Our Brit girls celebrate their goal in the opening event of the London 2012 Olympics.
Wow, the Olympics is here! For us Brits, it’s a really big deal. Like millions of people, I tuned in for the opening event a couple of nights back, which just happened to be the womens’ football, or soccer for our US friends. (In case it ever comes up in a pub quiz in the future and you missed it, it was Team GB vs New Zealand, 1-0. You can thank me later for that.)
It got me thinking of the first time I ever played football, which wasn’t until the age of 24…
Sure I’d kicked a ball around, yet I’d never, ever played in a real competitive game. But a friend putting a Wednesday night team together finally persuaded me to have a go and showed me the ropes.
If you want to understand something, do it
Why did I leave it so long to play our English national game? Mainly because I always felt I was rubbish at sport. I’d been the kid who never got picked for sports teams at school, and despite kind-of enjoying watching football, I’d been too scared to give it a go.
Suddenly it all really made sense to me. It’s what happens when you do something, rather than just watching others doing it.
But wow, what a difference having played a game! Sure I wasn’t very good, but next time I watched my team, Manchester United, on TV, it was like watching a new game.
I understood about positioning, and marking, and the skill in weighting passes. I understood what was important in the game, and what wasn’t. Suddenly it all really made sense to me. It’s what happens when you do something, rather than just watching others doing it, or dreaming about it. I played every week for many years after that.
Guidebooks make more sense once you’ve been somewhere…
Here’s another example of how actually doing something you really want to do can completely change things.
My guidebook made a lot more sense after I'd visited the place it was talking about.
I live in southern Spain, and there’s a town a couple of hours away called Cádiz. Off the tourist trail, it’s a walled city out at sea, at the end of a long spit of land, and its residents say they feel the sea is more their neighbour than the rest of Spain (it also has strong links to Cuba, another place I’ve visited and which left a huge impression on me).
So Cádiz has always appealed to me, and I’d read about it again and again in guidebooks (we’re not from Spain, so any visit to a new place feels really like exploring to us).
A couple of years into my long-distance love affair with the place, I wanted to attain a teaching qualification, and found that you could do it on an intensive residential course – in Cadiz! I jumped at the chance, and ended up spending a month there.
Wow, what a difference it made actually visiting the place, rather than just reading about it! To smell the sea air I’d imagined, to walk and get lost on its faded-glory streets, to hear its accents and chat to the locals, to be sat in a bar late at night when a James Bond film with a scene that had been filmed right there in Cádiz happened to be on TV… I felt like everything I’d read about the place finally made sense to me.
Have you ever looked at a travel book before and then again after visiting a place, and felt how much more you got from the book looking at it after visiting? Then you’ll know exactly what I mean.
This site will help you a lot more once you’ve played your first gig
So here’s the thing (yeah, there is a point to this post). The Digital DJ Tips reader survey that nearly 3,000 of you took part in at the start of 2012 highlighted this website’s biggest challenge: 65% of readers are still strictly bedroom DJs.
Yup, two-thirds of you have never played a DJ gig in public! And I want to change that more than anything. I want us to all be talking on this site as DJs who’ve done it, not DJs who are dreaming about it.
Of course, not everyone wants to. I get that. Some people like reading travel books, but aren’t interested in actually visiting the places. Some folk are armchair sports fans, but have never done any sport themselves, and never intend to. And likewise, I accept that some DJs are happy knowing all about it, but never getting out of their rooms and actually doing it. You know, in public, for real.
Of course, not everyone wants to. I get that… But I’ll wager they’re the minority.
But I’ll wager they’re the minority. And knowing only too well myself what it’s like to finally do things you should have done earlier, knowing as I do now how much more you understand things that you have real experience of, and also knowing how believing you’re no good at something can stop you trying it for years, I’ve got one message for you today.
Just like those thousands of athletes from all over the world who will be performing in front of crowds at the Olympic Games over the next two weeks, and just like me taking my first faltering steps onto a five-a-side football pitch having convinced myself it was beyond me, and just like people who finally visit places they’ve dreamed about all their lives, my message is simply this:
If you haven’t played a DJ set in public yet, stop making excuses. You’re good enough. Now is the time. Just do it!
PS Enjoy the Olympics wherever you are in the world. Good luck to your teams.
Can you recall something you’ve finally done that you wished you hadn’t put off for so long? Will you be proudly watching your country compete in the Olympics? Will you go out and try and get a DJ gig without any further delay? Please share your stories below – and enjoy the Olympics wherever you are in the world. Good luck for your teams!
Now go to:
How To Play Your First Digital DJ Set
Over To You: Should I Take My DJ Mentor’s Gigs?
7 Big Mistakes I Made At My First DJ Gig (And Why It Was Still Great Fun)
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Tags: beginner digital dj tips, learn to dj, olympics 2012, playing your first gig
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I work for the comapny Populous that designed the buildings and did all the masterplanning for the games. So excited to see our work shown off in front of the world!
[ link ]We’re just so excited, full stop! Are you there for the opening ceremony? We’re in sunny Spain, but we’ll have the TV on, a roast chicken in front of us and some alcohol flowing as we get read for 2 weeks of downtime and great sport…
[ link ]Before my first gig, nearly a year ago, I was so nervous I nearly called and cancelled. But I didn’t. I knew it was what I wanted to do more than anything, and I went and smashed it. I think that for some people, the nerves can be so much that they always find a way to get out of playing. You need to get passed that, and once you have played once, you will want to play every night.
I now run a student night in Derby, uk, and if I didnt push myself to get started, I wouldnt be where I am now.
So I guess what I am trying to say is, just do it. You have nothing to lose by trying. Expressing myself through the songs I play is now how I let my feelings out, and its therapeutic. Just get past the beginners nerves and go for it.
