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How To Become An International Rock Star

Music can be a powerful vehicle for change. It inspires both the people who listen to the lyrics and the musicians who deliver the performance. With the rise of popular TV shows like The Voice, American Idoland even YouTube channels it seems everyone wants to become an international rock star. The world is full of talented artists but the truth is that the odds of making a living as a world traveling musician are about .0000001%. If you are incredibly talented, charismatic, driven and happen upon a bit of luck your odds increase to .0000002%. But this doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream of international rock star fame…

What Is An International Rock Star?

A performer who gets the opportunity to travel the world, sing, dance, meet with world leaders, and inspires thousands of adoring fans is to us, an international rock star. Let’s first take a look at the traditional route, before diving into a way to achieve rock star status this year…
 
Learn How To Play An Instrument – This instrument could be guitar, drums or even your voice. You can’t be an international rock star if you have no ability to perform so start today.
 
Make Sure You Love Music Not Just The Idea Of Fame – Of those who make it as famous musicians, most have a deep love of music. Authenticity is what lasts so be sure you don’t just love the idea of becoming famous. 
 
Practice, Practice, Practice – This can take years and countless hours. If you want to become any kind of artist you’d better hone your craft.
 
Share Your Music – Get on stage and share your music with friends. The more you get over stage fright the more likely people are to gravitate to you and listen to what you have to sing. Book as many gigs as you can. Nobody can discover your music if you only play for yourself.
 
Upload To YouTube – The modern day launching pad to so many musical careers, YouTube has become an essential tool for aspiring musicians. Upload high quality recordings of your music.
 
Never Give Up – Aspiring musicians must come to terms with the fact that they may never perform for millions of people. But that can’t stop them. Even if that never happens, the music is enough, and that inspires them to never stop.
 
How To Become An International Rock Star As Soon As This Year…
 
Since 1965 Up with People has been sending young musicians to perform all over the world and inspire others. Even people who have never performed have the chance to become international rock stars even if just for a year. Over 22,000+ alumni have performed for thousands of people including dignitaries and celebrities all over the world. Our rock star cast members have even performed at multiple Super Bowl halftime shows!
 
The tradition continues. In fact right now as we speak, the newest cast of Up with People participants, is getting ready to head out on tour and become the international rock stars they may have never known they could be. A common misconception about Up with People (and becoming one of our international rock stars) is that you have to be a musician. While we do attract some incredible talent, we also have participants who have never before stepped out on a stage. We believe this adds to the passion and incredibly unique experience that is an Up with People show.
 
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The music they will perform reflects the mission of Up with People which is more necessary today than it has ever been. The combination of recent world developments, the rising tide of optimism in the youth of today, and the necessity to activate hope led to the theme for Up with People Live On Tour 2018: keep hope alive. A brand new show that will be performed over the next year for thousands of people worldwide.
 
How did these young people become international rock stars? They decided to travel the world with usand other young people representing 15+ countries from around the globe.
 
Want to see a show? The world premiere of Up with People Live On Tour 2018 has already sold out! See world tour stops and dates here.

How To Respectfully Disagree

Can we agree to disagree in today’s political and social climate? Is this even possible as we dig into our ideologies and points of view? At Up with People we certainly think it is possible to respectfully disagree with others that share different points of view. This month Up with People is proud to announce that we are partnering with the National Institute for Civil Discourse to offer a “Revive Civility” class for secondary and university students. Led by Up with People cast members, students will spend these classes in small group discussions, listening across differences for understanding. The class teaches active listening skills and the chance to practice having a conversation with someone you disagree with in a respectful and civil manner. Thankfully, there are ‘best practices’ we can all follow for a more civil conversation. Let’s explore these valuable tools below…

Best Practices For Civil Discourse

Civility is the ability to disagree with others while respecting their sincerity and decency. The opposite of civility is incivility. According to our research, most people agree incivility includes personal insults, threatening physical harm and/or using racial, religious, ethnic or sexual slurs.

Find Commonalities First

  • The foundation for a civil conversation is to see and hear the whole person in front of you, and not just the issue you disagree about. Start with finding common ground.  Is there something in the person’s argument that you can relate to? Ask yourself, what else do you have in common with this person? Identifying these commonalities can ease tension and lead to better conversations.

Practice Active Listening

  • Listen to understand, not to respond. While having a conversation, forget about planning what you want to say next. Take in every word, and listen for the meaning–including emotions and underlying values–behind the words.
  • Repeating back what the person said is not intuitive–it is a valuable skill that needs practice. Your paraphrasing and repeating back actually helps the speaker know if they were clear and aids them in thinking deeper about the topic too. When they have said what they want to say, that is your cue to reply, “What I hear you saying is … Did I understand you correctly?”

 

Stay Focused Even On Hot Button Issues

  • When your temperature rises and your heartbeat quickens it’s important to stay focused on the person and conversation. Maintain eye contact and focus on really listening.
  • If you find yourself on the receiving end of pointed or aggressive questioning on an issue, respond with “Tell me more.” Aggressive questions are often rooted in the asker having a point to make, and they may not be ready to hear your response.  The more you let them talk and share their view, the more they will be disarmed by your thoughtful attention.  Your listening skills will de-escalate the situation, and give you a chance to truly understand why they might feel the way they do.

Allow For Periods of Silence

  • Remember, the goal is not to speak the most. The goal is to listen and, when appropriate, respond from a calm place. Allowing for periods of silence allows others to feel that they have space and they are not being attacked.

Don’t Make It Personal

  • If you get upset, it can help to remember you’re mad at the idea or concept, not the person. Too often people jump to personal attacks which can quickly derail a civil conversation.

Use “I” Statements To Communicate How You Feel And What You Think

  • Using “you” statements can sound argumentative. For example, telling your mom or dad, “You always remind me about my chores on Wednesdays when you know I have a lot of homework” has a very different tone from “I’m feeling pressured because I have a lot of homework tonight. Can I do those chores tomorrow?”

Take the civility challenge!  Listen to conversations around you and note the ways in which people are civil or uncivil. Reach out to someone you disagree with on a topic you both care about. Make the goal to get to know them better, and to listen to understand their perspective. Give yourself enough time and space to truly hear what they have to say.

If you’d like to try out our Revive Civility conversation, gather with a few friends and text Up with People to 89800. This starts a short series of texts to prompt discussion and give you a chance to practice your own active listening skills.