A few years back I read an article that asked several famous and successful people what was the best best advice that they’ve ever received. Most of the advice was pretty cookie cutter; it’s what you would expect to read in an article like that. There was one piece of advice that was pretty good and I thought that I would share it with you.

Pat Croce, entrepreneur and part owner of the Philadelphia 76ers said that he received a simple piece of advice from his father that he attributes most of his success to.

Croce’s father’s advice was this: If you don’t ask, the answer is always ‘no’.

Years ago, a lottery advertising slogan said “You gotta be in it to win it!” It’s kind of the same thing. Though phrased differently, this advice has been around forever and is a very powerful bit of wisdom.

The lotto slogan makes a good point; no matter what the odds are of you actually winning, it’s impossible to win if you don’t play. Now this was a marketing ploy to help the lotto sell dreams, but it’s true.

Croce’s father’s advice is a much more universal adaptation of this principle. It can and should be applied to you music career.

If you make a request, you’ll usually get one of two responses – yes or no. That much is obvious. If you don’t make a request, you don’t receive any answer and you don’t get what you had requested; not getting what you wanted is the same result that you would get if you asked and were told ‘no’.

If there’s a 50% chance of getting what you want when you ask, there also a 50% chance of not getting it. There’s a 0% chance of getting it if you don’t ask, so why not just ask and take your chances?

Most of us have seen that guy, who doesn’t look all that attractive, yet has a supermodel girlfriend. Ever wonder how he pulled that off? Chances are, he simply just went for it.

It’s all about being proactive, and as a musician, getting what you want depends on your ability to be proactive. You will never write the song that defines your generation if you don’t write any songs at all. You will never play a bigger and better show if you don’t seek it out and ask to play it. You will never get a fan if you don’t make an attempt to play your music for them.

There are a million stories of musicians being discovered. If you listen to them you’ll find that none of these discoveries where accidental. The discovered artists usually made an effort of some sort and the person who discovered them noticed it.

Being a successful musician is a process of asking and building. You must ask for what you want and build off of what you get. Do not let rejection stop you from asking. The chances you’ll make it are dramatically increased if you try as opposed to doing nothing.