This week was pretty much one big blur 😀 It was great to be back playing and I got to play with some great friends, old and new. The vlogging camera did not get much rest either. The quick tips got posted. D’Addario sent me a brand new set of strings, which I’ll be beta testing next week, so expect a video review on my vlog. And that’s actually something I need to talk to you guys about…

So I was asked to do a freelance writing job, that will take some of my time for the next few weeks. And my current schedule is crazy. So for me to get this done, something is got to give. I am loving the vlogging, and want to keep it going. But it also gives me an opportunity to include stuff like reviews of the new strings, and lot more in the future. And the songs are my number one passion, without them all of this is for nothing. So what I am thinking is to take a few weeks break from writing the quick tips, as I need to keep my writing energy for this project. But at the same time, you guys have been here along with me for the ride for a quite some time now, so if you guys think giving the quick tips a rest is a bad idea, I’ll figure out another way. At the same time, I will be featuring some of this stuff in the vlogs as and as you can see I even recorded a video version of this weeks blog update 🙂 So let me know your thoughts, as they really are important to me.

I know the nature of the blog has changed a bit with the vlogs, but my gut feeling is that we are on to something good here. I feel exited about it and I hope you are enjoying them as well. Obviously I am still learning and hopefully with time I’ll be able to make them better.

Oh yeah, and then I had a dose of the man flu, but more on that in the vlogs 😉

Now on to this weeks lessons:

1. I had one unexpected set back the week, which I will talk about in more detail in the future. But it once again taught me not to take anything for granted in the music business. And it has given me a real kick in the ass to try to find a way to relay less on the bar gigs for my income in the long run.

2. Also learned that when one door closes, usually another one opens.

3. This one is a bigger one, that has been growing in the pas few months. I have learned that I really enjoy helping others in reaching their potential. I think I have quite good problem solving mind, and probably because very few things seem impossible to me 😉

4. I still struggle to find away to turn that skill into an income… But I have faith in the universe 😉

And that takes us to this weeks blog posts. This week’s song Gambling Man tells a story of a man struggling with gambling addiction and how it is effecting his loved ones as well. Check it out in the link below and don’t forget to download your copy from my Bandcamp page as well:

Gambling Man

The first vlog of the week was all about our journey back home to Dublin from Poland:

Vlog 57 Ryanair to Dublin town

Originality is a wonderful thing, but try to force it rarely works. Also you should never use it as an excuse not to do something. By doing a lot of stuff without thinking about the originality, eventually you will stumble on something original:

Quick tip 261 Don’t get too caught up on originality

This vlog kind of sums up my first weekend back in Dublin, I get in to quite few different things on it, but it’s all in the vlog 😉

Vlog 58 What am I doing?

To become truly successful, you need to be willing to fail from time to time:

Quick tip 262 Don’t let small setbacks deter you

In this vlog I talk about my mysterious writing job and me and Barra sit down to talk about his diet, which I have been helping him with:

Vlog 59 I like Mondays

Too often we do what others have done before, especially in the music business. But what if we took a chance?

Quick tip 263 But what if?

Working through my lack of motivation to run, struggle in the studio and finally bring you along to the Porterhouse once again. Check it all out here:

Vlog 60 Starting to look like a hippie

As humans we adjust to our surroundings. Same goes with people we surround ourselves with:

Quick tip 264 Surround yourself with talent

I have been given a chance to beta test D’Addario’s new N6 Alloy acoustic guitar strings:

Vlog 61 Beta testing D’Addario N6 Alloy

Here is what I think are the best tools for musicians:

Quick tip 265 The best tools

The last vlog of the week started what I view as almost borderline comedy 😉 It’s me struggling with the dreaded man flu. But once I get up, I do get into quite motivational stuff:

Vlog 62 A dose of the man flu

So let me know what you thought about it all. Did you enjoy the video version of the blog update?

Little bit of house keeping. If you enjoy what I do and would like to support me, please consider pledging on my Patreon page. By pledging even $1 a month you get access to my Patreon feed, where you get to ask me questions, communicate in a more direct way and you get to see most new vlogs day before the rest of the world does. So do me a favour and visit the Patreon page HERE.

This week I ask you to do one thing. I ask you tell some one you love, that you love them 🙂 This is one of those tasks that we just don’t do often enough. And have a wonderful week 🙂

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE