Go Beyond

 

Beyond The Reception Lounge

What would you say to someone who lives all their life in the reception? Imagine booking a hotel stay for two weeks for example and on arriving at the reception, you fail to proceed to the other areas of the hotel. It would feel weird right? It is difficult to believe it but this happens more often than we think. Forget about a hotel stay for a moment and let’s think about a house you recently bought. What would we think of you if you only spent your time in the living room? Think about this being a 4 bedroom all en suite maisonette with a swimming pool and a host of other amenities. Why would you want to restrict yourself to the living room only?

As crazy as it may sound, many of us live our lives like this. We are stuck in gear one and have not thought of anything beyond. When it comes to exploiting our immense potential, it seems like a majority of us are still only scratching the surface. This is not the way it was meant to be. We are called upon to do more than just be content with what we have experienced so far. We must aspire to go beyond the reception and exploit the depths of the Hotel. We must look past the beauty of the living room and see the rest of the house. We must scratch beneath the surface and discover what else is out there.

I write this article with many people in my mind but to narrow it down, I will focus on musicians, authors and actors. The thoughts herein though are applicable to anyone who cares about being all they can be while we stay this side heaven.

What do I mean when I refer to living in the reception as an artiste, actor or author? It could mean not looking at your talent as bigger than the release of your best-selling album, movie or book. If the exploitation of your talent ends at the release of that chart topping album, then friend you are living in the reception. Life in the reception ain’t all that miserable. A lot goes on at the reception. There are all these people coming in and going out. You are able to meet and interact with all of them at the reception. Allow me to add however that a lot of this interaction is at a shallow superficial level. If you are to get to know these people intimately, it takes more than your interaction at the reception. There is a lot of beauty at the reception because the reception represents the front office of the hotel. This is where the hotel’s face so to speak is. Nobody wants a reception that looks beaten and all washed up. You can easily get lost in the beauty of the reception and fail to grasp all the other things in the hotel. At the reception there are these beautiful magazines and maybe the screens are on showing you a whole host of interesting things to keep you enjoying the moments as they pass-by. Suffice it to say that the reception is a place full of life and you would be forgiven for thinking that this is where all the action is.

Shock on you, there is more life in all the other areas and as a matter of fact, the best of experiences are away from the public’s view. Beyond the reception, lies the restaurants. I mean it’s all great being where the action is and all that, but when hunger strikes, all that action means nothing unless your stomach is taken care of. When nightfall comes and you are tired and worn out, you need the privacy and peace of your room to sleep and unwind. At such times, the reception is not the best place to be. If the hotel or resort you are staying at has other amenities like swimming pools and golf courses, you will find that there is more fun in those places than at the reception. If you have your kids with you, you will want to engage them in activities which will obviously be beyond the reception. If you are carrying valuables with you, I am 100 percent positive, you will not want to display them in the public area that is the reception. Supposing you want to hold a serious discussion, you will want the privacy of your room or a booth where you will be sure no one will hear a thing about what you are discussing. I share all of this to illustrate the point that the reception as beautiful and exciting as it is, is not everything we need when we are booking a hotel room. Your living room as exciting as it is, is not where your most serious business takes place. Your treasured possessions are most likely locked up in a safe within your bedroom or some other place not so obvious within your house. You do not talk about deep matters at the living room table in the presence of all the visitors and children. You will want to pull your spouse aside and share the things on your heart in private. I guess what I am trying to put across makes sense to you. 

When your exploitation of talent ends at the point of your best-selling album, movie or book, you have just settled for staying in the reception or the living room. Look at all those people in your field who have gone on to enjoy massive success. One thing you will note about them is that they didn’t remain at the reception. They looked beyond the joys of being in the limelight and went for something better out there.

I can tell you this for free, Jay-Z did not become a Dollar Billionaire off of his music alone. His music was a door opener to many other things which combined have brought him such a great fortune. He decided to look at how to ride on his fame to go into many other ventures which have made him who he is today. The same can be said of many other successful artistes, athletes, actors and authors.

Courtesy of the clarity of his thinking, Jay was able to go into endorsement deals, ambassadorial roles and many other entrepreneurial ventures as a result of the recognition of his name. You see the reception was important in his story but it was not all he was about. He used the beauty and appeal of his reception to take people with him into the depths of his hotel so to speak. What are you doing with the recognition of your name in the particular field you are in? Are you simply basking in the glory and forgetting to go beyond? As we speak Jay is into Talent Management through Roc-a-nation, fashion through Roca wear, music streaming through Tidal, he has partnerships with watchmaker Hublot just to name a few of the offshoots of his success as an artist.

The question is are you looking beyond the reception in your own field of operation? Do you see yourself as capable of accomplishing so much more as an artist, actor, or author? Do you realize that there are so many other avenues for you to increase your impact beyond what your music, film or book can do? My challenge to you is that you begin to look at all the different ways in which you can move beyond the reception and go to the places where life is happening. As a musician ask yourself how can I build an enterprise around my music? As an actor ask how can I use my recognition as a force for social good? As an author ask how do I leverage on my authority to impact many more lives for generations to come?  Nobody can answer this question better than you. People’s paths are as unique as they are. What worked for one person might not necessarily work for another. What I am certain of though is that as you deploy yourself in these matters, clarity will come your way concerning what you need to do.

I encourage you to appreciate the fact that there is more to your gift than what you have accomplished so far. I will end with a proverb from Solomon which says a man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. Proverbs 18:16.  Purpose to release your gift and allow it to take you where you cannot go otherwise. Resolve to allow your gift to manifest beyond its basest form. Don’t get so caught up in the little successes that you forego the biggest rewards that await you.  Whatever you do, look beyond the reception and enjoy the fullness of the resort.

Do you want to go beyond with your talents, resources and so much more? Make a point of getting in touch with us via asenasam@gmail.com