Seth Mosley – The Balance Of Greatness

Many artists make the move to Nashville at the speed of sound, some travel in circles to know where they’re headed. In an ongoing feature profile, CCM Magazine shares another snippet from Seth Mosley’s Full Circle Music Show podcast

When you are in the presence of producer/engineer/mixer, Reid Shippen, you can feel a calm confidence resonating off of him. I guess that would come after 7 GRAMMYs, but don’t misunderstand me; confidence is quite different than cockiness. Reid is assured of his abilities, but he is the first to say that he is still finding his way like everyone. His career has been a balance of pursuing his passion but staying realistic to the hard work and dedication that is necessary to becoming one of the music industry’s top go-to professionals.

When Reid speaks on following a dream he is certain. “You’ve got to do what you love, because you get one trip on this planet.”

Reid says, even at an early age, it is important to recognize your desires and abilities. He’s trying to impart that to his own children.

“The Bible says raise your child up in the way that they should go. I think a lot of people read into that as, ‘tell your kids [what] to do.’ The way I see it is, ‘identify the talents that your kids have, and try and fan those flames as much as possible’ because that is the way they should go. I had to figure that out by myself, which was very difficult. I am going to make sure that my kids get that from me as much as possible. If you are stuck doing what you hate you’re wasting it. You got to go for it. If you love what you do you never work a day in your life. It’s kind of a motivational poster type of talk, but it’s totally true.

“At the same time, especially now, you have to be an entrepreneur. You have to go into this [business with] eyes wide open. You have to plan. You have to think. You have to be strategic, and be smart about it. Three chords and the truth isn’t a business plan. You have to think about that stuff too.

“The people who are going to be successful in the music business, now and going forward, are people who are their own business. There’s not enough room now to rely on other people to do that other stuff for you.

“The people who fail are like, ‘My manager didn’t do this, or my attorney didn’t do that…or my producer didn’t do this…’

“The people who succeed are the guys and girls who [say] this is what I want, and they get it.

Reid Shippen

“Kenny Chesney is the hardest working person I have ever met in my life. That guy is killing it. I get calls from him at six in the morning or at midnight or two in the morning all the time and he’s like, ‘Hey man, I’m hitting the gym at 5:30. I had an idea for a song. Can I stop by the studio at seven and we can tweak it?’ He‘ll come in, we’ll mess with something, and he’s like, ‘Cool, thanks bud’ and he’s gone, on to something else.”

That is amazing motivation! Reid and Kenny Chesney are at the top of the mountain, but they realize that the only way to stay there is to work harder than everyone else.

If you are lucky enough to know what you want to do, or are already pursuing your career, you already have a head start on others who are still working that out. Although it is not enough to wait on opportunities to fall into your lap—you must make each opportunity happen. Is it any wonder that Reid has seven GRAMMYs, or that Kenny Chesney has his own island? Those accomplishments are not dumb luck. They are the rewards of intense work and dedication to the craft. I’m sure Reid would say that the pursuit of being excellent at his passion is just as important and meaningful as any award on his shelf.

To hear this full podcast, please CLICK HERE. Suscribe to the Full Circle Music Show podcast for access to loads of other interviews with leaders, groundbreakers and stars of the music business, SUBSCRIBE HERE.