On January 12, 2007, a man in a baseball cap played a violin outside a subway station in Washington D.C. He played 6 pieces, including two by Bach and one by Schubert which took about 45 minutes.
1,097 people poured past the man into the station, most of them on their way to work. It was a crowded rush hour.
The man played for 3 minutes before anyone noticed him and that was only a sideward glance. Everyone was in a hurry to catch their train.
It took nearly 4 minutes for the violinist received his first tip. A woman hurriedly threw a dollar bill into his open violin case.
The ones who seemed to pay the most attention were young children. They pulled their mother’s skirt hems trying to stay longer but were hurriedly being dragged along to their waiting trains.
Only 7 people stopped and listened, in the whole 45 minutes the musician played.
About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.
He collected $32.17 for his efforts, and no one applauded.
Only one person out of the 1,097 that passed through the arcade recognized the man.
She patiently waited for him to finish, then went up to say hello to Joshua Bell. Joshua is one of the most celebrated musicians in the entire world, who had agreed to take part in an unusual social experiment.
He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Three days earlier, Joshua sold out a theatre in Boston playing the same repertoire. Average ticket price for that performance: $112.
Are you playing to the wrong audience?
Do you not even have faith in yourself?
No matter how good you are, put in the wrong place or with the wrong audience, you will never be appreciated or paid your worth. Joshua had no doubt about his abilities and was seen in his true light in the right environment.
Is it time for you to change your environment?
New job, career, situation.
Coaching is a great way to work out what is really important to you and help to guide you through your decisions and choices. Go to my website and book a free discovery call and let’s see if we are a fit. What do you have to lose?