An excerpt from my upcoming book: Struggling is for Suckers

When we truly dedicate ourselves to practicing intelligently and with intention, we really surprise ourselves with what we're able to accomplish.



And our audience knows it too.



Our audience, meaning real people paying real money to see and hear us play.



Once you're out of the conservatory or college environment, you're no longer playing for musicians as your primary audience.



Probably 98% of them don't know how to read music, and 99.99% wouldn't know how to tune an instrument if their life depended on it.



That doesn't mean you can cut corners when you're playing for them.



They know when they're watching and listening to great music. And when they’re not.



When the entrances are together, the band is in tune, things are just "in sync" it just gives off a certain vibe, right? 



And when things are “off,” they can’t quite put their finger on it, but they just know…The band is having an off night.



Although they're not musically literate, they know when the performer has really put in the time it takes to be great. 



You're communicating with your audience that you've really put in the time, that you're gifting your abilities to them.



And that builds up trust. A rapport between you and your audience.



And trust is what makes a person take out their wallet and hand over their credit card - or perhaps clicking the "buy" button on their computer screen.



The process of building up that trust? Well, that's where our sales and business savvy comes in. 



For some reason, this concept of “selling” is a big turnoff for a lot of musicians. I don’t know exactly why that is, although I have a few theories.



Perhaps it’s that music is such an intensely personal experience. We’ve invested years and years of our lives into developing our skills. Maybe thinking of something so personal as a “product” to sell creates some cognitive dissonance.



If that’s the case, I say it’s all the more reason to charge a fee for sharing your gifts. 



Charging a fee weeds out the people who quite frankly don’t give a hoot about you and what you have to offer. Do you really want to squander your talents on a bunch of freeloaders? Of course not.



Charging a fee lets the world - and more importantly you - that what you do has real value.



I find it amazing how many musicians play at a very high level, have a level of discipline that Elon Musk would marvel at, yet settle for chasing down the $40 gig at the local dive bar.



Folks, there are knuckle-dragging morons out there who are making a killing selling coffee mugs and fake unicorn shit on Amazon. 



It’s high time for musicians to wake up, and get out of the rut that seems so commonplace. If some yarn collector can earn a comfortable living with a blog, why can’t you, a musician, someone who offers something of far more value to the world, do the same?



You sucker.



What I’m about to share with you applies to selling music, toilet paper, gizmos, gadgets, trinkets, truffles and magazine subscriptions.



It’s the only way to sell anything - at least with integrity. If you don’t follow this exact formula, you won’t have long-term success.



Think of what it takes to build rapport with a dog.



First they smell your hand. They get to know you.



Then you pat them on their head and say something like, "What a good puppy!" Now they like you.



Finally, they allow you to put a leash on their collar and obey you when you tell them to "sit." They trust you.



It can take anywhere from 10 seconds (if you're Cesar Milano) to a few months if you've just take...