Ed Gandia tells the story of how singer Josh Groban got his big break, arguing that success comes when preparation meets opportunity. The lesson applies to anyone waiting for their chance.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there. Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast. I am your host, Ed Gandia and this is the podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love working or better client. This episode is a little different and much shorter than usual rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you and this is part of the regular audio insights that I publish for my private coaching clients. I just thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. I hope you enjoy it. In 1998, a 17 year old singer by the name of Josh found himself in what could best be described as a life changing situation. A famous music producer called his house. His parents answered because Josh still lived at home, he was still a high schooler, and he asked for Josh and insisted that Josh come to a rehearsal that afternoon for a performance that was going to take place the following day. Turns out the original male singer who was scheduled to perform a duet during this performance was stuck in Europe and wouldn't be able to make it to the event on time. So the producer was in a pickle and he needed to find someone fast. He had asked a vocal coach he knew for some singer referrals and the vocal coach had handed the producer a cassette tape with 10 singers. The third singer on that tape was Josh. And this producer instantly knew that he'd be the perfect person to fill in for this performance. But you have to understand something. Again, Josh was just a kid. He was 17 years old and he was very nervous. As he walked on stage for that rehearsal, his female partner for the duet he was going to be singing commented, and I quote, he was so nervous and shaking. I was feeling nervous for him. But he took the microphone and when he started to sing, he couldn't be any more powerful than that. This kid was incredible. So why was Josh nervous? Yes, he was young, but the situation he was thrown into was one you only see in the movies. This was no regular rehearsal. It was a rehearsal for a performance that was going to take place the very next evening during the Grammy Awards. The lady he was to sing with was no other than Celine Dion, who was already a big star. And Josh was to fill in for the great singer, Andrea Bocelli. So yes, you'd be nervous too, probably terrified. Oh, and who was this shy and scared 17 year old? Well, you know him as Josh Groban, the now famous singer, songwriter and producer. That was his lucky break. Josh went on to have an extremely successful career. His first four solo albums have been certified multi platinum and he was charted in 2007 as the number one best selling artist in the US with over 22.3 million records. In fact, as of 2012 he had sold over 25 million records worldwide. The lesson here is simple and it's a powerful one. We can talk about lucky breaks all day long. They make great stories. But luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity. That's my favorite definition of luck. We're given opportunities every single day. We may not notice most of them, but they're there. The key is being prepared, doing your best, studying your craft, improving yourself, getting better at growing and running a better business. That way, when the right opportunity comes your way, you'll be in a position to take full advantage of it. There's nothing worse than than getting the opportunity of a lifetime and squandering that opportunity because you didn't invest the time, energy, focus and discipline to be worthy of that gift.
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