The Effects of EGO on Your Success

As a session musician, I have played with many famous artists—artists who have sold millions of records. With that comes massive success: big houses, fancy cars, and more money than people could count. I was fascinated by how people dealt with their fame and success. I’ve seen firsthand people become incredibly successful only to lose everything. In my opinion, a lot of this has to do with the artist's ego—where they perceive their talent comes from and who they thank for it.

I always said that my talent, first and foremost, was a gift from God, and that any success I received was due to the Lord's blessings. In my experience in the music business, I have seen many artists claim their talent as their own. It is no coincidence that these were often the artists with short-lived careers.

One artist I worked with was gaining incredible momentum in his career. He went from working as a dishwasher to being propelled into superstardom on TV. Millions of people tuned in each week to watch him on a pop star reality show. No one could argue that this guy had talent. When I met him, I was surprised by some of the things he said. “I’m one of the greatest singers of all time,” he boasted to a record company executive. I immediately thought of the Corinthians verse when I heard him say those words: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (Corinthians 10:31)

This artist was a living example of the complete opposite of this verse! He constantly claimed his talent was the result of hard work by him and him alone. In a way, his giant ego was burning bridges faster than they were being built.

A few months after the TV show ended, this artist was given a great opportunity: he was offered a world tour supporting an incredibly famous American singer. A meeting was held with the band, the artist, and the record company. The artist’s brash personality and big head had already rubbed several record company executives the wrong way.

During the meeting, everyone in the room was throwing around ideas on how to create a successful show for the tour. Driven by ego, the singer suggested that the band perform offstage in the wings while he was the only one on stage singing. “Why would you want to do that?” asked the head of marketing from the record company. The artist replied, “I don’t want the spotlight to be on anyone but me!” The record company stood with the band, insisting that the credit for the performance should be shared by all the musicians. The artist's idea to be the sole person on stage was quickly overruled.

On tour, I noticed that so many people were involved in making it happen—managers, road crew, musicians, lighting people, sound engineers, and caterers. I always followed the old adage: “Treat people the way you would like to be treated.” I guess that’s why I got along with people from all walks of life. The artist, on the other hand, was only nice to people who could help elevate his career.

I remember the second night of the tour when we were having dinner backstage. It was beautifully prepared by a local catering company. Everything was calm and peaceful until the artist had an outburst. Apparently, his Chicken Kyiv was undercooked. Instead of politely asking for a new dish, he spent the next five minutes berating the server. I felt awful because she was a 22-year-old girl just doing her job. She hadn’t prepared the food; she was just bringing it out for the musicians.

I tried to calm the artist down, mentioning that it wasn’t the girl's fault. Then he said something that really upset me. He said, “She’s a nobody! I’m a star, and in 20 minutes I’ll be entertaining 20,000 people.” I was beyond disgusted with his comments. Immediately, I thought of the Corinthians verse 13:4-7:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

The funny thing about ego is that it can make people believe they are more important than they are. The manager of the famous American artist happened to be having dinner when this outburst occurred. He was so disgusted by the singer's behavior that he immediately dropped him from the tour. This meant the artist lost thousands of dollars, as well as sales of his music. This had a spiral effect. Two months later, the record company dropped him because he wasn’t selling as well as they had hoped. He had also said some hurtful things to employees of the record company.

Clearly, there is a lesson to be learned here: don’t be a slave to your ego when you have success. And don’t forget to give credit to the Lord when you are truly blessed with a talent.

Magesh has written for “Lessonface,” “Aeyons,” “The Modern Rogue,” “Euronews,” “The Roland corporation,” “Penlight,” and “Elite Music.” He writes several monthly publications on music education. In the past, Magesh has written for parenting, humor, mental health, and travel websites as well.

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