So who do you want to dance with?
Or maybe the better question is, who is looking to dance with you?
Welcoming won’t dance with pushy.
Generosity won’t dance with stingy.
Professional won’t dance with amateur.
The beauty of your music is that it allows your life, family, and business to become your dance floor.
Welcome to the gospel of #LTMP.
Education and providing the pathway to learning is now the inception of a sale. Before people buy, click, or swipe they go learn. Which is where you come in.
For your industry, line of work, or art, while Google may provide the answers, we still need you to illuminate, shadow, or frame them for us.
Selling is over.
You must teach.
Which means you must, first, learn. Which means you must study. Which means you must prepare.
The Internet = The Library.
You = The Librarian.
In your pursuit of music, if you give yourself the option to accept noise or make noise, chances are, you just may take yourself up on it.
And why not? Easy, safe, and under the radar is a lot less risky than willingly taking the stage, grabbing the mic, and doing your thing – while the world watches.
Unfortunately, the battle of self duplicity – giving yourself options for success – tends to not end with what we truly want and are after.
Here’s the catch: in your pursuit of music you just may be seen. But hey, if you’re not seen you can’t be shared.
Secondly, if you keep what’s inside of you on the inside, it will never reach the outside of someone and change them on the inside. The world doesn’t change with the songs in your head and heart. It changes with those on the tips of your fingers and tongue.
In the end, we all must adopt the single-minded purpose and hope of music. Noise can’t be in the equation of whatever success algorithm you choose. Any plan b, c, or d just distracts from plan a) music.
If you want to have options with your music, allow yourself to have two:
Yes.
&
Yes.
My wife and I have three year old girl that lives with us. There’s no doubt you’ll come to know her one day, but for now let’s just call her Story.
Story has many talents, but one of my favorite talents she has is her patent-pending ability to use words that start with a ‘L’ and pronounce them as though they start with a ‘Y”.
Some may call this a flaw to correct, but to me it’s flare to celebrate.
Who said you can’t make funny faces with your music?
Who said keep your tongue in during a slam dunk?
Who said flowers were supposed to be painted right-side up?
Leaders, take a yook and yisten to the flare of your followers.
One’s mean, median, and mode is not what they were sent here to illuminate with.
Leonardo da Vinci was a man mindful of his moments and what they were capable of authoring.
He consistently reminded those around him to be (and become) a discepolo di esperienza – a disciple of experience.
Our music is our experience: the feel, taste, beauty, and aroma of our meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.
So what does discipleship look like for you?
I think it can only be defined as more and more refinement, clarity, and framework around the experience (music) that you are in pursuit of.
One who disciples someone lives a life that shows (not demands) how to do something.
Show us.
Ashton.Gustafson 