Everyone has to start somewhere, and for Cole Swindell, that meant selling merch for Luke Bryan before launching his own career. In addition to giving him the chance to experience a taste of life on the road as a country artist, Swindell also says Bryan also offered him some solid advice he still looks back on to this day.

During a recent interview on the Like a Farmer podcast, Swindell shared that while he was in college, dreaming of a career in country music, he had the idea to email his fellow Georgia native hoping for some guidance on making into the industry. Now, having built his own success, he receives similar messages every day from aspiring singer-songwriters. This makes him wonder what Bryan must have thought back then.

“I can only imagine, now that I’ve seen all these, what he was thinking when I sent that. ‘What do you say to this college kid?’”

It turns out, Luke Bryan knew exactly what to say, something that was simple yet incredibly impactful.

“He wrote back one word. I said, ‘to be a better songwriter to write songs, what do I need to do?’ And he wrote back, ‘Live’ and it crushed me. I’m like, wow he sent back one word. And the older I get, the more I wrote songs, I was like, that’s the best advice as a songwriter you could ever give is to live. How are you going to write about it if you don’t live it?”

That one word would go on to shape the way Swindell approached songwriting. It became the motivation he needed to experience life fully so he could pour real stories into his songs.

“I’ll always say that helped me light a fire in my songwriting career…but I remember being so butt hurt. He said one word, live. ‘Thanks, dude. I’m trying to live in Nashville, if you’ll help me’” Swindell added with a laugh.

Later on in the episode, Cole Swindell explained how he landed his gig with the “Mind Of A Country Boy” singer. He had only been living in Nashville for about a month before hearing that Bryan needed someone to sell merch for him on tour. Swindell quickly jumped at this opportunity because he knew, before the rest of the world, that Bryan had the talent to take his career far.

“I was like, this guy is a huge star. And to get to see how he treated people, the way he handles things, it was just what a blessing looking back,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to be behind the merch table. I dreamed of being up there on that stage, but little did I know I was getting to watch one of the best to ever do it the way he went about things. And I thank God that I got to learn from somebody that kind of took me in and treated me like a little brother, man.”

Now, it’s Swindell’s mission to give back to the next generation of up-and-coming acts in the same way Bryan did for him.

“How do you thank somebody for something like that other than the buddy of mine out here, Greylan James on tour, stuff like that, finding people I believe in and just seeing myself in them where I was at that time. It’s like, man, I think that’s how we say thank you sometimes…to see him at this point right there, writing hit songs, he’s got his own songs that are doing great out there, it’s exciting to see,” he added of James.

The “Make Heaven Crowded” singer also acknowledged how incredibly grateful of how far he has been able to take his dreams over the years.

“To be able to do what I love for a living, man and have people that support me is just, I don’t know. It’s incredible.”

Last month he wrapped up his Happy Hour Sad Tour with support from Greylan James, Logan Crosby and Priscilla Block. There are a few remaining shows on Swindell’s calendar before he wraps up for the year.