Blue Door Frames

One of the streets I drive down everyday has a mattress store.

It’s pretty run down. I think they sell overstock mattresses and from the looks of it from the outside, maybe even a few used ones at a bargain price. (yeah, they put mattresses on the outside every morning)

I’ve never seen a car in the parking lot or anyone carrying a mattress out.

But last week I did see some action.

I saw a guy painting the front door frame a very bright shade of blue.

Reaching into my cache of paint knowledge, I know that a very bright shade of blue takes a bunch of coats in order to make it solid blue. Probably six.

So with the drying time in between, we’re talking a full day to get this door frame from white to blue.

So the door frame now bright blue.

And still haven’t seen any cars in the parking lot or anyone carrying a mattress out.

It turns out a blue door frame wasn’t the key.


This seems so obvious. You and I could probably list out a hundred other things that would help the failing mattress store more than a blue door frame.

And yet, metaphorically, when it comes to ourselves…why are we so hopeful and eager and insistent on re-painting the door frame?

And what are the hundred other, more helpful things?

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Rules And Ways

Whoever has the most points on the scoreboard at the end of the game wins.

If that’s the point, then it sounds like it would be a good idea to be close friends with the score board operator. They could really help you out in a pinch.

But it doesn’t work like that.

It’s not about knowing the scoreboard operator, it’s about knowing the game, with all it’s rules and regulations and then playing to win inside that sphere of ‘universal’ understanding.

(No one pleads to the referee that their slam dunk should have been worth 8 points.)


The beauty (and difficulty) of music is there aren’t rules, just ways.

And since there are no rules, you can’t win.

Since there are ways, you get to pick your way.

Rules promote adherence: we simply need to do more of this and less of that and we win.

Ways promote judgement calls: to the best of our collective knowledge and intuition we’ll keep moving.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Chicken Wings

Mick Jagger chicken wings.

Now we’re all on the same page aren’t we :)

But the chicken wings had two phases.

1. When he did them for the first time(s) and no one really cared.

2. When people cheered and took pictures when he did it.

The hard part of becoming known for chicken wings is the first part. It’s hard to know that the chicken wing move is an iconic move when you’re in the first part.

And I’m going to speculate the chicken wings didn’t evolve and get that much better over time…he just had to keep doing it.

In this case it wasn’t a matter of tweaking the chicken wings, but sticking with it. It didn’t need tweaking, simply repetition…repetition of a pretty iconic move.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Tap Follow

I was listening to a podcast and at the end of the opening advertisement the voice encouraged us to go to whatever social media channel and “just tap follow” for exclusive deals and offers.

Tap Follow.

I hadn’t heard it said that way.

Mainly the Tap part.

A tap is so gentle. A tap is so easy. A tap is light and airy. Giving a tap, receiving a tap…A tap doesn’t have bad consequences…after all, it’s only a tap.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and hear all the advertisements…I’m guessing you do too.

Tap Follow stuck out to me.

It was worth noting, and I wrote it down.

Someone took the time to write a little better copy for the for the same ol’ podcast advertisement, and it made all the difference.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Ten Million Streams

Think of a song of yours you don’t consider very successful.

Now add ten million streams to it.

Is it now successful?


What if the streams came from robots?

What if the person you’re trying to impress doesn’t care about streams?

What if ten million people tried your song once each but never liked it enough to listen again?

What if your label paid for the streams?

What if there’s no conversion to live concert tickets?

What if you didn’t make any money from the ten million streams?

What if all of a sudden everyone else has twenty million streams?

What if the ten million streams didn’t make any of your other songs tick up?

What if no one congratulates you on the ten million?


But by now maybe you’re thinking…yeah, whatever, it would just be nice to have an extra 10million plays on my song.

Why? What exactly do you need from 10 million streams?

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Everyone Is Bored

The interviewer, the audience, the videographer, the bank teller, the barista, the check out clerk.

Most people are going through the motions. Just doing their jobs. They don’t expect too much, because having expectations leads to letdown.

So spice it up.

Their boredom is your opportunity.

You don’t have to do it right…don’t get distracted by trying to do it right…you just need to be spicy.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com