What I learned from Kanye West
June 9, 2008 | by brett | Permalink
Two months ago my girlfriend was caller number 104. The prize? Two tickets to go see Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour at the Jobing.com Arena.
Seated far from the front row in the back of the arena, I was offered an interesting perspective of the concert. A full floor of screaming teenagers willingly stood before me for the whole show despite paying an average of $100 for their seat. Flashing lights and video screens brightly projected themselves our way, sending me away dizzy after four and a half hours of hip-hop-pop music.
I was sent away with something else besides a headache- lessons, or at least, reaffirmations from the self proclaimed biggest star in the universe, Kanye West.
1) At the end of the concert Kanye said, “Music is the soundtrack of our lives. It’s what we wake up to in the morning, listen to on the way to work, and defines us in who we are.” As he continued on about how he loves music, I interpreted the statement to be the reasoning behind “why” he raps. That same “why” should be prevalent in “why” we’re at work, or looking for work on this glorious Monday afternoon. Needless to say, my “why” was reevaluated.
2) That having a goal- in Kanye’s case, being bigger than John Lennon, Madonna, U2, aka, the greatest- is essential to success. If Kanye simply just loved music without the goal of becoming the greatest, he’d be nowhere near as successful as he is today. It’s like having passion without reason, or reason without passion- you need both to be successful. Having a lofty goal like Kanye’s allows him to continue into the depths of decades.
3) As one would expect for $90 a ticket, the performance did not disappoint. There was captivating video, lots of sing-a-long moments and interaction from a crowd rocking sunglasses indoors. As 20,000 people threw their “rock signs high in the sky”- truly a mesmerizing sight- the essentials of a successful presentation became apparent. Reach the audience audibly, visually, and most important, make them do something besides sit in their seats.
This morning Zach and I spoke to 100 5th graders at Chandler-Gilbert’s Destination College program about Pursue the Passion. Lessons number three, two, and one were incorporated into the presentation. The result?
A successful presentation highlighted by a loud, synchronized “Pursue the Passion” chant. I’m no Kanye, but for twenty minutes, I was able to feel like one. 
Category tags: Lesson Learned
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Steve Says:
August 2nd, 2008
I think you are more impactual that Kanye West in ways that you never even see. Keep up the good work.
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