This is going to piss a lot of artists off, but it really is the truth and I want to make you aware of it; otherwise you simply won’t grow. Poverty is a state of mind. It has very little to do with access to 
resources or capital. This goes for artistic poverty as well as regular plain old poverty.
The following information on this poverty study came into my awareness as a result of paid coaching I received from Tai Lopez. I paid for this coaching because he had some answers and I was seeking knowledge. All this comes into play in this article. (To be clear, while I WHOLEHEARTEDLY believe in paid coaching, I am not advocating for Tai Lopez, I’m just giving credit where credit is due).
Joseph Stiglitz won a Nobel Prize as an economist and his scientific research confirmed that what actually keeps nations, communities, and individuals poor is not primarily a lack of capital or opportunities (what most people think)
Instead, Stiglitz found that the root is a lack of knowledge, and more specifically a lack of knowledge on how to gain more knowledge.
The inability to learn quickly and efficiently…
What his research found was, “What separates developed from less-developed countries is not just a gap in resources but a gap in knowledge.”
Like the Chinese saying goes, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”
You must learn how to learn.
It’s an art and a skill.
Most people learn too slowly due to their fixed mindset that won’t adapt to feedback analysis because of their simple stubbornness and delusion (wishing the world was like their fantasies instead of having the courage to seek truth).Â
Learn how to learn more quickly and you will live a very rich life (not just financially).
What will change your life is NOT one person, one record executive, one big time manager, or one opportunity; it will be your mindset.
You have to change your mind first because, I promise, you are the problem. Once you realize that and deal with it, you’ll start to ask the right questions.
When you ask the right questions, you seek the right knowledge.
When you seek the right knowledge you get the right answers.
Then your life begins to transform.
It’s quite miraculous really.
The record business isn’t holding you down or keeping you out, you are.
Poverty isn’t holding you down or keeping you out, you are.
There are plenty of opportunities to accomplish what you want with your artist career, right there in your little town, but you aren’t taking advantage of them because either you don’t see them or you do see them and can’t recognize them.
In short, you don’t know because you lack knowledge and understanding (isn’t that exhausting and frustrating?).
If you had knowledge and understanding you would be seeing results, it’s as simple as that.
For instance, many of you have become aware of me through the free Twitter book I give away. I constantly get emails and tweets about how people begin to grow their Twitter accounts at a rapid rate immediately after reading that book.
Before they didn’t know. Then they knew. Now they see results! (And it was free!)
The reason you can’t see or recognize these opportunities is because you refuse to learn.
Many of you refuse to learn the truth because your fantasy will get blown to smithereens.
You realize that your precious dream of being artist, like every other dream, comes dressed up in overalls looking and smelling a lot like hard work.
I constantly get emails from artists who tell me they are broke.
But y’all still have money for that next recording, new guitar, new microphone, studio equipment, car, weed, cocktails, rims, hydraulic switches, or long weekend at the beach.
Why not start to double down on yourself with the VERY inexpensive investment in books?
Tony Robbins read 700 books when he was starting out. He came from absolute poverty. His mother was so broke they couldn’t afford to purchase Thanksgiving dinner every year. This is why Tony feeds over 100,000 families every year at Thanksgiving.
Tony Robbins doesn’t have a college education by the way.
There is an EMBARRASSMENT of knowledge right on Amazon.com. You can find books about recording, marketing, music marketing, mindset changes, psychology (to apply to your communicative exchanges with fans), management, the record business, social media, etc.
If you’re looking for a book that has an EZ button, you won’t find it. If you’re looking for a book that will tell you exactly what YOU need to get ahead in YOUR career, you won’t find it.
That’s where your work ethic and your big brain come in.
After the reading is done and your creative juices are flowing, you will start to connect the dots and apply this newfound knowledge to your specific situation.
I have read and listened to hundreds of books and podcasts that interview or reveal facts about super influential people like Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Tai Lopez, Steve Jobs, etc.
Do you know what every single one of these leading minds have in common?
They read.
They read a lot.
Tai Lopez is famous for reading 10,000 books.
