I Dare You

Alan is an average person. (Don’t hate me Alan…please.)

I don’t mean he isn’t a really, really great individual. He is. In fact, he is pretty damned impressive.

What I mean to say is that Alan is just a person. He’s a person just like you and I. Nothing more, nothing less.

He doesn’t subscribe to the “rockstar” stereotypes that most folks might think of when the word “celebrity” comes to mind, but yet, he’s just been recognized for something rather out of this world.

And no, I’m not talking a WeddingWire “award.”

Alan, this regular, everyday guy, just won a boatload of recognition for his work as a wedding DJ and MC. I won’t describe it here, but you can read about it in this recent ProMobile article.

What nearly every DJ that will congratulate him or look up to him for this accomplishment will ignore, is HOW he did it.

To the HOW, they’ll all turn away.

…ignoring what is staring them right in the face.

…ignoring the obvious facts that propelled Alan to this very deserving place.

…this place where the wedding industry, that so many DJs love to criticize for not recognizing the value of our services, woke up and recognized the effort and talent this man has put forward.

Alan, this regular, everyday guy, conceded many years ago that he didn’t have all the answers.

Alan, this regular, everyday guy, conceded many years ago that digging around the internet didn’t have all the answers.

Alan, this regular, everyday guy, actually listened to someone (I don’t exactly know who) many years ago that said he COULD do what he just did (see linked article above).

Alan, this regular, everyday guy — JUST LIKE YOU — committed to his craft like most DJs never will.

I’ll even do this and fully admit (feel free to join me here), that I haven’t committed to our craft nearly as wholeheartedly as Alan has. I’ve gone part of the way, but not to the length that he has. I admire him for this. Greatly.

We do share this in common though…something to which Alan lends a PILE of his success to…some really cool and incredible training.

Here is the sad part though, these training workshops currently sit with many seats wide open, proving (I believe) that people are ignoring HOW Alan actually did it.

People only see LeBron James doing WHAT he did, not HOW he did it.

People only see Wayne Gretzky doing WHAT he did, not HOW he did it.

People only see Rami Malek doing WHAT he did, not HOW he did it.

Would you dare to care about DJing as much as LeBron loves basketball? As much as Wayne loves hockey? As much as Rami loves acting?

My guess, for most DJs, is no.

This is ok. 100%. I just want you to be honest with yourself. There are many levels of caring, with none being the “correct” answer. How much YOU should care, has no universal answer.

But if you feel challenged by this…if you feel challenged by me suggesting that your level of caring is just average or below average (when you think it isn’t), then I’d like to dare you to act on this feeling.

Grab a seat in this training workshop (no, I’m not being paid to write this) in February or March of this year (the next 30 – 60 days). Put it on your credit card and I dare you not to come out of it caring more about the work you do and the potential of it than you ever have before. I DARE you.

(I felt like a blubbering idiot in my first workshop, call me if you want the full story so that we can laugh about it together.)

(This is, for the record, the only DJ related thing I’ve ever encouraged using borrowed money for.)

These opportunities (these workshops) become more rare every year. Soon, they might not exist at all and with that, the next LeBron’s and Wayne’s and Rami’s of our industry will never materialize and the playing field will fall for everyone.

People like Alan, a person just like you and I, will cease to exist, as will the inspiration that he provides other DJs. That inspiration includes proof of possibilities they’d have never believed on their own.

When the people who lead our industry in performance talent move on to other careers, so will the tide of success they have an outsized role in keeping up.

If that’s the future you’re hoping for, you’ll love my advice: do nothing. It’s that easy.

When the tide falls, so will each boat that floats upon it.

If you’d rather contribute to different future, take me up on my dare.

With that thought in hand, what will you do?

6 thoughts on “I Dare You”

  1. Wonderfully written. It took a few workshops for it to hit me, but I can remember the exact moment it did. My life changed forever. I feel so blessed to have such purpose behind WHY I do what I do. WHY I care so much. More than anything, I want more people to feel the way I do. It’s truly all about Love. I look forward to more time with people I love this coming March!

    1. I am thrilled to read a comment such as your Eric. Thanks for sharing your experience and hopefully it’ll help to inspire others!

  2. My friend I couldn’t agree more. These workshops, have taken my business to amazing new levels. The satisfaction I get from the relationships I build during my process reinforces the outlay of a reasonably large sum of money.
    Kudos, glad to see you back.

    1. Thank you my friend. I still have the majority of my time dedicated to the transformation of the CPDJA into it’s next self, but I’ll occasionally pop in here from time to time. I miss writing here…greatly.

  3. Once again you’ve hit the nail on the head Dave. In fact I think that the major dictionaries should amend the word “dedication” to “dedicALtion”! Never had there been a person more dedicated to their craft.

What are your thoughts on this post? Love it? Despise it?