A young man with his mind firmly set on becoming a successful entrepreneur, travels to see the wise guru​ who knows the secrets to the success he seeks.

The young man says to the teacher, “I want to become rich and successful. Can you help me?”

The guru smiles and says, “Meet me at the beach tomorrow at 4 AM, and I will tell you the secret to success.”

So the next morning, the young man shows up on the beach at 4 AM, just like the guru had asked, wearing a suit and tie. Upon arriving, he realizes that the guru is already in the water swimming, dressed not in a suit and tie, but in a pair of swimming trunks.

The guru spots the young man and motions for him to come in the water. So the young man goes knee ​deep into the water.

“Come out further,” the guru says.

“This is an expensive suit,” the young man replied, “I came here to learn the secret to success, not the secret to swimming.”

“The secret must be told in this water. It is your choice to learn the secret or not.” So the young man goes waist ​deep into the water, soaking his expensive suit.

“Further,” the guru said. The young man becomes irritated.

“Listen old man,” he says with impatience, “I’m already in the water. I didn’t come here for a swimming lesson. Tell me the secret to success right now or I’m leaving.”

The guru, unaffected by the young man’s outburst, replies calmly, “You are already waist​deep. What’s a few more steps?”

So the young man wades deeper into the water until the water is up to his neck. The sun is beginning to rise.

“So tell me the secret,” the young man demands. The guru says, “Sure,” and suddenly forces the young man’s head under the water. The young man, caught off guard, swallows salty sea water by accident and begins to drown!

He flails his arms and tries to push the guru off him, but the guru continues to hold the young man’s head underwater, using all of his strength to keep him there. Just before the young man loses consciousness, the guru pulls the young man back up, who begins coughing immediately and gasping for air.

The guru immediately asked the young man a question:

“When your head was under water, what did you want to do?”

“Kill...you...” the young man sputtered out between hacking coughs.

He grabbed onto the guru with the intention of drowning him, but the young man is still trying to recover and is unable to push the guru’s head underwater.

“Besides that,” the guru said, pushing the young man’s hands off him. The young man coughs some more. He looks up at the guru and sees that he is still looking at him, waiting for a response.

His stern look causes the young man to become enraged. “I WANTED TO BREATHE!” He shoves the guru aside violently and begins stumbling towards the shore, coughing up sea water as he wades and splashes.

What the guru said next however, stopped the young man in his tracks:

“When you want success as much you wanted to breathe just now when you were drowning, then, and ONLY THEN, will you have success.”

And with that, the guru went back to swimming.”

How much do you really want this?

Now, I’m not saying that you don’t work hard, or that you aren’t trying, but I’m saying ​that in my experience those who really want their ideal vision, the lifestyle, the success they seek...

They need it like the young man needed breath to survive. Now being in that state is not necessarily a constant condition, but at some point or another a man must make a choice...

A clear choice to step up, to do the work for long enough and ​make it happen.

How To Become A REAL Independent Artist: One Thing EVERY Indie Musician MUST Do To Grow Their Music Career

You truly do hold the power that was just never before possible. NOW is the Artists Revolution. It’s now! If you want that vision that you just experienced, and have now already activated and begun to set in motion which will continue to grow as you work your way closer and closer to it... If you want it, then you simply must commit to getting it. If you have not already, it’s time for you to claim your power and take control.

You can do it BETTER than a label or other gatekeeper could...

The Modern Music Business is about the authentic branding of you, INC. It’s up to you my friend. It’s your show.  That’s the modern world we live in. It’s about direct to fan communication and the community that YOU develop and build.

75% of unsigned artists listed a major label record deal as their goal. I see more than a few artists not fully appreciating the power of the opportunity we have now. I don’t see enough Artists and musicians truly taking the initiative to do the work ​and first I want to commend you for being proactive and taking those steps. But when I see an artist hoping or expecting that a label or impressing a gatekeeper is the solution​-I have to say...

Who’s going to be a better steward of your career?

Who cares more about the true connection with your fans and supporters?

Who’s going to speak better for you than... YOU?

Modern Musicians start with building a core fan base from the ground up.

They develop their GAME. This is how they set themselves up for long­ term success. This self­ reliance and artistic freedom on their own terms­ is the name of the GAME. (Grassroots Authentic Music Experience)

YOU ARE STILL THE CEO of your Content Business!

It’s absolutely still your responsibility to manage assets and resources effectively. You are the owner and CEO of Your Copyrights, yes, but even more importantly, of your ​Relationship Database.​

As we covered earlier, you’ve seen why you don’t need a Major Label or any gatekeeper any more, especially before you have a fan base built up first.

Also remember that before you can put yourself in a position to be considered for a spot on their roster, you’ll have to gain the kind of grassroots traction I’m teaching you how to do​ anyways!

No matter what your future goals, I highly recommend you fully focus on building a core fan base that supports you ​first.

But in doesn't just casually come to you!

You have to commit. To stand and plant your flag.

You’ll either do what it takes and stick it out, (for many that’s literally just a couple miles further) or you won’t. And that’s sad stories, excuses, regrets and not fun stuff.

Not a place I want you to go, though it’s never too late for anyone!

But you can’t sorta-kinda-maybe I’ll get around to it someday...

I saw a quote the other day that said, “casualness causes casualty..."

In the Infantry we used to say Complacency Kills, Stay Alert, Stay Alive...

Even as a songwriter, I don’t think I could say it better than that. lol. Hard to be more direct...

The Key To An Independent Artists Manifest Destiny?

IT’S A COMMITTED DECLARATION right? When the founding fathers inked and established A​merica’s ​Declaration of Independence, ​it’s safe to say they were pretty serious​. ​This wasn’t a fly by night idea, or a project that sort of fell to the wayside and never got finished...

It was a life or death kind of DECLARATION.

THIS is what I’m going to do, this is something I commit to.

So whether that’s full time yes I’m all in, or some style of slow ​cooker/part time side hustle that makes steady progress over the long haul...

You have to step up and plant your f%$king flag and say, I commit to making this happen.

We call this the ​Artists Declaration of Independence.​

You have to say hey, this is a reasonable and practical achievement in the modern world, it is possible... Others have done it with less talent, potential, charisma, personality or good looks than me.. I can and am going to do this.

Period.

This is what Step two calls for... Commitment. That you DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE.

Step #2: Make The Commitment and DECLARE YOUR ARTISTIC INDEPENDENCE

Rule #2: Modern Musicians go from co​dependent and reliant on outside forces, playing by the traditional rules, to declaring their independence and living by the modern rules as master of their own destiny, creator of their own economy.