Should You Quit Music? Nomad on Resilience for Musicians (Episode 172)

Luck = preparation + opportunity.

Music is tough. The market is crowded, AI is coming, and the odds can feel stacked against you. So should you quit music? In Episode 172 of The Career Musician, recorded just after National Quitters Day (January 17, when most people have already dropped their New Year's resolutions), Nomad walks through the top reasons musicians give up and how he answers every one of them.

Short version: if being a career musician is your goal, being strong and resilient has to be in your blood.

Nomad almost had every reason to quit

Nomad moved from New York to Florida with his folks, then to Nashville to become a studio musician. He didn't know anyone. Music City is guitar player central, and he is a guitarist. It would have been easy to say this is too hard.

Instead he took a job at a bagel shop, 5 a.m. to noon every day. Then he worked in his little home studio, and at night he went out on Music Row to hit the scene. Networking, yes, but really cultivating relationships. On the gig, it is all about the hang. Are you chill? Can you get along with everybody? Or are you a diva with a list of expectations?

Reason one: it's too hard. Keep your eyes on the end goal

Nomad pointed back to composer Tangelene Bolton from Episode 160. She started as an intern and studio assistant at Hans Zimmer's company and worked her way up in a field that was mostly male-dominated. She faced plenty of challenges. What kept her going was her end goal: to be a successful film, TV and multimedia composer.

She could have packed it in. She didn't, and she put in the work. That is the first answer to the urge to quit. Remember what you are here to do.

Nomad also doesn't really set New Year's resolutions anymore. He tries to become a better version of himself throughout the year, one thing at a time, instead of cramming it all into January and setting himself up to fail.

Reason two: the market is saturated. Have you tried everything?

Too many musicians, not enough demand. True. Nomad's answer comes from Leslie Odom Jr. in Episode 150. Struggling in LA, Leslie told a mentor he had tried everything. The mentor asked if he had tried the local coffee shop, singing during their busy hour. He hadn't. So he did, again and again, and kept finding opportunities right around him.

"You could start right there in your own little network, in your own vicinity, in your own environment."

Nomad, 8:27

Leslie went on to star in Hamilton and build a career as a recording artist, actor and more. Nomad has played on a few of his albums. Then there is Ed Sheeran, who, as Nomad tells it, started out busking for strangers, says he was horrible at first, and had to write a lot of songs before he got good.

The little thing you think won't work might be the thing. Luck = preparation + opportunity, and you create a lot of the opportunity by trying.

When you wake up thinking the odds are stacked against you, Nomad's answer is that you are absolutely right. And if you put one foot in front of the other, you will still get there.

Reason three: big goals feel heavy. Let consistency compound

Nomad wants you to set your goals high. Shoot for Mars and you might land on the moon, and that is no small feat. But big goals can weigh on you until you want to walk away.

The fix is consistent effort. His example: getting back into push-ups. The first days, his shoulders were cracking. By the third week, it didn't hurt as much and he felt stronger. Same thing with your career.

"Consistency compounds into results."

Nomad, 12:54

Consistently working on your craft leads to mastery. You can't become the composer or player you admire without putting in the time they did. That is Talent in the ETHOS code: not just a gift, but the work behind it.

Define success for yourself

Success means something different to everyone. Some people need a net worth number. Others want to be the best, which Nomad says is subjective anyway. For him, success is about being content: supporting your family, finding some internal peace, and creating music that edifies people's lives.

And a day job does not make you a failure. It is subsidizing your talent. Paying the bills another way means that when you get into the studio, onto the stage or into the writing room, money pressure isn't crushing your creativity. That is Savvy.

The takeaway

If you are reading this, you didn't quit. Keep your end goal in front of you. Try the thing you haven't tried. Take small, consistent steps and let them compound. If you need a simple way to plan those steps, grab the free plan of attack (POA) worksheet. Make Music Your Business.

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

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