The Trap of Validation. The Pursuit of Mastery | Bill Stephney & Lawrence Yeo JUST PRESS RECORD
August 13, 2025·0 comments·zg
Lawrence Yeo once committed 100 hours to write a single story. He just wanted to know what would happen if he put that much time and effort into something. No expectation, just curiosity.
Bill Stephney, after introducing Chuck D to Rick Rubin (and Hank Shocklee along the way but, don’t let me rabbithole you too on this story), helped manage Def Jam way back at the beginning of the label, where he learned to ask up and comers if they wanted recognition, money, or celebrity status – because they’d have to focus on one of the three. He learned not to have an expectation too, and he let the curiosity guide him.
Which – the external validation, as tempting as it is, of knowing your 100 hour project will succeed or basking in the glory of your status, wealth and fame, always (ALWAYS) succumbs to the internal reality of – did you get what you really wanted?
In Lawrence’s case, it eventually led him away from a career in music, a career on Wall Street, and into a career in writing (first book, “The Inner Compass” out now).
In Bill’s case, it eventually expanded from a career in music, to the business of music in movies, documentaries, and even high education.
The overlap is that the external validation ultimately means nothing, even if it’s where we want to focus. It really is a trap. And these two have both figured out how to stay out of it.
Read more at cultishcreative.com
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