Chapter 51. To Motivate Your People, First Just Relax

A frightened captain makes a frightened crew.

—Lister Sinclair, Playwright/Broadcaster

The great music teacher and motivator of artists Rodney Mercado had a simple recipe for success. He said, “There are only two principles that you need to get to play great music or to live a great life: concentration and relaxation. And that’s it. That is it.”

Scott recalls this remark and what he said back to Professor Mercado: “What? That doesn’t have anything to do with music!”

“It has everything to do with music.”

And the way he taught relaxation was to say, “You need to have the maximum relaxation. For instance, if you want to play faster, Scott, you need to relax more. If you want to play louder, ...

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