The ultimate American Idol insider reveals what it takes to achieve your dreams, recalling his journey from South Central to center stage.
As a highly successful musician and producer, Rickey Minor has worked with some of the world’s most celebrated performers. He knows firsthand that there are reasons why some people succeed, while others fail despite their talent. As American Idol’s music director, Rickey Minor helps contestants reach for their dreams week after week. He’s seen it all behind the scenes at the wildly popular show.
In There’s No Traffic on the Extra Mile, Minor spins stories from his life in the music business into inspirational gold, imparting the lessons he has learned the hard way, including:
• Always give people more than they were expecting. But remember that you can’t please everyone all the time.
• Look for mentors. Minor recounts how Quincy Jones became his.
• Why every action moves you closer or farther away from your aspiration—and how to tell the difference.
• If you can’t get what you want, it may be because you’re not ready yet. When the time comes, you’ll know.
He also provides juicy behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Idol contestants, and the keys to their success. He sees the show as a condensed version of life itself. The setbacks the performers face, and their triumphs, mirror our own. But his bottom line, no matter what your field of endeavor, is this: If you drive hard enough, sooner or later you will be the only one left on the road.
Introduction
Regardless of where we start, whether it's rags or riches, we
all face the same types of challenges in trying to create lives
of purpose, fulfillment, and adventure for ourselves. Toward
that end, there are plenty of inspirational teachers and mentors
out there who are eager to share their wisdom with you,
lift your spirits, and fill you with hope. These experts have
produced thousands of self– help books, but unfortunately,
one of their most common complaints is the sense that so few
who buy their books actually do anything constructive with
the information they offer.
In contrast to some of the other books on the shelf, what
I give you on these pages has a slightly different perspective.
I've seen a lot over the past three decades on the front lines of
this dream factory called the entertainment business. Behind
each story are little clues to the puzzle called success, some
very serious and others more lighthearted. But every one of
the elements I describe has the power to thrust you forward
in the pursuit of your dreams—or stop you dead in your
tracks.
Sadly, too many inspirational and self– help books don't
fulfill their purpose because the reader is seldom ready to
make the necessary changes to their habits and behaviors.
You've heard it all over and over again: Get off the sofa and
exercise more. Ease up on the beer and junk food. Quit the
donuts. Stop smoking. Turn off the TV. Read a book! Yeah,
right. And we wonder why today's generation of young adults
will be the first in the last century, according to an article in
The Wall Street Journal, who will not live as long or be as
wealthy as their parents.
The stories I have to share will show the enormous potential
and amazing talent in each and every one of us—and
they will point out all the trap doors we often fall into, the
intricate and sometimes extremely silly things we do that
completely mess things up.
My ultimate goal is to give you a peek through the curtains.
Whether you are a big fan of American Idol or a pop ular
music lover, or someone with minimal interest in either, I
hope these stories will make you stop and notice things that
you may have ignored or discounted as inconsequential
before.
You'll see on these pages that there are a great many reasons
why 99 percent of us fail at realizing our dreams, or
even our "Plan B." There are also myriad factors that have to
come together to make things happen for that 1 percent who
succeed. The great news is that most of these elements are
within your control. Even better is that you don't need to be a
brain surgeon to understand them.
If I could give a single formula behind any success I've
experienced, from early childhood to this present moment,
including the act of writing this book, it would be:
Always give people more than they expect.
That sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? True, it is a simple
thought. Most would agree that it seems like good common
sense. What I trust you will realize quickly in the next few
pages and chapters is how fascinating and tricky it can be to
put this formula into action. You may fi nd that by following
this principle you will beat out people with more natural talent
than you have. You'll start to get noticed—and find yourself
on the radar. You'll also have to stay alert in case any of
your enemies from within—your own ego and its good friends,
arrogance, greed, and complacency—begin to rear their ugly
heads.
Let me be honest with you. As music director on American
Idol, half of what I do is the art, the skill, and the time
I put in. I can freely say that there are thousands of people
who are capable of doing what I do: providing the arrangements,
finding the perfect musicians, and conducting the
orchestra. The other 50 percent is something that you're either
born with or that you're able to develop. It's the ability to
work with people.
As you will read, music is the path that has taken me
places, introduced me to people, and put me in situations
that, in retrospect, seem to have unfolded in a natural progression
toward my goals—although the route has been
winding and challenging at times.
But whether your dream is to be a singer, a fashion designer,
a carpenter, or an architect, you have to drive toward
your passion. Sometimes, identifying and developing this
passion involves some trial and error, but it also takes a plan.
You need to outline the steps that it will take to move forward
in your life, and you have to be truthful with yourself about
the obstacles to success. If you can see these obstacles coming
and jump out of their way, you will save time and energy
for the next level of challenges that lie ahead.
“We live in troubled and turbulent times....How do we begin to create value, integrity, love, and truth? How do you learn to distinguish and ‘rise above’ [your] own limitations of circumstance or destructive mind-set? Rickey Minor has asked himself these kinds of questions, and the answers have turned themselves into a wonderful book.”
—Annie Lennox
