I started that sometimes I have to remind myself I'm nobody important at the end of the day. It's just rough when you can't just go around like a normal guy...
And I love everyone of the people that walk up to me. How sick is that? My listeners, my fans...they are great people. I thank them every time they say they like my show. I try to make time to talk to everyone I meet, and remind them I'm nobody without them. That's another rule of being a true entertainer....your fans are the reason you can even do what you do. Never take that for granted. Thank everyone everyday they come to see you. Be grateful for them, even if you feel like you are getting crushed with attention sometimes and just want to be alone. Never ever forget to take care of those that take care of you.
You got to remember too, that you have a responsibility as an entertainer. You have to always be the better person. Keep your personal life out of the way of your act. People remember the loud offensive entertainers, but only the good guys become legends.
I guess the last thing is the most important. Since I was 18, and professionally in radio, I can honestly say I've had a fun life. I get to do and say things most people really wish they could. My life is a blast. HAVE FUN with WHATEVER YOU DO. Don't force yourself into the spotlight without the goal of just having fun. You make mistakes? LAUGH A YOURSELF! People insult you and call you names? HELP THEM AND LAUGH SOME MORE! Never lose your cool, and most importantly, never be too cool to be bothered. Entertainment is an expression of yourself. If you are happy doing it, people are happy watching you do it...whatever your "it" may be. DJs, musicians, actors, and comedians can all lay down one truth to why they really do it. They do it to have fun.
At the end of the day, it's still the most fun I've ever had regardless of working long hours.
After reading this, take some time and think it over about what kind of entertainer you want to be and that will answer your most important question...and the one you asked me. How do you promote yourself starts on what you are actually promoting.
Alojah,
Shaggy
-hopefully this helps people who are thinking the same.
