Talk about a fearsome journey

Everybody will tell you that to be successful, you find a need and fill it. So, yeah. I did that. Of all things, in the music business.  How I found that need was because it was my own. Pure frustration at the lack of organization or a common basis for documentation and communication within a mature industry was anathema to me. I came up with a simple, technology based method to improve both those and, possibly, save an industry. Big thoughts these were, but I had them nonetheless. What everybody doesn’t tell you is that just because a need is defined and the method to fill it is offered, does not in any way mean others will use it immediately. So, the long view comes into play. The long view takes patience and faith. The long view is not easy. I can think of others with a long view. Churchill Continue reading Talk about a fearsome journey

Subtexts-Part Two: My Own Worst Enemy

Friends send links to success stories and the first thing I do is begin a negative questioning my own path. Have I not been working hard enough? Am I simply untalented? Shall I quit now? I am my own worst enemy. Why I do I do this? Why do I assume the worst about myself? Why do I always assume failure is imminent? Is it easier to expect certain failure than to embrace possible success? It seems so. So I examined my emotional response to success and found an interesting. I would be happy with success, but how dare I be happy when [fill in the name of someone else] is not? I brought this up to several people who, surprisingly, said they too had experienced the same thing. I asked, “Do you find that this person you’re so worried about, would they be happy for you to make a success of something?” Continue reading Subtexts-Part Two: My Own Worst Enemy

“Do it by the Book”

So you think you want to live the True Writing Life. You’re working hard on your craft. Of course, one must eat. Whether it’s books, stories, poems, or songs that are ruling your life, you want to figure out a way to monetize it, right? Well, the True Writing Life knows that to monetize ones words takes discipline. It is a dogged pursuit in the face of everyone telling you it will never happen. Oh, their reasons vary, but one oft-recurring reason is this: You can only succeed if you “do it by the book.” Want to know what “do it by the book” really means? It could mean two things. One is negative. One is positive. Let’s look at the positve first. Positive “doing it by the book” means this: 1. Learn your craft 2. Study the industry into which you want to sell 3. Identify marketing methodologies 4. Continue reading “Do it by the Book”