I still make mistakes, and I laugh about it with the people in the club. Some mistakes people other than me dont pick up on.
No one is there to judge you personally. Just give it your best and see where you end up.
[ link ]“So I guess what I am trying to say is, just do it. You have nothing to lose by trying. Expressing myself through the songs I play is now how I let my feelings out, and its therapeutic. Just get past the beginners nerves and go for it.”
If this is you, reading this now, then DJ Xana has just expressed EXACTLY how it is going to be for you when you get that first gig. He’s right, because that’s exactly how it was for me too. J.D.I.!
[ link ]Thanks Phil, I love this site, and Its so cool to be able to share my own feelings with everyone. I wouldn’t be where I am without the advice of your page.
Beginners nerves can be terrifying, but the feeling of playing in front of people, no matter how many, is a million times better. I remember when I was learning, and I DJ’d a pre drinks with my friends, and seeing a girl smiling and watching me get into the tracks, and really feel the music was the most rewarding feeling ever.
Just do it!
[ link ]“I watched my team, Manchester United”…good man
[ link ]This is so true. At no point in my life have I ever been a performer so nerves were always an issue when I first started. If I can get over it, anyone can. But what is great about DJing is that you sort of perform by proxy, or thru the medium of the music which most times you are not performing live (though still mixing live) nor did you produce yourself in the studio (though you can!). Even then there is still a high degree of expression alotted to a DJ, but you have to get out in public to express yourself! You might as well be talking to yourself if you never get out there, even just once.
If you love music and love DJing but you’re still stuck in the bedroom, you owe it to yourself to get out there. JUST DO IT!
[ link ]The shyness factor can be a real bitch.
When I used to work at record stores and would hang out with friends to imbibe, I would always have albums that meant something to me. I felt the need to share their impact with others, because I felt that they would have to appreciate the brilliance behind it.
Nine times out of ten, they would either borrow the album or buy it themselves, and it would sometimes become a regular party staple.
When I would travel abroad, and people would see me wearing a band T-shirt, I would even get a comment like, “I would love to hear you DJ sometime.”
This fed into the fantasy. I have always wanted to be the taste maker and vibe maker for the room.
After far too long, I decided to take the plunge.
But it is hard to get a gig playing decent music around here (as I’ve made clear many times before).
Furthermore, those nerves and shyness are doing no good whatsoever.
Here’s hoping that this can be overcome. The drive is there, the talent is coming. That final hurdle is going to be tough, but hopefully not insurmountable.
[ link ]If you haven’t already, check out Phil’s post on how to play your first gig. One point that Phil makes that I try to tell myself whenever i feel the nerves is the one about relaxing. Truly the vast majority of people are out not because of you. The DJ often is merely a coincidence and not a reason for people partying at a given place. The goal may be to create a following of fans, but when that happens, you should have nothing to worry about because they already love you!
Also remember this. I once was so shy in kindergarten and first grade that I would rather wet my pants then ask the teacher to go to the bathroom. Tomorrow night, I’m set to play for at least a few hundred people, probably more. Go figure. Start small, dream big!
[ link ]Please don’t wet your pants tomorrow night.
[ link ]On behalf of the smart Americans, I apologize about Mitt Romney’s remarks about the Olympics.
[ link ]On behalf of smart Brits, you needn’t worry – we can differentiate the man from the people.
[ link ]Thats exactly what i need , the ” JUST DO IT ”
my father was telling me the exact words lately OMG , just go and do it , Just do it
Thanx Phil Morse , you are a big mentor for alot of DJs and myself xD
i will try do it , and JUST DO IT
Thx alot for this Motivating Article , really maked my day and will make my life
, its hard to do it , but JUST DO IT 
[ link ]Well, we’re behind you, and closer to you than you think ! (Don’t know whereabouts in Morocco you are, but we can see the Rif Mountains from our office here in Spain…)
[ link ]This is an extremely valuable article for the readers here ! This article just so happens to be within the time frame that I quit my day job , dropped out of college , and became a full time producer/dj . The best advice I can give to those of you who want to achieve your dreams of being a big producer or DJ is to just start producing , DJing, work on your networking skills , learn to communicate well , stop being selfish , and get involved . I think this article has a lot of great value to it if you can really dissect the purpose of this , and apply it to your own life . I use to dream for YEARS of being a good producer/dj . 3 weeks ago I woke up , and I just started BEING a producer and DJ . It’s a lifestyle now ! Good luck to those of you developing your passion for music .
[ link ]I did it! On a Students party….but i did it! And i felt like god after the gig
) … Go out and just do it …
[ link ]Well done!
[ link ]In everything you do you need support and I have found that here! I want to take my passion more serious and learn as much as I can, so I just signed up 2 day’s ago. I am from a small island called St. Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean and I consider this year (2012) my coming out year. My first gig was at a bar down the road from where I live and the session went until 2 into the Sunday morning when the police came and stop the jam. I laughed to my self, because it felt really good that I had finally did it and kept people dancing all night. I was really surprised at myself and yes me too wanted to cancel. As a matter of fact I did on numerous occasions until the owner of the bar said to me he is not taking any more of my excuses. I Now play every Saturday Nights at a beach bar and mind you every night is not how I would like it to be but when it is good it’s a great feeling. So far I had one slow night since I started I am not going to stop now. So I am taking this time out to support Phil Morse message… JUST DO IT
[ link ]Really glad to hear that works for you. And I DJ in a beach bar, too, so we’ve got stuff in common there!
[ link ]Oh yeah ain’t that swag lol and by the way thank you for taking your time and doing this. I really appreciate what you have started and doing.
[ link ]One Love!