Pick Your Fix: Dale & Mark Ranz on Career Direction from the Cockpit (Episode 8)

You learned how to make music. Nobody taught you how to make a living making music.

Some of the best career lessons come from people who don't play a note. In Episode 8 of The Career Musician, Nomad climbs into the jump seat of a private jet, late at night, flying home from Seattle after a gig with David Foster and friends. Up front are Dale and Mark Ranz, private jet pilots. Mark is Dale's son, and the two have been flying together since Mark was about 15.

Nomad is clear that this episode is not about showing off. It is about career direction for musicians, and what you can learn from people who have cool, demanding jobs of their own.

Flying is in the blood

The plane that night was a Gulfstream G5, built in 2000 and recently refurbished with new paint and a new interior. Dale explained that flying is in the blood: the family moved around with aviation, including five years at Edwards Air Force Base. They like to operate things: cars, boats, dirt bikes. A plane is just a three dimensional version of that.

Nomad told them he is a firm believer that everybody is born with a talent, and that these two are living proof. He also admitted he is not a comfortable flyer. From the cockpit, with the whole view in front of him, it was a different story.

"I told my kids when they were growing up, guys, if you be a pilot, you'll never have to work a day in your life."

Dale Ranz

Nomad agreed, with a caveat every self-employed player knows. Find the job you love and it won't feel like work. But being an independent contractor is still hard, and it is still a balancing act. That is exactly why he started the podcast: to learn from people who have come before us.

Pick your fix

As the autopilot tracked the course toward the next waypoint, the pilots walked Nomad through the screen: distance to go, ground speed, a headwind and a crosswind broken out as a wind vector. In aviation, the point you are flying toward is called a fix.

"We all need a fixed location in our mind's eye at an early point, so that way we don't get distracted along the way."

Nomad

His point: a pilot juggles altitude, wind and a dozen other variables to land safely. Most career musicians don't have an agent or manager coaching them through strategy. So you have to look hard at your own deepest aspirations and work out the most direct route to get there. That is Make Music Your Business. Nobody files the flight plan for you.

Fly above the weather

The pilots explained that they cruise around 45,000 feet, well above the 35,000 or so where most airliners sit. Up there they clear most of the weather, there is less traffic, and they can get more direct routing. They have taken clients all the way around the world, 37 flight hours in two weeks.

Nomad turned that into a mindset lesson. We are fortunate. The average person does not get to do what we do for a living. For him, staying positive is a daily practice: YouTube, podcasts, reading, and talking to inspiring people, inside music or in other fields. Feed your head the right stuff and you fly above a lot of the noise.

Plan for the long haul

Asked about long flights, the pilots said a two hour hop needs no break. On a ten hour flight they build a little rest schedule, and often carry a third pilot so someone can step out, stretch and close his eyes. That is preparation, and it is the same reason the pros pace themselves on a long tour. Reliability beats virtuosity. Nobody wants the most dazzling pilot. They want the one who lands the plane every time.

The takeaway

Know your fix, read your variables, and stay patient while you fly toward it. Nomad's closing words in the cockpit say it best:

"Be patient, be perseverant, be diligent and stay motivated. Trust and know that it will happen."

Nomad

His sign off was just as plain: tune your instruments, practice hard, get out there, pound the pavement and hustle. If the gig you want is the destination, start mapping the route with the free Get the Gig guide, because Luck = preparation + opportunity.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.