Occasionally, a true story teaches us valuable lessons. Such is the case with a teenager living on the streets of San Diego. At the time, she was an aspiring musician.
After refusing the sexual advances of her boss, she was fired and did not receive her final paycheck. Unable to pay the rent, she was evicted and forced to live in her car. Now, she was only concerned with food, water, safety and shelter. Then the car she lived in was stolen, and all seemed lost.
She noticed a small coffee shop with a βgoing out of businessβ sign in the window. She approached the owner and offered to sing once a week at the coffee shop, try to draw a few new customers in, and they could share in the profits.
At first only a few people showed up to the coffee shop, but every week the crowd of regulars grew. Soon, people stood outside in the rain just to hear her sing. One of them worked at a radio station and played a bootleg recording of her song on the air. Listeners began requesting the song, and soon it climbed into the top 20 music charts.
That is when the limousines began to show up at the coffee shop. National recording labels began competing for her recording contract. As a homeless teenager, she was mature enough to turn down an offer that included a $1 million signing advance, opting instead for better terms on future album sales.
This is the true story of Jewel, the award-winning artist who has since sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. What lessons can you learn from Jewelβs story?
