Blog Post One Thousand

This is the one thousandth time I’ve sat down to write a blog post.

On one hand, that’s a lot of sitting. On the other hand, that’s a lot of blog posts.

A few years ago at the very beginning I was the only subscriber, then my wife Sarah subscribed so I could feel good about doubling my subscriber-ship…and now a lot more people read the blog everyday.

Thank you for reading. It makes the journey really fun.

And to be out around town, or get an email or a phone call and have someone mention a post from a week ago or a year ago is truly a thrill, and I love diving into those conversations.

I’ve never had a hit post, never gone viral, never had a big re-tweet, never made a single dollar from the blog. But that was never what this blog was for.

This blog started out and continues to be a platform that helps me recommit, everyday, to care for the world around me…which is the world of the music and entertainment business.

Here’s what a thousand blog posts has done…it’s changed my mind.

I can tell you from experience, that is the power of a thousand blog posts.

Showing up everyday to contribute, connect, challenge, care about and care for…that changes me. Certainly not to perfection, but certainly in the right direction.

So I’m going to keep going.

Thank you for going with me.


A parting message for blog post one thousand:

Whether you’re in the music business for two weeks or twenty years, it can be worth your time. The more you open your eyes the more of its worth you will experience.


***One more thing…I’d to say a special Thank You to Wes Kao and Seth Godin for throwing out a challenge a few years ago to blog everyday for a week, which has now turned into this. I needed that challenge, and I’m so very glad you gave it.

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

I Need A Turkey Sandwich

Listen. Understand. Act.

Listen. Learn. Act.

If the goal is to get to the Act (and know how to act), it’s important to know which equation you and the other person are utilizing.

Often in meetings artists talk a lot (instead of listen), explain explain explain (because they long to be understood), and then wonder why it wasn’t a beneficial meeting (no action).

I don’t have to understand you to act on your behalf. I simply need to learn what you need.

If my job is making sandwiches at a deli, the best thing you can tell me is that you need a turkey sandwich, rather than explaining how you got to be as hungry as you are and then walking away forgetting to order the sandwich. The explaining only distracts us from what you need and what I do.

The quest to understand or be understood can be a hindrance to action.

***Don’t get me wrong, both trains of thought are useful.

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

The Least Amount Of Effort

Most people want the most glory for the least amount of effort.

So most people are willing to give a tiny bit of effort when they can visualize the potential glory.

Two things…

1. Make it simple for people to see that you the kind of person/artist that they will receive glory through…that way you will get at least a little effort from them instead of none.

2. Be very clear about what little effort you want from them


***Also, on Spotify if you click the three little dots next to a song you can select Album Credits and see who wrote and produced the track. This feature might be old news but I just discovered it today. It’ll take a while before the entire Spotify catalog has the associated credits, but there’s a lot on there and it will keep getting better.

The next step will be linking it all together to where you can click Album Credits and then click the producers’ name and see their entire catalog, etc etc.

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

Dance, Monkey

As an artist you need to fully embrace the fact that you are the one on stage everyone is looking at.

And when they are looking at you they’re saying…

Entertain me!

Make me feel less lonely!

Tell me what to do (without telling me what to do)!

Take the pressure of wanting to have a good night off of me!

Dance, monkey!

I’m giving you the steering wheel.

You are in charge and we want you to be in charge and we need you to be the best at being in charge.


That’s a pretty heavy load to bear when you walk on stage. But you must take it on…you must take it ALL on if you want to be great.

You have to know that these are the expectations and develop such a deep understanding of them that you are fulfilling them on stage regardless of actually thinking about them.

We know when someone doesn’t have it and we know when someone kind of has it…and then the irony is we forget about it all together when someone has it.

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

Mission Unknown

It’s much less painful (in the short term) to skip over the sobering work of defining the mission.

If no one really knows what the mission is its way harder to feel like a failure if it’s not panning out.

It’s risky and scary to dive into defining the mission because of the the UNdefined-ness. And undefined is unknown. Unknown is risky. Risk means everyone might laugh at you.

“If I can’t define or have a hard time defining the mission then maybe I’m not as passionate, smart, talented, thoughtful, deep, committed, in it to win it as I thought I was.”

That’s why you avoid defining the mission.

Defining the mission brings you face to face with whatever you’ve got deep down in there.

And you need to find out what’s there.

A need avoided is not the same as a need met. So stop avoiding it. Stop avoiding defining the mission.

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

Mighty Forces

I included this in the Sunday Night Email last night and thought it was worth passing along here too.

“I didn’t ask for this role but I’ll play it. Now go do your best. ‘Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.’ Goethe said that. It’s not too late for you to become a person of substance, Russell. Get my son home safely. You know, I’m glad we spoke”- Elaine, Almost Famous

Two things…

1. Be bold comes before the mighty forces.

2. It’s never too late

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