Ooh, it’s been a long day.  I’ve spent 19 hours driving over the past two days and I’m getting ready to hit the stage here in Montana in just a couple hours to start a two week tour.  I’ve played this room twice before, and the question always is “What will I do different this time?”

In fact that’s the question that pops to everyone’s mind every January.  It used to be that was an optional question.  You could continue your new year the same as the previous and probably be ok.  But things change so fast now that it gets harder to keep up.  And yet it’s more important than ever to continue to change up your game to stay on top of whatever it is you need to stay on top of.

So with that in mind, I’d like to turn you on to two pieces of reading.  First is this letter from the guys in the band in OK Go.  http://okgo.forumsunlimited.com/index.php?showtopic=4169 You’ll remember them from the treadmill video a couple years back.  It’s a good summation of where the big music industry is right now and how it affects you.  Yes, you.  I want you to read this, especially if you aren’t a musician.

I’m a little behind on this other one, but I just had a chance to read it in my hotel room last night.  Seth Godin, one of my favorite thinkers, released an ebook compiling the thoughts of other important thinkers of marketing, business, internet, and life.  No matter what your business, I encourage you to read it.  Lots of great ideas for making the world better.  You can get it free at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/12/what-matters-now-get-the-free-ebook.html

As you look over what you want to do this year, some of it will involve pushing more work, some will be pulling back.  Read through both of those links and leave a comment below to let me know how you’re going to put it into action this year.

Meanwhile, I’m going to figure out how to make Missoula laugh harder than last time.

Phil Johnson
http://www.RoadsideAttraction.com

PS… This is the way we do… I give you 8 free MP3s and you can share them with your friends.  You look like a trendsetter, and I get to have more people hear my stuff.   http://www.roadsideattraction.com/8-free-songs

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As an independent performing artist, I’m always on the lookout for good business books.  The days of being a rock star with a zillion handlers to take care of the day-to-day tasks are long gone in this business.  Artists are very involved in their own businesses now.

The E-Myth Revisited is not an artist-centered book.  It’s for entrepreneurs.  Or, more importantly, people who think they’re entrepreneurs, but are really just stuck in a job they’ve designed for themselves.  The book looks at why so many small businesses don’t survive.  That subject by itself isn’t very useful though.

Michael Gerber goes on to show you how to design a business from the ground up that is independent of it’s owner.  A system that allows the owner to be an owner and not a worker.  Not that you’d spend the rest of your life on vacation.  But your business would run itself while you take care of important things.

I’ve got the audiobook version that I listen to during my morning walk.  And I’m starting my 2nd listen.  This is the type of book that you read once, then go back and read again, stopping to accomplish each of the steps laid out for you.

One thing I find in a lot of small business books is that they don’t answer the questions that pop up in my mind while I’m reading them.  Michael Gerber must be a mind reader.  Everytime a question or objection popped into my head, he was answering it in the next couple minutes.  Kind of creepy at times.

So, if you’re looking to develop a business that doesn’t involve you being directly involved every single day, give this book a go.  And, as a companion, read The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris.   It will show you how to make Mr. Gerber’s principles work in a modern environment.  They compliment each other perfectly.

Phil Johnson
www.RoadsideAttraction.com

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