CCM INDUSTRY bubble

Okay, okay. All right. All right, Pedro. You ready to get this thing on? Stand by. And we're on. Well, today, on my way to get my laptop repaired, the battery, I got sideswiped by a car. And this old lady in these big glasses, and it caught me off guard. And for some odd reason, it got me thinking and meditating about on artists in the CCM industry, the Christian music industry. So I've been having some problems with my laptop as of late, and I don't know what happened to the battery. This is the second time with the MacBook Pro that the batteries just went kaput. If it's not plugged in, I lose power. It just goes completely out. So that's the reason why I was on the way to the shop today. They called me and said, hey, we can take your computer. We ordered the battery for you. So I'm on the way, minding my own business, driving along And I'm doing nothing wrong. I'm paying attention to the road. I'm aware of my surroundings. And this lady came out of nowhere and she just came in the middle of the road and stopped and just looked there. And I had to swerve out of the way. And I'm like, I honked my horn. I said, lady, what are you doing? What are you doing? I'm like, she could have hit me in the side. Then I just started reflecting and thinking, it's like, you man, I think there needs to be rules and regulations with people with driver's license. And if you don't pass the test when you're older, you just don't drive. And clearly she was an older lady. So I was like, man, and I just started thinking, I go, well, that's not fair to some people because people, some people that are older can still really drive really well and they pay attention. So I was stereotyping, right? You get older, you start stereotyping people and You go, yeah, it's a stereotype. Oh, they're old. They can't do that anymore, but there's some older folks out there that can do things even better than a 20 year old can. So with that, I get to the computer shop to go get my battery repaired. And basically I walk in, there's a little, there's one lady standing there and I was like, Oh, this is going to be a long one. I said, so basically in a nutshell, I said, I'm going to be standing here for a while. So there's an older lady, she had a tablet and he goes, sir, I'll be right with you. Um, I'm only here by myself today. So it's always the case, right? Cause you're, you want, you want to go in and out. I wanted to get back to the studio cause I had things to do. So, um, anyways, I'm standing there and she's, I guess an older lady, she's got her tablet and I guess she just uses these tablets and she downloads all these free games and she's confused and says, there's a virus on my tablet. And he's trying to explain to her, it's like, well, You got to delete some of these apps because that's how they make money. And some of these emails you're getting, they're not true because they want you to click it. Yada, yada, yada. If you're not all that scam stuff, don't want to have to explain it. But I felt bad. And then at first I was getting a little, I'm not kidding you. I was probably standing there for 30 minutes. A lot of these shops, older people come in because they're just clueless with this technology. But yet here I am, I'm not too far behind them. I'll be 54 in October. And I'm like, man alive. Is this going to be me? And then I started just sitting there and reflecting. And I've been walking around the Magic Kingdom at a Disney World, got an annual pass and been walking quite a bit around there. And so my hands started shaking like this, holding the computer. And I just had a revelation. I go, man, I am not too far behind. And who do I think I am judging people? based on their age and getting frustrated. And granted, I didn't go down a downward spiral. Why are we so impatient? Why are we so impatient? Why do we think we're so important in this life? Why do we think the world revolves around us and only us, especially on the open road? I can only tell you so many times where things like that have happened. But yes, I had to honk my horn. I'm an anti-honk-your-horn person. I think there's a protocol, but today I used my protocol. That was, I had to honk the horn. I had to get her attention or I would have been sideswiped because if there hadn't been a car coming this way, I would have been in a severe accident today. So thanking the Lord for protection in that situation. But why do we think we're so important? Why do we think when we run to the grocery store, we go to point A, B, C, D, E, F, everything revolves around us. And we don't take time to reflect and look around us. to see people that there's more people in the world. And why are we so impatient? Why are we such in a rush to get where we need to get? And over the last three to four years, I've learned to just go with the flow. And for years, I worked with Christian artists. In fact, last year, I worked with one of them for a good portion of like nine months traveling on the road with them. I've been doing it for a very long time. Right now, not working with anybody. So I'm going to say this very kindly when I talk about this, because I'm pointing at myself too, because this whole story today got me