How Musicians Really Build a Life of Art, Without Luck, Contacts or “Someone to Save Them”

(A short story for musicians who know the art chose them)

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve felt it too:

That quiet frustration of knowing you were born for music…
but still waking up every day to a job that drains your time and your identity.

You try to practice when you “have time.”
You post on social media hoping something clicks.
You grab any gig that appears, even if it pays almost nothing.
And you carry this silent question everywhere:

“If I was born for this… why can’t I live from it?”

I know that feeling. Not because I studied it, because I lived it.

My Story (The Short Version)

I’m Mauricio, a Chilean musician now based in Berlin.
When I finished high school, I did what society expected and enrolled in Biochemistry, a “safe” career.
I lasted six months.
I was miserable.
I knew the art had chosen me, and I couldn’t betray that truth.

So I quit everything and followed the only path that made sense: music.

No industry.
No mentors.
No privilege.
No shortcuts.

Years later, that decision took me to:

• More than 300 solo concerts on Electric Bass (no loops, no voice, just me and the instrument).
  

• Tours in Chile and Europe.
  

• Over 15 albums and DVDs recorded.
  

• Finalist and later winner of the Pulsar Prize (Chile’s Grammys).
  

• Multiple projects, including coordinating a production that ended with the guitarist playing with Joe Satriani.
  

• Four performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, one of the most prestigious stages in the world.
  

• A German Artist Visa, granted purely through my work, no passport, no EU partner, no privileges.
  

• And now, Permanent Residency, after proving to the authorities that I can sustain my life entirely through music.
  

I don’t tell you this to brag.
I tell you because everything I’ve lived is proof of one thing:

Living fully from your art is possible, even without contacts, luck or a “perfect market.”

But only if you stop waiting.

Only if you decide to go solo.

The Lie They Told Us About Music

Most musicians are trapped not because of lack of talent, but because of lack of clarity.

You were convinced that to live from music you need:

• someone to “discover” you
  
  

• the right contacts
  
  

• the right city
  
  

• the right opportunity
  
  

• or the magic blessing of luck
  
  

And while you wait, the years pass.
The frustration grows.
And your art becomes something you do “when there’s time.”

The truth is harder, and far more liberating:

If you go solo, you have no one to blame.
And that’s exactly why everything becomes possible.

A plan is freedom.
Identity is direction.
Discipline is amplification.

Music stops being sacrifice and becomes creation again.

Real People I’ve Helped, Not Theory

I coach musicians because I’m still an active musician myself.
Everything I teach is the same system I used to build my career from zero.

Some examples:

Frank’s White Canvas
A pop-rock duo from Chile. They hit every wall imaginable.
We worked together → they moved to Germany → now they tour constantly and live from their music.

Natalia
An incredibly talented opera singer who ended up in an office job.
We installed her Artist Working Plan → she regained confidence, got more concerts, rebuilt her career.

Jean and Marcelo
Brought clarity to their artistic identity → their projects became coherent, desirable and bookable.

Grazi
Was about to waste €10,000 knocking on labels’ doors.
In one session she told me:
“You just saved me from spending money I didn’t have, and replaced it with a strategy I can actually execute.”

These aren’t “overnight success stories.”
They’re musicians who chose responsibility over randomness.
They chose Going-Solo.

The Turning Point: When Everything Changes

The moment my life changed was not after a big concert or award.

It was the day I admitted something uncomfortable:

I was waiting for someone else to give me permission to live my art.

That day, I sat down and created the first version of what today is my system:

✔️ Artist Working Plan™, to turn dreams into weekly actions.
✔️ Artistic Identity Pyramid™, to define who you are so the audience understands you instantly.
✔️ Artist Profit Engine™, to transform your art into consistent income through concerts, tours and opportunities that make sense for your identity.

It wasn’t magic.
It was clarity.
And clarity creates momentum.
Momentum creates opportunities.
Opportunities create income.

That’s the real “secret” musicians look for.

What Happens When a Musician Goes-Solo

Here’s what I’ve seen over and over again:

BEFORE

• Working a parallel job you don’t like
  

• Practicing when you “can,” not when you must
  

• Posting randomly on social media
  

• 2–3 concerts a year (and you celebrate them as if they were miracles)
  

• Money unstable
  

• Identity diluted
  

• Constant internal doubt
  

AFTER

• A clear plan for the next 12 months
  

• Weekly actions that move your career forward
  

• A solid artistic identity people instantly understand
  

• Concerts on your calendar
  

• €2.000–€3.000 monthly from music alone
  

• Confidence, purpose and freedom
  

• A life that actually feels like art
  

This is what I call Solo-Living.
A lifestyle where you wake up thinking about creating, not surviving.

The art chose you.
You already know that.
What’s missing is the system to make that calling sustainable.