So Reader, are you someone who knows who's who in country music? I sure don't, and that became clear during a recent trip to Nashville.

Pointing to a series of concert promo posters, I innocently asked a local colleague, "Who's Lainey Wilson?"

(Lainey fans, forgive me.)

For the handful of musician misanthropes like me out there, I now know that Lainey's one of the hot country stars today (as if the posters weren't a clue--duh). She's won a pack of awards (a 2024 Grammy for Best Country Album isn't too shabby) and ventured into acting in the TV hit Yellowstone (something else I haven't seen--okay, don't judge.📺)

To make up for my gap in music education, I spent a half day at the Country Music Hall of Fame, which, among hundreds of other fascinating artifacts, displayed this letter Lainey wrote to Tim McGraw (okay, I kinda know who he is):

This image might be too small to read, but here's the gist: 18-year-old Lainey asked for help.

I've written a lot about asking for what you need (including here and here). There's also a chapter on it in my book. ​

But here's what she did—strategies we all can learn from:

1. She knew what she wanted: experienced insight before she pitched sponsors.
2. She showed she'd done the work. She wasn't asking for a magic wand or an easy pass.
3. She asked for a relationship, not a transaction. Lainey pitched McGraw specifically because he was from her hometown (and then added a note about her family following him before he was big--nice guilt tug!)

So how 'bout you, Reader? Where do you need to live like Lainey and make a bigger ask for help? Who needs to know what you want, and the work you've already done to get there? Hit REPLY and tell me about your experiences asking for help. What's easy? What's hard? I always love hearing from you—even if your life at work sounds like a country song. 👨🏻‍🌾

Sure, the exhibit didn't share whether McGraw helped Lainey, and my post-visit check of the interwebs say he didn't. But I don't count that as a fail. The simple act of deciding what you control and making the ask moves you forward, as it did her. So keep asking for what you need—and sing it out loud!

Always, Darcy

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