circus (Photo credit: fsse8info)My dad was always coming up with ideas to try out for the juggling act that my family did as a sideline. He wasn't afraid to try something different to see if it would work. Sometimes his ideas did work and sometimes they ended up being something we could tease him about. A lot of my dad's thinking rubbed off on me.
When we moved to East Tennessee from the Chicago area in 1966 our show business market became rather spare. Our Chicago agent didn't have much that we were close enough to take and the agents who booked shows around Tennessee didn't have enough to keep us working regularly.
Not one to wait idly for something to happen, my dad gathered up some business directories and began contacting every company in a 200 or so mile radius. He put together a promotional package with a form letter describing our show and sent out hundreds of them.
After a while we started getting so many replies from companies that were having parties and picnics that we were working with fair regularity. Not only was our act working, but my dad started up his own theatrical agency and started booking acts from all over the country.
My dad opened up his mind and started thinking up ideas that seemed workable and then he tried them. He tapped into a market that no one had previously contacted in this geographical area. He built up a clientele and he made money in his sideline show biz job.
If nothing is happening for you in what you've been trying to do then you have to take action. You can't just wait for someone to contact you because you have a good product that you're sure people will want. Sometimes you just have to take the initiative and do what is necessary to tap into the existing market or create your own.
The main thing beyond the action of getting something done is having an open mind to allow you to come up with novel approaches to do it. Don't blow a lot of money that you don't have, but test the waters first. Bounce your ideas off of friends or family members who have adventurous spirits. Avoid negativity. Allowing those with closed minds to influence you will make you afraid and doubtful and then nothing gets done.
Successes start with dreams. If you open up your mind to the realms of possibilities, dreams can become realities.
And now for the letter 'O':
She's from a place exotic to many of us and shares many a dream with her readers. Most of us know her as Oceangirl from the blog Live High.
