If musicians get off to a good start, they're probably going to play the rest of the piece well.

All the problems come in in the first phrases

because this is where all the pressure builds up before. The weeks, the months before, thinking

about this audition, worrying about it,

not getting enough sleep, and you don't know

until that first note comes out

if it's gonna come out good or not.

So what most people do is they hesitate.

They play it safe, and that's what loses auditions.

Welcome to how to.

I'm Charles Doohig.

Each week on the show we help folks figure out how to bring their A game to life's toughest challenges.

And on today's episode we've got a listener with a very special talent.

My name is Michael Martin. I'm a bassist. I'm from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mike reached out to us about

an upcoming audition. It's for the Chicago Lyrrhic Opera, which is an amazing orchestra in a city that I really love.

Mike's girlfriend lives near Chicago, and so landing a spot in the Chicago Lyric Opera,

that would be amazing.

But in this audition, Mike will be competing against dozens of other classical musicians, some of whom have been playing professionally for years, and he's nervous about performing under all that pressure.

I'm thinking a lot about how much I want. performing under all that pressure.

I'm thinking a lot about how much I want this job

and how much it means to me.

It would mean like a perfect life for me.

...