Your Portable Empire: How to Make Money Anywhere While Doing What You Love

Chapter 30. How Big Is Your Box?

Last Monday I attended a birthday party for a musician/studio owner friend of mine. The party was held at a fairly rowdy honky-tonk in historic Gruene, Texas. There were bar-b-que, chips and hot sauce, and adult beverages. The focus of the party was a free-for-all jam session.

Who else but musicians get together and work for fun? I'm trying to imagine a bunch of accountants, getting together over bar-b-que and beer, with spreadsheets and green visors. For fun. Not gonna happen.

Back to the party. It was a blast, but I left early. As much fun as playing guitar can be, I felt the pull of my laptop. I had a couple of promotions going on, some coaching clients who needed help.

The Internet marketing game is addictive. I'm hooked. But I got an Internet marketing lesson between sets at the jam session. It was fascinating.

There was a guitar player there who was just amazing. Played rings around everybody else there. He sang like a country Otis Redding. He's a nice guy, trying to live like I used to live, playing bars in Texas for $30 to $50 a night.

I took him aside, and asked him if he'd like to break into the next level. I offered to introduce him to my European agents. I might as well have been talking to a brick.

His vision extends just about as far as the next bar gig. He's about as likely to fly to Europe and tour as he is to fly to the moon on a motorcycle. It ain't gonna happen.

Why?

Why can some musicians make the transition to recording artists and touring ...