In 1983, the biggest-selling album in the US was Michael Jackson’s?Thriller, still a pop classic more than 30 years later.
The second biggest-selling album was from a relatively little-known (at the time) UK rock band called Def Leppard. The album was?Pyromania.
Selling more than 10 million copies in the US alone,?Pyromania?launched Def Leppard into the melodic rock stratosphere, and introduced music fans previously against rock into their brand of catchy hooks and excellent live shows.
The point?
Prior to 1983, Def Leppard were as unfashionable as you could get.
A British rock band that were stuck between a rock and a hard place – trying to bridge the gap between old-school heavy metal and more mainstream rock. Their albums previous to?Pyromania?showed promise but were still mired in old school thoughts.
Step up producer and songwriter extraordinaire Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who helped Def Leppard reach the potential they had always shown.
Getting them to work in new ways, be open to new ideas, and experiment with new approaches to get their song messages across more effectively.
You can do the same.
Look at what you do each day and see how you can improve it by thinking differently. Look at the old you and see what’s good and not so good, and how you can?turn both into great.
If you blog, ask yourself how you can stand out from others.
Write about the things you want to read as opposed to what you think others want to read. Take existing ideas, put your personality into them and make them your own.
If you’re a business owner, be Mutt Lange. Make your employees your band and open up the recording studio to fresh views.
You’re still the producer at the end of the day, and you’ll make the final recording, but bands also know what their fans want – give them their voice too.
Safe and steady won’t harm you – you’ll always have a comfort zone around you.
But wouldn’t you rather take a risk and see how far you can really go?