Stop fidgeting and relax.
I’m not saying you have to read 10,000 books to succeed.
I will ask you this, what was the last book you read that had anything to do with marketing music?
- How about Content Marketing in general?
- How about human psychology and how we are wired up to shop?
- When I ask artists what they are mostly frustrated with by far the most common response is their social media progress. What was the last book you read on that?
Get it?
You need very specific knowledge to get ahead in your chosen career and you’re blowing it by purposefully ignoring the facts and staying tethered to your happy little fantasy.
I promise you are lacking some serious data.
Which means you’re making important business decisions based on zero or inaccurate information; which is INSANELY expensive.
You can’t afford insanely expensive.
Nothing will change until you internalize that fact and rectify it.
Every interview or biography I have ever read about a powerful person has a similar quote and it looks something like this, “Books are the best deal out there.â€
You can gain deep understanding, access and proximity to the greatest minds on this planet, past and present, for somewhere between $2.99 and $15.
What?!??!
It’s all out there for you.
Y’all it is SO EMPOWERING!
I LOVE to read because I have a dream to architect a new music business record label with Daredevil Production.
Every time I read, I get a little closer to that reality. Every book I read gets me super excited about the new ideas I can apply to my dream.
Sometimes the information comes in the form of validation; like with Seth Godin’s 
Permission Marketing. I read the foreword, introduction, and first 2 chapters of that book and I was literally vibrating. It was everything I have been preaching for the last 4 years at Daredevil (why the hell didn’t I read that before?).
Sometimes the knowledge manifests in the form of an epiphany or major lesson learned; like with Predictably Irrational. It was in this book that I connected some dots about how humans shop comparatively as opposed to trying to understanding real value.
For instance, none of you truly understand the difference in value between a 4-cylinder engine and a 6-cylinder engine. What you do understand is a 6-cylinder engine is bigger so must be worth more. We think we are researching our purchase choices but we are really looking for a comparison that is quick and makes sense to us.
Here’s a fun factual story. There was a company that created a $250 bread maker. They had tons of distribution in awesome stores like Williams-Sonoma, etc.
They weren’t selling any bread makers.
They hired a consulting firm that researched the issue and their solution was to make a $400 bread maker.
Wait, huh?
Yep.
They said don’t plan on selling any, just put them on the shelf next to the $250 model.
People didn’t understand the value of a bread maker because they had nothing to compare it to.
Once the $400 (decoy) bread maker was placed on the shelves of the distributors, the $250 models began to sell out.
Pretty cool huh?
I learned that in a book.
A used book that cost me less than $5. Just that one piece of information was worth the money; but there was so much more.
A bread maker is as ambiguous of a product as your music. It’s not like construction, medicine, gasoline, food, or some other product or service that society absolutely needs.
No, your music, as good as it is, is a product that nobody needs, wants, or is looking for.
Nobody is shopping for new music.
You aren’t either if you think about it.
You have your jams, you’re all set.
Want to think your way out of poverty?
What disruption and subsequent chain of events has to happen to open a consumer’s mind and heart about your music enough to influence them to buy?
Ahh, now you’re asking the right questions!
Stay
In
Tune
P.S. You must learn to learn. Start by reading. Here are a few recommendations to get you started.
Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely – This book is all about hidden forces that shape our decision making; like the decision to buy your CD. Get it? (Bread maker story was in this one)
Advanced Music Marketing On Twitter – Johnny Dwinell – Yes, this is me. If you read my first Twitter book (which you can get for FREE if you don’t already have it) you know how to target and grow your followers. This advance book teaches you what to do with them. Essentially how to turn your followers into real fans.
Jab, Jab, Jab, RIGHT HOOK – Gary Vaynerchuk – This book breaks down content marketing on different social media platforms. It shows you the “native†
languages of each platform along with do’s & don’ts. It’s really cool because Gary pulls actual posts from each platform and judges them. You’ll learn a lot.
Once you devour these, email me. I’ll create a master list of every book I’ve ever read.
If you found this article valuable please SHARE it and COMMENT. (Thanks!)
Â
