From: “Tom Hess” <[email protected]>
Date: 13 March 2011 19:26:03 GMT
To: [email protected]
Subject: Do I need a backup plan in case my music career doesn’t work out? 

Hey Sarah,  

Most musicians are given the advice (usually by well meaning
family members and friends) that goes something like this:
“You need to have something to fall back on, in case your
music career doesn’t work out”.  A common name for this is a
“back up plan”.  In other words, the conventional wisdom says
this: “If you fail to make it as a musician, you need to have
some other way to earn money in order to live”.
Unfortunately, most musicians do not put a lot of thought into
what kind of backup plan to select, other than searching for a
(non-music) job that is the most “safe and secure”.  

While on the surface this advice (and strategy) may make
sense, a much more effective approach would be to have a
backup plan that is aligned with your ultimate dream of
becoming a professional musician.   

If this happens, it makes it MUCH more likely that you will
actually reach your ultimate goal.  Here is why:

1.           Work that is done on the backup plan will now move
you closer to the ultimate goal you want.  For example,
teaching guitar and building a series of fixed products that will
be sold for money once they are done will not only provide you
with a passive income stream, but it also helps to get your
name out to musicians and fans who will later be more likely to
buy your music records, come to your shows, take lessons from
you, or help you further your career in some other way.  This
also builds important credentials of you as a music professional
that can be leveraged in other ways later.   

2.           If your backup plan and your original goal (music
career) are perfectly aligned, your ultimate dream (music career)
is always at the forefront of your mind.  On the other hand, if
your day job (or back up plan) is in a field that is totally
unrelated to music, you have no choice but to think about other
(non music career related) things during the day. So as described
above, if your fall back plan and music career goal are aligned
with each other, you are still working on your music career, even
when you are building “back up plans” or something that may
appear to be not directly related to your major musical goals. 
When your actions have this congruency you cannot help but
succeed!  

On the other hand, if you spend most of your time working at a
job that has nothing to do with your music career (as commonly
done), you are much more likely to get into a different routine with
your life.  As a result, most people let their dream of a music career
simply fade away.   

Thanks,

Tom Hess

http://www.tomhess.net
http://www.practicegenerator.com

Tom Hess Music Corporation
Po Box 113
Cary, IL 60013-0113
United States of America

If you no longer wish to be contacted click here.