I just returned from the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX. Every year, thousands of bands flood the city, and play in every nook and cranny available. Theaters have shows, bakeries have shows, bars have shows, coffee shops have shows, hotels have shows, and people also just walk down the sidewalk singing and playing guitar. As I walked down 6th Street one night, I could literally hear 100 different songs at once. It was a bit overwhelming. I contemplated all of it - the logistics, the travel, the organization, the city, but most of all, was it worth it for all these bands to do this?
Certainly, there are a ton of industry people there, so many people are hoping to get noticed and finally get their big break. If that's really why you're there though, you're probably going to leave disappointed. Quite simply, it's best to really be interested in what you're doing; work hard at it, and enjoy the heck out of it. The rest will work itself out.
Back in the office, now I'm thinking about authors. I talk to many of them, and it's a similar story; everyone wants their big break. Do you want to become a sought after speaker? A best selling writer? A marketing guru? A guitar hero? Whoops. Well, you get the point. Identifying a sense of purpose can help create your strategy, one that carries with it appropriate goals and the drive and excitement to stay on course. I think musicians and authors are also similar in that they cannot necessarily depend on what they've done in the past. It's what they're doing now that counts to their audience, and will keep that audience growing.
In any case, it's good to be back, and listening to one song at a time.