La Bene Vita

Dear Writing: I Miss You

I want to write original songs. I want to perform them live. I want a band. I want a promoter, and albums. I have a friend from high school who is now a Facebook friend, and she's been recording and touring and has a website full of gorgeous promo shots, and I was hit with a stab of jealousy. (1) Shame on me! I should be promoting her, not envying her; I will start by buying all of her albums. (2) WE MAKE OUR OWN DESTINIES.

I saw Christian pop artist Chris Tomlin perform live here in Columbus last weekend, and the concert was great. It was in a big church, not a concert venue, but he still had professional sound and lighting, a talented band, and an amazing backup singer. WinterJam is coming in a month to the Schott, and that *is* a big concert venue. Every year, I go to WinterJam, and I feel like I missed my calling.

I knew starting a business would consume all of my time. I've dropped from six days a week at Potbelly to five. I've started to delegate out the wazoo at church, which is probably good, because it makes me a better leader, but still, I miss performing - really performing. And I miss writing original songs. I took on this small business venture, which I knew would occupy me for at least five years. After all, that's my lease commitment.

But then I started to think about it. Business is growing at more than double my original plan. When I get to 350 students, I have a budget for a site manager. The sooner I get to 350 students, the sooner I can pay off my small business loan, replace myself with a site manager, and still pay myself a small owner's salary just for being moi. And the sooner I can step away and concentrate on the next thing. It was supposed to be Studio #2 in a nearby town. Maybe it will be a performance career. In either case, it will be different

New goal: REACH 350 STUDENTS BY 12/31/2011.