thinking about the CCM industry and Christian artists and how we associate things. Obviously CCM artists, they're drawn to a big purpose uplift in the name of Jesus, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Granted this all thing kind of just flushed in. So I saw somebody doing a podcast because one of my Instagram feeds is full of music industry people and they're doing a podcast. And I just said, man, why do Christian artists just feel like they're above everybody else? It's like this, this elite, elite thing. And the reason I can say that, it's like, look, like behind me, I have some Christian awards back there, Dove awards. So I was in that circle for a very long time. So, and when I'm saying this, I had to go through this. And if I hadn't went, gone through what I went through four years ago, I'd probably still be there as far as this, like, Oh, I'm somebody special mentality. Cause when you get humbled, you get humbled fast. So again, um, and I just started thinking, I'm like, what's up with that? And so after this whole computer incident, I went into a great place here in Mount Dora, Florida. It is an amazing place to eat. Uh, I love it. Um, they got a great meatball sub And so I stopped by there and they were playing Christian music in the background, worship music in the background. And, uh, I was sitting there eating my sub and then I'm like listening to this worship music. And I was like, Oh, that's cool that they're playing worship music. That's really, really awesome. And then there's this one part of this guy, I guess it was a live performance. He goes, Hey everybody. And this is, you can tell he's an arena doing worship music. He goes, I just want to say that it's so cool. We have the number one song in iTunes right now. And you hear everybody go. And of course, Where I was at mentally, I'm like, start thinking like, it's so weird. We're uplifting in the name of Jesus, but yet we're bragging that we're number one on iTunes. And Pedro, we okay over there? Okay, Pedro, I'm checking with Pedro, making sure that Pedro is doing his job. Pedro does his off during these things. So Pedro, you're not getting paid extra overtime for this, okay? So anyways, isn't that just weird that we, and there's nothing wrong with that. What I'm saying is there's nothing wrong with saying, hey, we're number one on iTunes. That's pretty cool. But being in that circle for so long, and I used to work with artists and the mentality that they had, or even I had, it's like we were above everybody else. And I'm not putting everybody in the box, but I think there's a lot of them out there, even the industry people, that you think you're part of the elites. I mean, they have a whole award system, Dove Awards, that say we're going to recognize this thing and pay to peers. And it's very, very in the click based on status. And luckily enough, I made in that status thing at one point. I'm not in it like I used to be, but I left my mark in Nashville for sure. And I don't say that bragging. I went there last year and had a lot of meetings and connected with a lot of people that are still around and they're happy to see me. And they go, oh man, you're so missed. What happened? Why'd you disappear? But that industry is special. So I'm not Doing this rebuke and say everybody, but I think there's people out there that drink their own Kool-Aid. They drink their own Kool-Aid and they think they're better than everybody else. They think there's this standard. I was working with this one artist, for an example, and just like with Instagram, it's like, hey, someone wants to collab with you. On Instagram, you can do these collabs and the artists look down like, dude, that's going to hurt my numbers. I've got a half a million followers on Instagram. I can't be doing that. And I'm thinking in my head, I'm like, why wouldn't you do that? Why wouldn't you do a collab with someone that is of less? And how are you going to convey that message? Like, Hey, you're not big enough. What the heck does that even mean? I think that's what I'm, I'm frustrated with this whole culture of I'm better than everybody else. And what I do is so special. And as a creative, an artist early on, I had that mentality or were someone special because creatives, I was talking to a creative last night and she said, we, we, we, she goes, we And I'm like thinking, I go, man, we really put ourselves in a box. Like we were the only ones that do what we do. And there's millions and millions of people that do creative things. And there's millions and millions of people that do things outside of creative space that are very skilled that God's given them that gift to do. So why do we generalize and put ourselves in this box and elevate ourselves? It's so disgusting. It's disgusting. It's disgusting. And over the years, I have learned to step out of that circle of of comfort, of being surrounded by like-minded people. