7 Years Doing This: Observations

1.  Genres are stupid: I remember starting out trying to play in the rules of hip-hop. Kept on doing that for years, then after so much of living in the same 16 bars-hook-16 bars-hook-16 bars-hook-end structure, it got boring. I got bored. And that's something that never should happen with music, you get bored with what you do. It's tragic. 
2. Lower Your Expectations: When it comes to being famous, slap yourself if you think you'll be the next big thing. Instead, be realistic and you'll surprise yourself. It's always the ones who don't expect fame that get it in the end.
3. Please, get off your knees: If you're that desperate for fame, that you have to "assume the position" to get somewhere, it may be time to reassess a few things. Specifically, if you have pride to achieve your goals and not succumb to desperation.
4. Study Business: Great musicians also have great business sense. Not Gene Simmons style (sue-everyone-and-act-like-a-mizer) but a reasonable, in tune with the audience, sense. Don't give everything away, set a floor and stay with it.
5. Be Your Own Artist: You don't need to remix every hot single, appear on every mixtape, collab on everything. Stand on your own two.
6. Don't Fake It: Lana Del Rey is example of why you need to be great live and in the booth. Bad live shows can KILL your career. Ashlee Simpson....nuff said.
7. Respect: Make some friends, but do help them too, because surprise surprise...they may help you when you need it, only because you helped them first.
8. Be Original: Cookie-cutter musicians die out fast. Don't believe me, then look at any artist who came up doing the same style of the top act in '93, '99, '03, '06 and so on so forth. The original people last longer and while they will go unrecognized for years...they get the fame and adoration that lasts.
   
   That's all I got. It's not a set of rules, rather, a few guidelines.