Long Tail vs. Isolated Successes

"I'm not sure what I'll do next" I overheard Kara-lyn say to Lindsey (my attorney friend). Kara-lyn works on music row here in Nashville. The topic of conversation was now that she had accomplished some of her life goals; i.e. moving to Nashville and working in the industry. what should she be pursuing next?

I'll come back to Kara-lyn in a min. My friend mark is a respected photographer and designer in NY. Recently he asked me what my "core values" were. I had been spending so much time trying to figure out how my website should look and what stock to print business cards on, that I was missing the point. I had become task or goal oriented with little thought of the long tail.

There are a variety of core value assessments available on line if your interested. I recommend taking one of them. You see with an idea of core values we unlock another piece of understanding vision and can make important decisions accordingly. They also help me to set goals that facilitate movement forward as opposed to isolated successes.

Connectivity and Enrichment those are my "core values" You see, consulting, music composition, teaching, those are means to my end. So if for some reason I lose my voice or hand in some accident, my life isn't over because I can function under those values.

Our ultimate vision is to love God and love others. Each of us experiences and accomplishes that differently. Kara-lyn set goals and to her credit is seeing them fulfilled. How much greater to know we are working the "long tail" of life and not just isolated successes.