Old office                                                                                       New Office

That's a line from Tangled Up In Blues - One of my favourite Bob Dylan songs.

As with all Bob's songs it tells a story but the story has several layers of meaning and everyone takes something different from it.

For me that line sums up the moment when you realise that something has got to change in your life.

It's that moment when you take a decision to do something about it. 

The song was written in the early 70's and the world was a different place. The guy in the story (Bob? - who knows) is a drifter, picking up and moving whenever the mood takes him. 

Of course back then jobs, careers, new starts were easier to come by. I did that myself for many years when my sole interest was music. I took jobs to pay for my passion and when I got bored with them I left and found something else.

Despite some musical successes along the way I eventually realised that I just loved playing but that it probably wasn't gong to earn me the living I wanted. So one day the axe just fell ….

I got a good job and put the music on the back burner.  I still played in bands and wrote and recorded music with my partner but just for the love of it. 

Unfortunately the axe fell again when some years later I was made redundant - obviously not my decision this time. 

But that axe falling led to another - the realisation that I never wanted to let someone else have that much control over my life ever again . I felt that I could do better job of that myself. 

I'm glad I did and I'm even more glad that I found the right mentors to help me do it. 

Last Thursday's SFM founders call once again confirmed I made the right choice. I'm with the right people, in an amazing industry that lets me be myself. 

Maybe over the holidays your axe will fall. You'll have some time to think. You'll be spending some time appreciating the important things in life - time with family and friends, celebrating life instead of just getting through it. 

Running an online business can give you a lot more of that. And the SFM is basically a springboard to launch from. 

If you get a chance give "Tangled up in Blues" a listen and think about this while you enjoy some rare "Me time"   

Make 2015 the year the Axe Just fell - the year you take control.

Cheers!