Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Not the kind that disconnects you from reality. The kind that allows you to create one.

Charlie Rocket said something that stuck with me.

He basically argued that sometimes the smartest people are at the biggest disadvantage, because they can see all the problems before they ever take the first step. They analyze. They calculate. They forecast every possible failure.

Meanwhile, the so-called “delusional” person is already in motion. Already testing. Already building. Already failing forward. Already ten steps ahead simply because they moved.

And in the music business, that matters more than most people want to admit.

Because this business does not reward the most rational person in the room. It rewards the one who can believe before there is proof. The one who can see the artist before the streams. The manager before the title. The audience before the numbers. The system before the infrastructure. The opportunity before the room agrees.

That takes a level of delusion.

And I mean that as a compliment.

Let me explain.

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You are asking people to believe in songs no one knows yet. Artists no one cares about yet. A vision that has not materialized yet.

There is no clean corporate ladder for this. Just instinct, repetition, relationships, and conviction.

So when Charlie talks about delusion, I don’t hear recklessness. I hear spiritual courage. I hear a refusal to let current circumstances become permanent identity. I hear somebody saying that faith is not a luxury in this business. It is a requirement.

That’s what allowed him to walk away from a massively successful chapter in music, managing 2 Chainz, and bet on a deeper dream.

On paper, that decision makes no sense. Why would someone leave security, status, money, and proximity to the highest levels of the industry?

Because to Charlie, staying in something that no longer aligned with his soul was the greater risk. He called it dangerous to live a life where you never actually go after the thing you were meant to do.

That’s not just life advice. That is career strategy.

How many artists stay attached to the wrong sound because it is what got a reaction once?

How many managers stay in weak partnerships because they are afraid to start over?

How many executives keep building safe, legible careers while quietly ignoring the part of themselves that knows they are supposed to be doing something bigger, sharper, more honest?

Sometimes the thing keeping you stuck is not lack of talent. It is over-respect for reality.

Charlie’s perspective is a reminder that every major breakout begins as an unreasonable belief.

And the music business gives us examples of this over and over again.

Before there was market proof, before there were headlines, before the room fully caught up, somebody had to look at 2 Chainz and see a superstar.

Not a maybe. Not a solid bet. A superstar.

Charlie and his partners did not sit around waiting for permission to participate. They started creating value. They spent their own money. They moved like managers before the business formally made them managers. That is delusion in its highest form: acting on a future you can already see, even when the present has not caught up yet.

That idea matters a lot to me because so much of the pain in our business comes from hesitation disguised as intelligence.

“I need a better team first.”
“I need more money first.”
“I need a clearer strategy.”
“I need more time.”
“I need the content plan to be perfect.”
“I need the audience to respond first.”

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Maybe what you actually need is a stronger belief system.

Because systems matter, yes. Strategy matters, absolutely. Team matters, without question. But none of those things get built without someone first being irrational enough to say: we’re going to make this work anyway.

That’s where delusion becomes useful.

For the artist, it sounds like continuing to release and build when the numbers are still modest.

For the manager, it sounds like championing talent before anybody else sees it.

For the executive, it sounds like backing something that does not fit neatly into the deck yet.

For the team, it sounds like working a plan that has not paid off yet, but still feels undeniably right.

This is also why I think Charlie’s mindset is so powerful for independent artists and aspiring managers specifically.

Because when you do not have institutional support, delusion becomes part of the infrastructure. It fills the gap before the machine arrives. It is what keeps you going when there is no budget, no co-sign, no certainty, and no visible momentum. It is what lets you keep showing up long enough for the market to notice.

And to be clear, I am not romanticizing chaos here.

Delusion without discipline is useless.

Belief without execution is performance art.

Charlie is compelling not just because he believes big. He moves big. He pairs conviction with action. He builds. He markets. He blitzes. He tests. He puts pressure on the opportunity. That’s the part people miss. Delusion is not valuable because it sounds inspirational. It is valuable because it creates motion.

That’s the real lesson.

The most dangerous thing in the music business is not being wrong.

It is waiting until it all makes sense.

Because by the time it makes sense to everybody else, the real opportunity is usually gone.

The best managers I know have a little delusion in them. The best artists do too. The best executives as well. They all possess some version of the same gift: the ability to hold a future picture so clearly that they can organize their behaviour around it before the evidence shows up.

That’s not arrogance.

That’s vision.

And vision, in this business, often looks crazy right before it looks obvious.

So maybe the question is not whether delusion has a place in your career.

Maybe the real question is whether you have enough of it.

Enough to keep building the team before it looks like a team. Enough to keep refining the strategy before it starts converting. Enough to keep releasing before the algorithm cares. Enough to keep marketing before the crowd forms. Enough to keep believing in the artist before the industry catches up.

Because in music, the people who win are rarely the ones who waited for proof.

They are usually the ones who moved like it was already written.

And Charlie Rocket understands that better than most.

Watch Episode 61 with Charlie Rocket LIVE NOW

To celebrate 50,000+ subscribers on YouTube and 50+ podcast episodes, we turned the first chapter of The Manager’s Playbook into a digital magazine issue.

But before anything, thank you. If you’ve watched, listened, shared, or even sent one message saying “this helped,” you’re the reason we’re here. You didn’t just support content. You helped build the community around it.

Inside the issue is a curated rundown of every episode, the biggest takeaways, and the lines worth revisiting when you’re building in real time. Think of it as a reference guide you can save, share, and come back to whenever you need clarity.

Read the 50th Edition Magazine below.

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

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