I never wanted to be a salesman.

Traditionally, salesmen are known as liars, deceptors, manipulators, and cheaters. All for the sole purpose of selling you something you probably don’t need. At an early age I saw that people disliked even hated salesmen. Who can blame them?

In this day and age we are forced to survive, to do anything necessary to put food on the table in the hopes to pursue some level of happiness or this “American dream” people talk so fondly of. Most do what they feel they have to, some do what they’re told to, but a few of us work hard and struggle through thicker forests to pursue a passion that is less of a choice and more of a necessity to find happiness. The job, whatever it may be, is simply a means to get to the real work.

I’ve worked many jobs, most of which did not require me to sell anything or at least not direct sales. Along the way I’ve learned many aspects to being a good salesman. In good business it’s important to have all of your employees really buy into your company. The more your workers feel good about their positions the more likely they are to sell your product with little assistance from cold call selling.

Currently I work at the Rhythm Discovery Center (R!DC) in Indianapolis, IN owned and operated by the Percussive Arts Society. To be honest, when I first accepted this internship I didn’t think I would be selling much. Tickets at the ticket counter and merchandise in the gift shop but not pushing people to buy things they don’t want. The best part about a company with a great product is that it tends to sell itself. Selling memberships, gift shop items, and tickets at the front desk is easy as pie because we have a great product here. Drums and percussion is something that everyone likes on some level harking back to a time when our primal selves wandered the earth. Most kids, of all ages, come out smiling from ear to ear and want to come back and are inspired to know more about our business. I find myself talking to people and selling the product of R!DC without even realizing it.

As a musician my job is no longer to just be creative and make the best music I can. My job is wrapped up in marketing, audio/video editing, promotion, networking, design, etc. with as much creativity as I can squeeze in. At the heart and soul of my music career I have to be a salesman, not necessarily to sell something people don’t want, but to convince people that I’m worth the risk they’re taking by spending $5 on a record. I noticed recently that the salesman tactics I use in my day-to-day work and career have begun to seep into my personal life and it’s ruining everything I work for.

The pendulum of life has started to swing toward happiness again. For there to be happiness we first have to wade through the trenches of the past and learn to forgive or at least purge the negativity to make room for enjoyment. Absolution is on the horizon, keeping the ship afloat just long enough to see the sunrise to see the sandy beach on which we can rebuild. May the salesman in all of us take a break, at least for a little while and remember that we are here to make magic.