What?
Have you ever listened to “Sweet Home Alabama” and wondered who the Swampers were?
“Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two (yes they do)”
The answer is they were a group of session musicians who started at Fame Studios, then opened Muscle Shoals Sound recording studio. Their official name was the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, but Leon Russell gave them the nickname The Swampers, and it stuck.
One of the founding members is bass player David Hood, and he’s had a long career playing with everybody from Willie Nelson to Wilson Pickett.
One day a young guitar player/songwriter named Jason Isbell asked David how he always got to work with such great artists. What was his secret? Here’s what David told him, “My gear always worked, I was on time, and I had a good attitude”. Isbell didn’t believe him then, but after several years in the music business, he knew David had been telling the truth.
I told you that story to introduce the three keys to success in any job or career. And they are the same three David Hood used.
So What?
Every guy wants to succeed at his job. It doesn’t matter if he’s a neurosurgeon or a heavy-equipment operator. There’s something in every guy that pushes him to be the best.
Have you ever wondered how two men can start a career with identical training, but one of them ends up more successful than the other? You would think identical training would create identical results, but that’s not how it works, so the question is what makes the difference?
Are there a few core competencies that will allow any man how to succeed in any job?
Now What?
The answer is yes. There are three keys to success in any job or career.
Be Disciplined
Be Organized
Have a Positive Attitude
My list tracks precisely with the three reasons David Hood said were why he kept getting hired.
His gear always worked (organized)
It’s hard to get much done if you spend your day rushing around like a dog chasing his tail. You need to know what needs to be done and in what order. I use a $.35 spiral-bound notebook to keep myself on track throughout the day. The first thing I do when I get to work is to review the previous day’s to-do list and then write out what I need to get done that day.
Pro Tip- Identify your frog.
This comes from the productivity advice based on the idea that if you knew you had to eat a frog before you went to bed, you’d be wise to do it first thing and get it over with. Now apply that to your to-do list. After you finish your to-do list for the day, find the item you dread the most and do it first.
He was always on-time (disciplined)
There’s a lot to be said for showing up on time. Any guy can be on time. It’s a matter of discipline. And when you develop discipline in one area of your life, it will spill over into every other area. In other words, if you can’t get out of bed and make it to work on time, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever be great at what you do.
Good attitude (positive attitude)
A friend of mine was a touring musician for a lot of years, and he put it best “the greatest guitar player in the world isn’t worth it if he’s a jerk”.
Never overestimate the power of a great attitude. Don’t be the guy who is always complaining or going to the boss with small, insignificant issues.
That’s it. Any guy who incorporates these three keys into his work life has to be a success.
PS
I got to spend some time with David a few years ago in the control room of the original Muscle Shoals Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, Alabama. Click below to hear David talk about his career in the music business, including a fascinating story about why Lynard Skynard mentioned them in “Sweet Home Alabama.”
Listen to my interview with David Hood