How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life(41)
For the next year or so, I worked on my very first world tour, called A Trip to Unicorn Island. Like most new mothers, I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I knew I loved this baby with all my heart. I wanted to feed it organic fruits and use only natural baby products. Whenever I met someone new, I pulled out my phone to show them pictures of my tour creative because it was growing up so fast. My Facebook feed was filled with sentimental posts about my tour. I was that mother.
After several late nights filled with pizza and alcohol (the good thing about brain babies is that drinking may actually have a positive impact on them, unlike real human babies, who are selfish and demanding, kicking you all up in your uterus—just saying), I had a vision of how I wanted this show to look. I had ideas for everything, from the marketing to the costumes to the merchandise being sold. Now, when people embark on their first tour it’s usually small, often within a particular region of the globe, and the crew is minimal. But I wanted my show to be a WORLD TOUR that traveled across the planet, was theatrical in nature, and was above and beyond anything I’d ever done. It came as no surprise when my manager called me and said the production company had crunched all the numbers and had some concerns. From that point on, meetings and phone calls were filled with various obstacles that threatened my vision: finances, logistics, legalities, and a bunch of other ridiculous things, like gravity. Pffft. Whatever, gravity. You’re not the boss of me!
One of the major sticking points was the number of dancers that would be on tour with me. I envisioned eight but was told that we could only afford four. Over and over again I was told I needed to confirm four dancers or else the tour would not be financially viable. Here’s the thing, though: with four dancers, it wouldn’t be my tour, the one I had in my head. It would be my team’s tour, my financial advisor’s tour, but not my tour—and that wasn’t okay with me. I signed off on taking full financial responsibility for eight dancers.
I finally had my eight dancers confirmed, but this was just the first of many battles I would fight. I went back and forth with the costume designer, not budging on what I wanted because I had a very specific vision in my mind. She kept coming to me with reasons why my vision wouldn’t be possible to execute, but I was adamant. My dancers were to be the gatekeepers of Unicorn Island, and they had to look perfect. My baby would not wear an ugly onesie! My baby had to wear a cute, fluffy outfit so I could take pictures of it and plaster those pictures on the Internet. That’s what motherhood is about!
After months of protecting my baby with invisible boxing gloves, the time finally came to start the tour. Little did I know that the actual journey across the planet would be filled with unforeseen threats to my vision. In India, some of my jokes had to be altered due to legalities and cultural appropriateness. In Perth, Australia, the size of the stage was a third of our minimum requirement. In Dubai, the staff continuously interrupted my show and the security allowed fans to run onstage during my set. But I’m a mother, and mothers do not give up when it comes to protecting their young, so time and time again I tried my best to find a solution. I just wanted my baby to shine and make a difference in the world.
Now, this all sounds ideal and magical in some sense, but a Bawse understands that there is a cost to protecting your vision. With dancers and costumes, I took on financial risk. With stage dimensions and venue restrictions, the dancers would have to rearrange formations to accommodate the changes. With logistics and scheduling, I sacrificed the amount of time I had to sleep. When it comes to protecting your vision, there will always be some cost, and you need to be prepared to deal with it. More often than not, the cost will be a huge amount of work. If you want things a certain way, then you better be on the front lines of the battle with a suit of armor, ready to protect your brain baby.
The next time you have an idea, recognize that your idea is your baby and if you parent it well, it will grow up to be a wonderful event, product, or campaign. Your baby can change the world, but first you must make a promise to protect it. You should always welcome feedback and take into account suggestions that may help your baby in a positive way, BUT if you ever hear that little voice in your head screaming in protest, you should stick to your guns.
Welcome to parenthood. You should go to a hardware store right now and buy some childproof locks (and earplugs), because that’s what parenting is all about. That and getting peed on while changing diapers. Dang, I guess gravity really does exist.
SNOOP DOGG has taught me a lot of valuable lessons in life. For starters, he taught me that you can spell animal names however you want, so if you feel like repeating a letter, don’t let anyone stop you. Second, if something is hot, drop it. And last, I’m beautiful and he just wanted me to know. I learned all these things through Snoop Dogg’s iconic music, but it was during a YouTube creator summit he was speaking at that I ended up learning the most. He was participating in a panel about staying relevant in the industry and I was sitting on the edge of my seat trying to soak in all the wisdom. He said a lot of really great things that day, but one thing in particular stood out to me. When asked how he’s been able to have such a long, successful career, Snoop Dogg replied: “I’m the dumbest person on my team and that’s how I do it.”
From a young age we’re always taught to be the best, the fastest, and the smartest. You don’t aim for second place in a race, nor do you compete in a spelling bee hoping someone else is a better speller than you. That said, a Bawse knows that in certain situations, it’s beneficial to be the dumbest person in the room. Surrounding yourself with people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than you are is a great way to step outside your comfort zone and continue to learn and grow.