Humility is a virtue. It is a trait that amplifies greatness and commands admiration. A balance of achievements and humility attracts people and commands their admiration – sometimes, even love. In the Nigerian music industry, 2Face Idibia is one musician who commands respect;
not only because of his music, but because of his humility. Meet 2Face anywhere and his humility stands out. This is a trait which more than a few up-and-coming artistes can learn. In this light, TATTLES chose to share with our readers an article written by Efe Omorogbe (CEO of Now Muzik).
For artistes and sports personalities whose earning power and market position is determined by the quality of performance and level of popularity, it is essential to maintain a clear head and one’s sense of humility.
(As) essential as it is, humility is not an easy trait to maintain, particularly in showbiz. Success can quite easily become an intoxicant. As a practitioner becomes more successful, there’s the temptation to literally start believing one’s own hype. Great artistic performances cause mass hysteria and earn praise. Praise is usually followed by patronage and patronage delivers income, sometimes beyond the wildest dreams of the newbie star.
More often than not, success, the very prize that fueled years of grueling preparation and huge sacrifice, ironically becomes the undoing of the artiste. This phenomenon is by no means limited to the business of entertainment but it is within the confines of this industry that I have garnered work experience and studied closely how the inability to manage success, most times painfully limited success, has damaged a good number of pretty bright talents with otherwise great prospects.
What humility does for you
Though usually perceived in an artiste’s interaction with and attested to by others, the artiste is the primary beneficiary of the fruits of humility. I’m talking about genuine humility here and not some false ‘eye-service-niceness’ crap. Humility allows the artiste to have a fairly objective view of the quality of his work and his place amongst his contemporaries or the competition. At no risk to his self-confidence, a humble artiste is able to clearly assess his position in the market and acknowledge the strengths of others in the running. He is even able to go one better by admiring deserving competition and adopting particular work strategies that have proven helpful to others.
Humility compels one to respect other people. This is a powerful ingredient for success in showbiz. A star who respects others tend to work better with a well-meaning management to deliver top quality service to the public. He is respectful of his fans and it shows in the way he applies himself in preparation and delivery of performances. He is usually a delight for promoters, agency and brand personnel to work with and, therefore, enjoys patronage time and again.
You don’t have to be Humble. Being Professional will do
Like I pointed out earlier, humility isn’t the commonest trait to have, nor the easiest virtue to cultivate. A lot of people do not have the capacity to be humble and, please, don’t confuse niceness with humility. For a myriad of reasons, ranging from psychological inadequacies to a lack of understanding of the true dynamics of life and living, certain people are unable to cultivate a mind and heart where achievements and humility can co-exist. To this group, my recommendation is thus: “Don’t Be Humble. Be Professional”.
I often tell my clients and friends that nobody does stardom for a living. At least, nobody I know. As a star artiste, what you do for a living is offer recording, performance and appearance services through your label/management to the public – basically. The buzz, money, attention, admiration and the groupies are but perks for performing your basic duty satisfactorily. Be professional. Focus on delivering on your task satisfactorily and the perks will keep coming.
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