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that at the end of the day because you grow, you learn, you do things and you grow from those situations. But getting outside of those circles is where I've actually started to grow. And you find that you meet human beings like the lady that was in the computer repair shop. God bless her soul. She's probably retired, doesn't have a whole lot to do. She plays games and she just started downloading these free games and she didn't know right? But she's someone special. Why do we isolate ourselves in the creative space or these CCM industry or whatever you're doing in the creative space? Why do we think we're so elite? Why do we think that everything that we're doing is a priority? Because we get consumed with this art, this drive that's inside. We got to get this thing out. We got to get this thing out. And so everything around us becomes a problem if we can't get to the finish line. And I've learned, again, in the last four years, it's not always about getting to the finish line first. It's about getting there when it's time, when God orchestrates the times, when God opens up the doors. Granted, you've got to put the hand to the plow and do the work. I'm not saying you sit at home and pick your nose all day long and say, God, open a door. No, God gave you hands. He gave you a mouth. He gave you abilities to go out and create. But I feel like sometimes in the creative arts, people are so driven. They want to get the quickest way to the finish line without really finding the creative process through A through Z to get there. Does that make sense? It's the journey. It's part of the journey. And when you get to the finish line and you realize what the finish line is about, you appreciate it more. But even in life, Paul said, we're running a race. And when we get to the finish line, That means it's over. We're with God or we're not with God. And how are you running your race? But in that race, I've learned to slow down. I've learned to, I am running a race, but I've learned to slow down and just take in these moments of people because that's what really matters. I heard a preacher said that, That's something that stuck with me. He felt the Lord told him like, hey, make me rich. And you're thinking like, God, if you believe in God, God created the heavens and the earth and he created money, he created everything. And he said to God, he's like, you're already rich. What are you talking about? He goes, no, make me rich. Make me rich with souls. Make me rich with people. I love people. So we have a purpose. If you're not a believer or you're a believer, and I'm learning every day just to try to Embrace. Give people grace. Give people, just because they're not like me, getting to know them if I have the opportunity to. And just be there. Be present. And not think that what you're doing is so important that you have to get rushed to get through something. Granted, you have plans, you have dates sometimes, and things get in the way. But with all of that, I can tell you, finish strong. But this elitism of creatives, especially in the CCM world with worship music and stuff, man, just take a chill pill. Take a chill pill. And maybe take a time out. I don't know what it is. And I have a heart for those people. I really do. And we all fall short. No one's perfect. So I give people grace with that as well. But this whole thing that we think that we're someone special because we create There's this thing where we have to get eyes and ears on what we do. And when we have that, we are somebody special. And guess what? We're not. We're not someone special. Your mentality as a creative, you should always be a servant, always a servant. And you will find your thing and you will find your groove. And when you do, you will lead strong and you will know where you're going. But with that, hey, if you see this beautiful studio right here, I am in Blue Jay Recording Studios. I have my podcast desk here. It's been years in the making. I'm finally getting to use it. But I joined Blue Jay Studios last year doing marketing for them, and then we opened up this facility where you can do your own podcast. So if you're interested in doing podcasts here at Blue Jay Recording Studios in Central Florida, hit me up. You can hit me up at jeff at bluejaystudios.com. Or you can go to BlueJayStudios.com and find out more information. We'd love to have you. And yeah, let's do a podcast together. That'd be amazing. Also, if you're looking for branding, you're looking for merchandise, I have also a company that I'm involved with. It's called MerchTent Media. We do shirts, hats, these whole things right here. Sweatshirts. Branded sweatshirts. Look at that. See that, Gus? That's Gus's shirt that came in. So we... We're a creative agency, and we do branding for your small business and social media marketing, Google Ads, website design, logos, and merchandise brand content creation such as this. This is more of a podcast, but go out and shoot reels in your restaurants, whatever. Go to merchantmedia.com for more information. And if you're enjoying this Jeff Adams show, let me know. Comment down below. These are just random thoughts. I'm going back to my roots of how I did this show. I'm not trying to fix the algorithm of YouTube. I'm just communicating my worldview of how I see things around me. Until next time, see you real soon on The Jeff Adams Show. Lord willing. Peace out. Pedro, take us out. When Jeff is buying, the prime rib's frying.