BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

I Don’t Need To Be Discovered

I realized today, I don't ever need to be discovered.

A lot of people go out into the music biz, or, any career really... Looking for a "lucky break".

I don't ever need that.

Today I got another deposit from music streams.  I also got another dividend into my investing portfolio.

See, here's the thing... The way most fame works is... The person starts doing whatever it is they are doing...

Small changes happen...

Then they are catapulted into the craziness that is "big time".

This can happy for any career really.  Someone applies for a job that is WAY more responsibility than what they were doing previously.

That idea of making it... It's all really just a gap promotion... it just depends on how big the gap is...

For most musicians, actors, whatever... you hear that classic story that they were one dollar away from having to call it quits... they were completely broke...

And then... Big time hits.

My thing is, I don't think it has to be like that.

My thing is... Why not just start at basecamp and climb, slowly, and steadily.

Why try to jump from the bottom of the mountain to the top?  Who has legs that long?

Maybe a handful of people... But the thing is you can get just as far just going slow and steady.

Most people are just too impatient.  They want it all now.

If you are able to make that happen, more power to you.  That's great!  But, the thing is, for most people, success doesn't happen.  And if it does, it's mediocre at best.  Or, you end up with a lot of bad blood.  Or, you end up falling back down from the top of that mountain.

Why risk all that?

So, my method of success is pretty simple... Build something slow and steady that flows on its own.

Right now, I have about 10 ish songs out there in the world.  I get a small amount of plays... It's slow and steady.

The thing is, it's just out there in the world, for people to find.  And, I'll just continue to upload more songs... Let people find them.  Let them be curious.  Let them say, who the heck is this guy?  He's not famous, he doesn't play anywhere live, he's not signed to any label...

Good.

That's what I like.

Right now, I get plays in France... But I also still wake up and go to my 9-5 job.

I don't have to worry about if my next song will flip, or flop... I won't have to worry about if my book will flip or flop...

I can make what I want, at the pace I want to make it... and there's no stress to worry about contracts or managers or labels.

Today I got a dividend in addition to a payment from music streams... Sure, it's not much now... But, it doesn't have to be.  I also went to work.

And I'll be getting a paycheck in about a week.

I also am not spending all of that paycheck.

I stay in a lot, or just do things that don't cost much money.  I go on coffee first dates... and never hear back from her.

I go to the gym.

I watch Netflix movies...

I don't really spent much money.

I then take the extra money that I didn't spend on bills and living expenses and put that into buying more shares in dividend income stocks.

I also use that money to pay for credits to upload new songs.

The thing I'm most focused on really are the dividend deposits rolling in.  I look at the 90 day deposit history and compare that number to the same number 12 months previous... 24 months previous.... 36 months previous.

My only goal is to keep that number going up.

As that number goes up, and my expenses stay flat...

I can then invest more of that free cashflow either into music related expenses, or book writing related expenses... Or, I can invest it into more shares of dividend producing stocks.

This in turn boosts that income number.

With this method, I don't ever have to make it... I can just keep making what I want, and do things how I want without ever having to be thrown into some overnight success category where I was at the bottom of the mountain the day before, and then the next day, my life is turned upside down.

Slow and steady...

And the thing is, that salary isn't going anywhere... Now that I've started that dividend income salary, it just keeps rolling in.

I've had some companies cut their dividends, or slash them... I've had some companies go bankrupt...

That's why I don't invest in any one investment more than once.  I diversify out horizontally.

I buy a set amount in any one stock, and never buy any more than that.

It probably sounds like a terrible idea to most money managers... but that's because most money managers aren't interested in the income... They want valuations... Why?  It all comes back to the same thing that I started with... They are trying to "make it".

It's impressive to take x number of dollars and double the value of the account.

It's not impressive to take x number of dollars, and keep the value of that account the same, but double the cash income coming off that investment every year, or 6 months...

The problem is, and I know this, because this is how my trust management fees are, is that they charge a percentage of the account value... If they charge 1 percent of x dollars, they get 1 percent of x dollars... if they grow that money to x 2 or x 3 or x 4...

They get to charge 1 percent of x 4, or 4 times the original 1 percent.

With my investments, I don't have anyone to answer to but myself.

All I care about is that cashflow every month coming in to cover expenses.

The more cashflow that comes in, the more I can buy and do...

I can use that money to "make it".

Isn't getting discovered basically getting a salary to then use to do the things that discovered people do?

If you can create the salary in a different way...

You discover yourself.

And this is why I don't ever have to get discovered.

I'm slowly discovering myself.  It's the same end result, but... You know, without all those strings attached.

Discovering yourself is a stringless experience.

When you get discovered... There's all sorts of strings from the person or group, or organization that discovered you.

And nobody likes strings... Unless you're a cat.  I guess cats like strings.  But I'm not a cat.  So... I'll just discover myself... Slow and steady.