Too many of you get hung up on the how you’re going to get your dreams accomplished.
You should only be focused on the why right now.
Why?
Because if you’ve read my articles and listened to The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast you know that the “how†is going to change early and often.
That’s a promise.
That’s a fact.
So explain to me logically, how does makes sense to dwell on it?
YES, you have to think of the next logical step.
YES, you have to be smarter than the average bear.
Being smarter means you don’t dwell on the “howâ€, just focus on this:
Execution.
Execute.
Just do it.
Your ideas, best-laid plans, dreams, thoughts (and thoughts are things), hopes, songs, shows, recordings, and energy don’t mean a damn thing to the world without execution.
They just don’t matter.
For instance, thinking about driving to the store, while it’s an imperative part of the process, doesn’t mean squat without execution.
Until you actually get up off your couch, grab your keys, get in the car, insert the key and turn it, and then step on the gas, you aren’t driving, are you?
You’re thinking about driving.
Painfully simple analogy, but without execution, you simply won’t get to the store, will you?
Thinking about it isn’t enough.
Every day, my whole life, I’ve seen people who pride themselves on being “good researchersâ€.
I feel that too many kids coming out of college today feel entitled to a well-paying job simply because they have an education.
I remember one of the Tai Lopez modules he was discussing his experiences working on a farm with (if my memory serves me correctly) a billionaire. This billionaire focused on farming and providing good, clean food to people.
Tai was explaining to the billionaire how he had this friend that was really smart, really educated, with a great personality, blah, blah, blah.
The billionaire’s response was, “Yeah, but is he worth a damn?â€
Get it?
All that talent, all that knowledge, all that research, all that education, and all that personality doesn’t amount to a pile of crap if the person isn’t worth a damn.
Translation: Â Can they execute?
Deeper translation:Â Can they execute well?
That’s all that matters.
That’s LITERALLY all that matters!
Get shit done!
Every semester I get a booth at the Belmont Internship Fair at the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
Now we are interviewing tons of interns to decide who’s a good fit.
I’m trying to filter out who will be worth a damn.
I always ask what questions they have for me and this is the most popular question:
“How much experience are you looking for because I don’t know anything about this or that?â€
My answer is that it’s your job to execute and be worth a damn, it’s my job to provide you with the knowledge and experience.
I pick interns and hire based on personality.
I want you to be worth a damn.
I don’t care about what you know or don’t know.
If you’re worth a damn, we’re going to make mistakes together.
That’s ok.
If you’re worth a damn, we’re going to figure it out because we execute and learn.
That’s faith.
Don’t suffer paralyzation-through-analyzation.
All the knowledge in the world, from the best books, the best mentors, the best institutions, isn’t going to manifest itself in the form of a perfect plan.
There’s no such thing.
You don’t go to Berkeley School of Music in Boston and learn how to play music, you learn about music.  Maybe you also learn about an instrument.
You can only learn HOW by practicing and playing with other musicians.
in other words, execution is the how.
You can’t read The Craft of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis and write a hit song. You can only do that by writing songs and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work.
Every artist is different.
Therefore, every plan is different.
Knowledge is supposed to help you think and problem-solve.
Application of that knowledge helps you gain experience.
Experience helps you waste less time and execute better.
Experience gives you the “howâ€.
But the plan is always different and the artists who are worth a damn, execute, get knocked off their horse, and get back up again with a new plan.
A tweaked plan.
Momentum is key.
Any kind of momentum trumps the best plans.
You do.
That’s what you do.
You make mistakes.
That’s ok.
You learn.
This is called figuring it out.
But you always have to be moving.
There has to be constant progress.
Focus on the pursuit of excellence rather than perfection because perfection is unattainable.
Unattainable perfection easily becomes an excuse to wait.
Doing more research to become more perfect means you don’t have to execute right now.
See?
Every plan for each of my artists is a living breathing thing and changes constantly.
We always start with social media. That takes time. Time to grow the accounts. Time to hone in on each artist’s tone. Time to theme the accounts.
They couldn’t break Wham! In the United States even though they were a huge sensation in Europe.
It took a maneuver where they booked a tour in China becoming the first western act to tour communist China to get the press they needed to get anyone to care about them in America.
That tour happened, we paid attention to the press, and Wham! Broke in the USA and then George Michael went on to even greater heights.
China wasn’t part of the initial plan. I promise.
I regularly get emails from aspiring artists with amazing plans.
All of them seem to entail waiting in some form or another.
I don’t get it.
I don’t get how anyone can just…wait.
You have to have faith.
I’m on a plane back from Las Vegas right now…slightly intoxicated.
I saw Elton John at Caesar’s Palace.
Unbelievable.
Seriously.
So many songs.
I knew so MANY songs…ok, ALL of the songs.
They meant something to me and I didn’t even know it before seeing him perform.
I like Elton John but I wouldn’t say I was a freak about him.
How powerful is that?
We need music.
That will never change.
Music brings beauty, love, and joy into our lives.
Consumers aren’t buying music today because it’s being marketed to them incorrectly through their smartphones.
They will buy music again.
Once they’re made to feel that it’s worth it.
It’s your job to make them feel that it’s worth it.
That is going to require you constantly executing.
You’re going to fail a few times
You’ll figure it out.
Think of it like a puzzle.
Then you’ll start to create momentum.
Once you get a small portion of people you don’t know to love you, expand.
Repeat.
Make a living.
Focus on the “why†and execute.
The how will come. I promise.
Stay.
In.
Tune.
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