When Joshua Jordison co-founded the Human Gathering, he had already spent over a decade working at the heart of the music industry. When Jordison was just 23 years old, he helped get one the largest street music festivals in California off the ground. The Silver Lake Jubilee was a celebration of the local music scene, drawing numerous up-and-coming bands, hundreds of vendors and a special speech from Eric Garcetti – who would go on to be elected Mayor of Los Angeles 3 years later.
After the success of that festival, Jordison produced numerous concerts all over Los Angeles and played a role in many unknown artists becoming household names. The journey was not an easy one. Jordison had grown-up in what he often refers to as a “rough part” of Los Angeles, with no music industry connections to speak of.
“There are a lot of fake people in the entertainment industry, so I had to develop ways to be able to tell the difference between fakers and real people – people I could build long term, authentic relationships with”, recounts Jordison. “I managed to go from not knowing a single person in the entire music industry to becoming friends with most of the people who actually control the industry itself before I was 26 years old”, he continues.
How did he get there? According to Jordison, it was a combination of his internal drive, an unyielding work ethic, the willingness to “show up and be okay with looking stupid” and other concepts he created over time.
Here Are 5 Tenets The Human Gathering’s Co-Founder Joshua Jordison Uses to Avoid Fake People & Builds Authentic Relationships, written by Jordison himself:
- Everything Starts With Your Internal Drive
I think you have to start deep inside yourself, meaning your internal thought processes. You have to ask yourself why you are doing whatever it is you are doing and find an internal drive that will propel you forward. And that drive needs to be an unending source of energy. For me, it was all about saving my family from the neighborhood I grew-up in. I was much less interested in fancy cars, expensive watches or the general status that comes from being successful in the music industry. I think the fact that I was driven by something greater helped me employ more discernment in my relationships. And that is still with me today. People who aren’t driven by something from deep inside will naturally peel away from you. It’s a great way to avoid fake people, without having to really do much at all.
- Hard Work Should Feel Like Too Much At Times
When I got started, I would attend about 25 concerts every week. That probably sounds like an insane amount to most people. And it definitely felt like too much at times. I kept going, because I was committed to getting the kinds of results I demanded of myself. I would go to an average of 5 different concerts every night of the week, Monday through Sunday. And I eventually started producing my own concerts as well, at venues like: Three Clubs, Spaceland, The Standard Hotel, Bardot, Cinespace, Hemingways, The Satellite, Boardners, The Silver Lake Lounge, Los Globos, The Echo, Room 5, Lot 1 Cafe, The Avalon, Harvard & Stone, Spot 5750, The Bootleg Theater and others. Many of these venues are gone now. I will never forget all of the memories though. Every night, I was either producing a concert or attending several, oftentimes both. Working at this capacity allowed me to meet so many different kinds of people. I would meet more people in a single week than the average person in the music industry would meet in several months. The amazing thing about this is that only real people are willing to work this hard. You end up meeting the cream of the crop, in terms of authentic human beings.
- Be Willing to Show Up and Look Stupid
There were countless times when I would show-up to an event or party without knowing a single person. Having come from a background where no one in my entire family or friend group knew anything whatsoever about the music industry, I oftentimes didn’t know who the real players were. I sometimes would meet very important people and shake their hand without having any idea who they were. And I was okay with that. To put it plainly: I was always okay with looking stupid. I figured I would rather show-up and potentially get an opportunity than not show-up at all and be guaranteed to lose that opportunity. This mindset and willingness to look stupid is a big part of the reason that my network is so large and powerful today. If a person judges you for this, let them. Authentic, real people will see your willingness to just show up and be okay with looking stupid as a positive trait.
- Test Other Peoples’ Ability to Handle Disappointment Early
Here’s the thing: human beings are all flawed creatures. We will always disappoint each other, eventually. It’s important to know how a person will react to disappointment, before you let them completely into your inner circle or give them too much power in your life. Since this is true, it can often be incredibly insightful and helpful to intentionally create a situation that disappoints someone new in your life. And it doesn’t have to be something big. It could be as small and as simple as intentionally showing-up 15 minutes late for a meeting. If you show-up 15 minutes late for a meeting and the person you have the meeting with freaks out, then you know you need to end that relationship. Get this out of the way as early in the relationship as you can. It will save you a massive amount of headaches and reveal the true intentions of the people you are thinking about building long term relationships with.
- Begin Relationships By Giving First
I’m not saying you should keep score. I’m simply saying that it’s always a good idea to come from a mindset of giving more in your relationships than you get. Every time I meet someone new, my wheels start spinning. I love to think of unique ways that I can help them. Oftentimes, this involves making an introduction to other people who can help them as well – if not several. I don’t even really start to think about how the person might be able to help me until I have helped them with something first. Pessimists will say that operating this way creates a risk that I could be taken advantage of by other people. I have found the opposite to be true. And I am also reminded of a great quote by Winston Churchill: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston was right, at least in my experience. And after all, anyone who does choose to take advantage of you immediately reveals themselves to be the kind of person you don’t want to have in your life in the first place. You can’t lose on this one, as far as I’m concerned. I have found, without exception, that the best people always find a give back – so start by giving.
“These 5 Tenets have allowed me to build a world class network of deep relationships with some of the most interesting, powerful people in the world”, says Jordison. “And I am confident they will work for anyone who is willing to employ them for long periods of time.”, he says.
Jordison has drawn from these tenets to build a culture of trust and authenticity in his company. The Human Gathering continues to grow, with leaders from up-and-coming startups to Fortune 500 Corporations and everywhere in between. “We value integrity and character above all else”, says Jordison. “Every single person who is offered an invitation to join our private network must go through the exact same application process as everyone else. No one gets to skip that, regardless of their title or status in today’s world”, he says.
