I recently purchased my first eBook.  As I write this, I can't even think of the title, but the author is Derek Sivers.  He is the guy who started CDBABY.com back in 1998.  All he wanted to do was sell his band's cd online.  The online distributors at the time wanted nothing to do with independent artists.  After some hard work he ended up with a "buy now" button on his site, which was a huge deal at the time.  The next thing he knew his friends started asking him to sell their cd online, then their friends, then theirs, and so on.  CDBABY was born.  About 10 years later he sold the company for 22 million.
       I write this not to share another story of a guy who started with nothing and became rich, but to share what I found to be his best point.  It seems everyone we know goes through life waiting for their life's purpose to "hit them like a bolt of lighting", that big "a-ha!" moment.  But if you look at people who have become truly successful and happy with their life's work (and life), it is those who gradually ended up where they are today.  They take the time to look around at all of the small good things going on, rather than looking forward to a big bang (do I need to tell the story about the tortoise and the hare?)  Constantly waiting, wishing, and hoping for what's next is what causes most to comment on how fast time goes by. 
       Time to time I'm asked if I think I'll ever "make it big" or if my goal is to be "big time".  When this happens I always think back to that Hondo pawn shop guitar that sat in the corner of my room for a couple of years before I picked it up.  I think about my fingers hurting trying to learn the F chord.   I think about Buck and I in the fire shop out in Broussard talking about music and our favorite artists, how cool it must be to play music.  Then the day Hours Later showed up via UPS.  All the friends and fans we've met along the way.  Empty bars and packed houses.  Meeting Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, playing for their thousands of fans.  My days (and nights) in Nashville.  Hearing our songs on the radio.  All of this is a result of the first time I was able to form a G chord and let it ring.  That old Hondo could still be sitting in the corner, and I'd have a lot less friends, and a lot less memories. 
       Here's to a cool rainy day in St. Martin Parish, and to turning around every now and then to see how far you've come, rather than looking ahead.



MIKE