Firestone Recommendations

When you take your car to Firestone for an oil change they give you a complimentary super long list of other things that need fixing.

They give you a long list so you’ll do a couple of the cheap ones. That way you can feel good about ‘at least I did something’.

In the same breath…

You should always have something at your merch table for five dollars. Make it easy for people to have a memento if they want one.

***In the next breath…you should always have something for sale for ten thousand dollars. If you say ‘yeah sure it would be great to make ten thousand dollars in a single transaction’, then sell something for that much.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

If Only I Would Have Known...

If only I would have known…

Yeah, there’s lots I would have done different.

But there’s no way to know.

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what to do, the problem is that we don’t know if what we’re going to do is going to work they way we hope it will.

We make best guesses, we research, we ask around, we do a test run, we compare and analyze. But ultimately we have to pull the trigger without a guarantee.

We keep going not because we know, but because it’s the not knowing that entices us forward.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Running Out Of Ideas

You’re going to run out of ideas.

But luckily, ideas are like appetites.

You may not have an appetite right now, your appetite may have run out at the moment…but sure enough in about three hours, here comes another appetite. If you ruin an appetite (or an idea), there’s always another one coming your way pretty soon.

When you ‘run out of ideas’ what that usually means is you’re tired, need a snack, need some fresh air, need to call a friend. So do that.

And then keep going.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Back On The Road?

You’ll know when to go back on the road.

The answer: When everyone else does.

It’s very unlikely you’re the one trying to be the first one back on the road…so there’s no need to worry about it and try to figure it out.

If you’re trying to be the first one back out there, by all means spend all day cracking the code, running the numbers, making charts and graphs, taking polls and having endless hypothetical conversations with your agent and management.

But if you’re ok not being first, you get an added benefit right now today of freeing up your time and energy for things that can make a difference in your career.

You’ll know when you need to know. In the meantime, keep doing other great things.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Regular Listening Repertoire

Is your audience the type of audience that incorporates one new song every six months to their regular listening repertoire?

Is your audience the type of audience that incorporates twenty new songs every six months to their regular listening repertoire?

Both audiences would say “I just wait till I hear a song that I love and then make it one of the regulars”…but the way it plays out is very different.

Are you vying for one slot or one of many slots?

The answer as it applies to you changes how you approach the interaction.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Great Shows Are Mostly Forgettable

A great show, whether a live show, tv show, movie, is captivating and entertaining from start to finish. The great ones design it that way and see it through.

U2, Lady Gaga, Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Jobs, Madonna, Tom Hanks. Start to finish, elite performers.

But while great shows are entertaining from start to finish, they’re not remembered start to finish.

We don’t remember all of it.

In fact we don’t remember most of it.

We remember the feeling so strongly, we remember the memorable moments but we lose most of the in between.

Every part of the show needs to serve a purpose. Every great show has forgettable (while still entertaining) moments. They help the memorable ones stick with us forever.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com