Believe in Yourself

The band was still setting up, when I rolled into Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, in Nashville, Tennessee, at 9:30 on a Wednesday morning. Others soon followed me in. Before long, the small first floor space was packed, and the band began.

Like every band I heard during my three days on Broadway Street, this one was extremely talented and entertaining. The female lead singer was accompanied by three other musicians. Together, they performed on a very small stage tucked just inside the entrance to the bar. There were maybe 30 of us enjoying their performance that morning, and they entertained us with enthusiasm and energy that seemed out of place for a small venue on a weekday morning. That got me thinking about a musician’s life in Nashville.

To make it as an entertainer or any other type of artist, you have to share your work with as many in your target audience as you can possibly reach, in an effort to develop a following and work your way into bigger venues. For aspiring county music artists, there are few – if any – better places to do that than Nashville.

The challenge is that Nashville is loaded with talented musicians, which makes it great for music lovers like me, but it has to be daunting to the artists who want to advance their careers. How can you stand out when you are surrounded by so much competition? By being brave enough to try.

With every performance I saw, I became more impressed with, and inspired by the courage, tenacity and effort of Nashville’s musicians. There are a few exceptions, but most aren’t making much money. In fact, the bulk of their income usually comes from the tip jars that are passed around. That means that they must work hard to impress the crowd – even at 9:30 on a Wednesday morning. If the crowd isn’t happy, they can simply take their money to the next venue. These musicians aren’t playing for the money; they are playing for the chance to see their dreams become reality.

Imagine if we took the same approach with our dreams. What if we applied the same energy and enthusiasm to our Monday morning as Nashville’s musicians do when performing for tip jar money with full effort on a Wednesday morning? Imagine if we believed in ourselves and our talents enough to take even a small step toward bringing our dreams to fruition.

I have several friends who are doing just that. My friend Jeff Beals has written two books, and now flies around the country speaking to large groups. Another friend, John Hunt, released a book last year that showcases his passion for Nebraska’s Sandhills. Other friends, Tyler Harpenau, Cooper James and Janelle Grace among them, are pursuing their country music dreams. Tyler is building a following locally, while Janelle and Cooper are taking their shots on the Nashville music scene. All of them believed in themselves enough to risk sharing their talents and pursuing their dreams.

What would you do, if you didn’t fear failure? If you gambled on yourself? If you believed in yourself more than you worried about what others might think?

I’m convinced that the world is full of talented people who just haven’t taken risks. Are you one of those people? Don’t wait for everything to be “right” to act. You don’t have to quit your day job and leave everything behind to do it. You just have to believe in yourself. Take a small step forward today and another one tomorrow, and never quit believing in yourself.

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In the next few weeks, I’m going to follow my own advice and launch my book, Marginal. For me to be successful, I’ll need your help. I don’t have a large publisher promoting my book, so I’ll need as much social media sharing as possible. If you feel compelled to buy the book – it will be available on Amazon – I would appreciate it more than you can probably imagine. If you like the book, please post a review on Amazon and share it on social media. Everything helps. And, if you want to do something similar, please reach out. I’ll do everything I can to help.