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5/16/2011

Are we friends or competitors?

There are two ways musicians can think of other musicians. Either as friends or as competitors.

In The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin talks about that dilemma.

"As a TV writer in Los Angeles, my sister works in a notoriously competitive, jealous industry. When a friend of hers cowrote the screenplay of a movie that was a box-office hit, I asked her, "Does it give you the funny feeling that your pal had such a huge success?"

She answered, "Well, maybe a bit, but I remind myself that 'People succeed in groups.' It's great for him to have a big success, and his success is also likely to help me be successful."

By contrast, I have a friend who described her brother as having a zero sum attitude toward good fortune: if something good happens to someone else, he feels as if something good is less likely to happen to him. As a result, he's never happy for anyone else. "

Which camp are you on?



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2 comments:

  1. I've known many chamber musicians whose sole purpose was to finish in first place ;)

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  2. I'm naturally a bit jealous and competitive when my colleagues end up with gigs that I don't. But I try to use it as motivation to continue networking and improving my own skills. Plus, in my experience, having a positive attitude and being supportive of my peers has only brought positive results in the form of stronger relationships and subsequent recommendations!

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