ABOUT
Facing the Music
You might think Christopher Still’s career has been a series of successes. But the reality is quite different. The reason Chris loves the phrase “it’s time to face the music” is that he’s had to do it again and again and again.
As a college student, Chris assumed that winning a job in one of the world’s great orchestras came with all the standard perks (like vacations, mortgages, and college funds for his kids). So he worked hard and sacrificed free time for years and years until he won his dream job.
And while Chris was incredibly proud and honored to play trumpet with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the high cost of living was keeping him from getting anywhere close to enjoying those perks (vacations/mortgages/college funds for his kids).
Now, the high cost of living wasn’t Chris’s only problem. You see, Chris didn’t get into the LA Phil by being a natural trumpet-playing genius. Chris got into the LA Phil by being a very good musician who was a genius strategizer.
Over the decades, Chris was strategic about improving his trumpet-playing flaws. He was strategic about his career challenges. He was strategic about his audition difficulties. Chris had faced the music about his shortcomings so many times, they gave up and went home.
And once Chris won his big job, his skill for strategy had no outlet. Sure, there was a lot of new music to learn (the LA Phil plays a LOT of world premieres), but there were no big problems to solve. No challenges to address. And still no vacations/mortgages/college funds.
So, what did he do?
Chris’s love of strategy made him a recognized expert on orchestra auditions. He taught at several universities, but university students weren’t usually ready for his advanced topic. Meanwhile, young professionals were traveling from all over the globe to work with him on their own time.
This was a puzzle—the students he worked with weren’t a great match for his teaching. The people who really needed him were too far away. By the time these students paid for plane tickets and hotel rooms, Chris couldn’t bring himself to charge much for their actual lessons.
There was a lot of frustration, a lot of time wasted, a lot of money spent, and not much income earned.
In 2017, Chris got the idea to create a website that could reach anyone, anywhere. He hired a graphic designer, a website developer, and bought a lot of video equipment.
Chris spent a lot of time on this new idea. He also spent a lot of money. So much money.
When he finally launched his first course, it looked professional. The information was good. The price was a value. So how did people respond? They didn’t. You could hear the crickets.
Enter the Coach
Chris didn’t understand why things weren’t going well, and he was ready to give it a lot more time (and effort and money) when he was contacted by a business coach. He listened to what she had to say. It was very different and very interesting. Some of her strategies seemed too simplistic to be true.
He kept talking to this coach and he started implementing some of her suggestions. Almost immediately, his ideas got more traction. He reached more people. He earned more money. He was having fun and his new clients seemed thrilled.
Chris was truly shocked at the year that followed. His talent for facing the music brought him immense enjoyment and the perks of vacations/mortgages/college funds for kids for the first time.
When the pandemic hit, Chris’s strategizing became a lifeline for him and for his clients. While so many musicians were sitting around, wondering when the world would go back to normal, Chris’s clients were striking out into the future, creating new methods of reaching their audience and generating income.