"We're putting the band back together" - Jake and Elwood Blues visit Sowpub!

Okay, I'm going back 20 years now.... To the movie, The Blues Brothers.... Although it's 20 years old, to many people it's a movie classic!

Jake just got out of jail, and he and his brother Elwood go to see the orphanage where they were raised. But they've discovered that the orphanage will be closed down unless they can pay $5000 in taxes in 11 days. So they go to raise the money - they're "on a mission from God."

How are they going to raise the money? Their solution -- "We're putting the band back together" to hold a concert, and pay the taxes to the orphanage. So they take off to round up their former band buddies. (And jam with many famous singers on the way, like Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, and Ray Charles!)

All would be smooth, except they make a huge stash of enemies along the way -- like a Country music band ("The Good Ol' Boys"), Jake's ex-wife who's trying to blow him up, and not the mention the cops, who are all chasing their tail. Which provides some of the best car-chase scenes on the silver screen. :)

But in the end, they hold the concert.... and....

Okay, I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen the movie. Here's the lesson about success!

Jake and Elwood Blues go to ridiculous lengths to make this concert a success. Why did they do so? What was behind their sheer determination? Let me give my answer....

They had a higher purpose. They weren't out just to enrich themselves - they went all out to save the orphanage they were raised in.

Like Jake and Elwood Blues, in order to have the determination for success, a higher purpose could help for creating a business too....

Is your purpose just to make more money? If that's your only motivation, your success rate probably won't be as high. But what if you have a higher vision - some call this a "spiritual mission" for your business?

How will you improve the world in some way? That can be an additional motivation to the obvious goal to also make a living.

In business, it comes down to Win/Win/Win. It's not just about enriching yourself, but also enriching the lives of others and of the society around you. Think about it.... most (if not all) successful businesses have helped to improve people's lives in some way or another.

It could be by distributing useful knowledge (like here at Sowpub).

It could be by making life easier through various tools of some kind (like home appliances, computers, software, and so on).

It could be by making people's lives more enjoyable or happier in some way.

But it is based on Win/Win/Win!

A good "spiritual mission" for your activities - how to make life better for people in some way - could help with your own motivation.

Then, like Jake and Elwood Blues, you too will have the determination you need to do what's needed to succeed in your goals!

Jake and Elwood Blues.... an example of success....(!!!)

Well, you probably wouldn't read that anywhere but here at Sowpub! ;)

Dien Rice