Guitar Lessons

It was the summer of '72 when seemingly disparate interests harmonized into a single clarion call for a teenage Bob Taylor. Longing to own a 12-string guitar but unable to afford one, Taylor built his first guitar in shop class during his junior year of high school. As his desire to make music and his talent for building things converged, Taylor experienced an epiphany that revealed his vocational path. He had discovered that making guitars would be his life's work, even though he had no real blueprint to guide him. In Guitar Lessons, Taylor shares stories of how a lifelong passion led to a pioneering business. From his humble beginnings at a guitar shop near San Diego, aptly named The American Dream, through the early struggles of founding and sustaining Taylor Guitars with his business partner, Kurt Listug (who's still CEO today), Taylor recounts the valuable lessons that enabled two driven "kids" to overcome formidable obstacles and grow their small guitar shop into a world-renowned guitar brand. Today, Taylors are the guitars of choice for serious musicians. Players as diverse in style as Dave Matthews, Prince, Zac Brown, Jason Mraz, Neil Young, Taylor Swift, and many more of today's biggest names proudly strum their Taylors both onstage and in the studio. Along with these stars, thousands and thousands of other musicians-pro and amateur-choose Taylor. This wasn't always so. Guitar Lessons takes you back to when the company was just a handful of devoted craftsmen working with little more than pluck and perseverance to breathe life into their fledgling enterprise, learning hard lessons about business and life along the way that would pay off years later. Through anecdotes that blend self-deprecating wit with grassroots wisdom, Bob Taylor reflects on the key experiences and personal revelations that nurtured the company's growth. Guitar Lessons will give you a fresh perspective on how the fundamental values of hard work and determination can be applied to overcome challenges in business and life, leading to success and personal fulfillment. Amid today's mass-production culture, Taylor's philosophy as a modern-day craftsman and respected leader serves as a compass for "crafting" a meaningful life. Many people try to take their passion and turn it into a business. Many fail. Some sell out along the way. Bob Taylor found his love as a teenager, worked hard at it, and created a profitable, growing enterprise, which he still happily stewards alongside Listug. If you've ever wondered how truly unique companies come to be, you'll be inspired by Bob's Guitar Lessons.