The Savvy Entrepreneur

I used to love The Tragically Hip back in the day when their lyrics were raw, genuine, honest, creative and just plain good. However, I fell out of love with them years ago when they started turning a new album every 2 years, and their music sounded too commercial and mass produced. What made them special and unique was lost for the sake of making more money.

One of my favorite lines is from Blow at High Dough on their second album, Up To Here:

Sometimes the faster it gets
The less you need to know
But you gotta remember,
The smarter it gets
The further it’s gonna go
When you blow at high dough
When you blow at high dough

According to A Museum After Dark: The Myth and Mystery of The Tragically Hip:

“Don’t blow at high dough” is an expression Gord Downie’s grandmother would use. A bit of wise matriarchal advice which suggests that you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself or attempt to walk before you’ve crawled. — Blow At High Dough references

If this is true, The Hip should have taken grandma’s advise, instead of rushing to produce so many albums in a given number of years.

I think of this song when I feel like I’m trying to accomplish something too quickly, when I’m trying to cram in too much information at one time, or when I’m only concerned about the next big money-making idea. I feel out of balance, my work gets sloppy and I’m out of authenticity.

As entrepreneurs, we need to assimilate tons of input many times during the day, and we all work very hard at attaining success and profit. At what price?

The next time you find yourself in a frantic, turn on this song, take a breath and step back.

Remember, going too fast produces second class outcomes and will only hurt you in the long run. The quality of what you turn out will be compromised and you’ll lose faithful fans in the process.