A song I wrote a few years ago contains the line, “To refuse to see is the same as being blind.”

This definitely applies to radio, and raises questions:

• Do you listen to your own show regularly?
• Can you hear the things that you don’t do that well?
• If you can, do you work on correcting and upgrading those things?
• Do you have a P. D., friend, or talent coach to help you recognize where you can improve, and define what your greatest strengths are?

The point is, you want to eliminate the subpar things, discover what you do really well, then only do those things.

I believe that anyone who wants to become an elite Talent needs that focus.

Here’s how careers are made…

When something happens – something that seemingly everyone is buzzing about – and you make a comment, what will you say that no one else would say?

If you can get past that, and own that, and get to where that’s the way your brain works, you will be a major star.

Read. Watch great movies. Listen to great songs. They all have that in common.

The great baseball pitcher and now broadcaster David Cone really caught my ear the other night as I was watching a New York Yankees game.

The day before, the Yankees had led by three runs with two outs in the 9th inning, but ended up losing the game 7-6 in extra innings.

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It seems like everybody’s “stretching” out conversations to an alarming level these days.

And yet, it’s the shortest statements that have the most meaning. Examples:

“And in the end…the love you take is equal to the love you make.” The Beatles. Add anything else to it, and it becomes watered down.

“Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Theodore Roosevelt. He certainly didn’t need any additions to that statement.

“Jesus wept.” The Bible. The saddest passage, to me. No more words necessary.

The lesson: Try to resist that “one more thought” impulse. You’ll find that talking less equals meaning more.

The one Constant that any great air talent or station needs to have:

Every day, every single day, your primary goal is to deliver something that’s worth listening to.

“Memorable Moments” (a Mark Ramsey term) are what put you on the map, and the more of them you consistently have puts the station on the map more prominently.

I hear so much “social media post that I thought up a punch line for” stuff lately that it makes me want to scream.

WORK at it. Try to get better and more consistent each day. All I’m looking for is something worth listening to. If I hear it, I’ll stick with you.

A radio career is like crayons.

You start with the little 8-pack, and boy, is that fun. All the primary colors at your service. Now to find a surface to draw on…

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This is the starting place – especially when you’re new to a station:

People don’t need to know you. You need to know them.

Streets have names that are pronounced differently than you would have thought.
Food tastes are different. (I once went to a corporate meeting in York, Pennsylvania. EVERY store and every restaurant I went into had candy machines in the entrance. Dentists must love that place.)

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Here’s something you can do to both improve your on-air performance and bond the station together a bit.

Years ago, my friend and fellow Texas Radio Hall of Fame member Bruce Gilbert each Programmed a station in the same cluster – mine was a Talk station, Bruce’s was a Sports-talk station.

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Often, I’ve asked air talent how long their show prep time is. The responses are varied. Some claim hours are spent sifting through websites and social media, local news, etc. Others say they don’t really need much prep. They pretty much just wing it each day.

Both of these responses show a certain lack of truly productive prep.

Money (your wallet), the Entertainment world (as it applies to your format), whatever “the Buzz” is today, Relationships, and things that are unique to you are the only things you really need.

The prep starts in your living room, and works outward from there, including what you’ve observed as you’ve gone through your day.

There. Solved it for you.

Actor and film Director Clint Eastwood is famous for doing as few “takes” as possible. There’s an interesting story about that.

Once, an actor who was dissatisfied with his first effort asked Eastwood is he could have another try.

Clint then asked, “Was there film in the camera?”