Did you ever hear an artist talk about his work and find out that his inspiration was totally different than what the work ended up meaning to you? I’ve got to tell you about a Bruce Springsteen song that did that to me, in a minute.

I drove 80 miles to hear a speaker talk about succeeding in my chosen industry on Saturday and ended up walking out. Not because I was offended and not because he wasn’t a good speaker, it turns out, as I learned at another session that day, I have the wrong type of brain! Our speaker began with no prologue, no jokes, no stories, just lists of things we needed to do. He might as well have been speaking Arabic, his words never penetrated my thick skull.

Imagine this, an engineer, a landscaper, a salesperson and an artist all go to a lecture and then fill out a questionnaire on the ability of the speaker and the lessons learned from the presentation. The engineer wanted numbers and facts, the landscaper wanted a structured, step by step approach to working on problems, the sales person wanted stories and humor and the artist wanted “the big picture”. As often turns out, 4 people needed 4 different messages from one presentation. Why? Because their brains are all wired just a little differently!

If you are in the business of communicating or selling, understanding a little about who is listening to you and how they process information is a pretty handy piece of information to have. A good place to learn more about how our brains work is at Herrmann International, a company founded by General Electric executive Dr. Ned Herrmann. “The Whole Brain Approach” explains why we hear the same message differently and how we all process things in our own, unique way. An expert in the Whole Brain Approach, Robyn Winters, helped me to understand what happened to me that morning when I failed to “connect” with our headline speaker.

My problem on Saturday was that the speaker never engaged me with stories, anecdotes or humor; so I never got the personal connection my brain needed. I never identified with him; so I couldn’t comprehend the fire hose of facts and figures he let loose on the audience. At lunch, I talked with people who thought our presenter was the answer to their prayers, he changed their professional lives and I never really heard a word he said!

The Affluent Artist lesson was this, people who buy your work buy for different reasons and learning how to connect with them is a skill worth acquiring. Finding  a “Tribe” to lead, a group of people who are united with you by a cause or similar passions, makes the communication process a lot easier, but what if you have to speak to people who don’t necessarily share your views or interests? In general, it is a good idea to tailor your presentation and material to your audience.

Using “empathy” to do business is a right brained skill, and an intuitive creative type person probably has an easier time adapting to a different audience than you might think, that’s why so many creatives are good at service type jobs (like waiting tables).

Creative people, as I often say, are your company’s best sales people, but, remember; your customers have a creative side too, when you can appeal to their inner artist, when you can engage your customers right brain, you’ll make a lot more sales. If you can engage your customers’ imagination, if you can make a real connection, you’ll make a sale for life, you’ll get a “fan”. It’s better, I think you’ll agree, to have fans than it is to get someone to “sign a contract”.

Ok, so that Sprinsteen song; I’ve become a Springsteen fan a little later in life, only over the last few months have I begun to play and sing his work. I’m realizing that he is not only a great musician and entertainer, Bruce is a poet. He captures the angst of the modern woking man like no one else and I am often moved by reading the lyrics to his songs. (Favorite line: “You’re no beauty, but hey, you’re alright!”). The beauty of Bruce’s work is that it hits on so many levels, somehow the combination of his voice, his great band and his lyrics create emotions, it is not elevator music. Do my emotions have to match those of Bruce’s when he wrote the songs? No. Even when his songs are about something completely different than I thought they were; I’m still connected to his work. My own reaction is what’s important to me, the creator’s emotion is secondary.

“The Rising” has powerful lyrics and I was under the impression it was about a man who had lost a lover; yet somehow, the message seemed to still be uplifting and positive. I checked Wikipedia to clear up my confusion and the song is actually written about a heroic NYC Firefighter climbing one of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 and his “dreams of life” as he perishes on that fateful day. He is carrying a 60 pound stone (oxygen tank), wearing the cross of his calling and arrived on wheels of fire. It is an even more amazing work, now that I understand it. (I’ve printed the lyrics below, read them while you listen to the song, it’s very moving).

When you create a work, or sell a product, don’t assume that your buyer is going to understand it the way you do, don’t assume that it will have the same effect on them that it did you. Buyers bring their own brains and own creativity to the table, you’ll sell more work if you work with THEIR emotions and not just yours.

And now, The Rising.

Cant see nothin in front of me
Cant see nothin coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I cant feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far Ive gone
How far Ive gone, how high Ive climbed
On my backs a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin down here

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

Theres spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burnin bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

I see you mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
Theres holy pictures of our children
Dancin in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin on the end of my line

Sky of blackness and sorrow ( a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness ( a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear ( a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow ( a dream of life)
Your burnin wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight