Flip it in your favor

Flip it in your favor(ˈfāvər).

By Derek Sivers

The old saying, “It’s all who you know,” used to feel so defeating(dəˈfēt).

I wanted to be a famous musician, but I didn’t know any famous people. I didn’t grow up in Hollywood(ˈhälēˌwo͝od). None of my friends were successful. Fame(fām) was a secret insider’s group.

So when I heard, “It’s all who you know,” it felt like the rest of that sentence was, “and you don’t know anyone. So forget it.”

One day in college we had a guest speaker who was a top executive(iɡˈzekyədiv) at BMI.

On his way into class I overheard him say he was hungry. He had come straight(strāt) to our school without lunch, so when the teacher told him it was a two-hour class, he groaned(ɡrōn).

Because everyone was still getting seated(sēt), I quickly ran out to the hall, called the local pizza(ˈpētsə) shop, and ordered a few pizzas to be sent to our classroom.

After they arrived, he laughed and said, “Good move. I owe you one.” He gave me his card after class, and suggested I keep in touch.

For the next two years, he took my calls and gave me all kinds of advice about the music business. When I graduated(ˈɡrajo͞oˌādəd) college, he got me a great job at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing in New York City. He heard they were hiring(ˈhī(ə)r), called them to say their search was done, and that was that. I started work that week.

A year later, I realized “It’s all who you know,” doesn’t have to be depressing. I just never considered it could work in my favor.

Then I realized the profound(prəˈfound) conclusion(kənˈklo͞oZHən). Everything that seems depressing can be flipped to work in my favor.

Every deal that’s bad for someone is good for someone else. So instead of moaning(mōn) about the bad side, you can take the good side.

If you think corporate(ˈkôrp(ə)rət) radio(ˈrādēō) is keeping your music from being heard, start a radio station! Look at the history of SomaFM.com(ˈsōmə) for an example.

If you think banks have an unfair(ˌənˈfer) advantage, you can start a bank! Look at simple.com for an example.

In 1997, I thought distribution for musicians sucked. So I started CD Baby. Now distribution doesn’t suck anymore.

If you live in a democracy(dəˈmäkrəsē) and don’t like the law, you can even change the law!

You can flip anything in your favor. It’s easier than ever for you to replace a broken system, and never feel helpless again.

https://sive.rs/flipstick