Northern Cross

 

These encounters mean everything. At least to me. Also, because of these encounters I used have in time, I chose this occupation. As we all know, such encounters may change the course of your life events. And no, I am not speaking about any success, or how such encounters may lead us to such. It’s about something greater – it’s about finding your own path. Also, you’ll be able to get reflections from others.

For some, it may be a needed addition to one’s self-reliance. To the other, an advise given at the right moment. Often times, it’s a combination of both. It is also how we take these encounters. I have number of personal examples of what can happen in such a situation. How far-reaching effects they may involve. The advice, relevant experiences, or guidelines you’ve received may not reveal their significance until years later.

In fact, I eagerly wanted to become a contract lawyer when I was a manager for Jorma Lillbacka’s son in the 90’s. He agreed with me, but still put me in their company’s payroll computation as a summer help. I received a single contract assignment for the summer – to draw up employment contracts to their Northern Cross yacht. I had to leave that draft to their lawyer for a review at the end of the summer. Otherwise, I would be checking out the travel bills. Surprisingly, well done a contract draft when repairing was not much found. Afterwards, even though I received a valuable exercise for the preparation of contracts, supported by their lawyers, I learned even more when checking out those travel bills. It was a vantage point to see how an international company works. It’s been a lot of help since then as an artist manager – especially in terms of logistics. Without that experience, I wouldn’t have discovered the things I had.

Another similar encounter occurred with Juhani Merimaa twenty years ago. We were spending time with my friends at Restaurant Ilves. He sat with us and noticed the book I had written on the table. It followed almost three-hour discussion about the music business and the agreements there. Such moment inspired me a lot – to be able to discuss with a legend like him. The tips I received from that conversation I have used many times.

Such encounters are still part of my everyday life. However, their purpose is somewhat different. There’s a great opportunity to get exposed in the serendipity and do it together. An existence of such opportunities is available for anyone willing to visit them. Embrace them, you might find something meaningful. Here’s a picture with Heidi Holm from Kingart Music Management.