Are You Too Old to Pursue Your Dream

In the course of filling out a variety of forms, Dionne told me she was thirty-two years old, which surprised me, because I had guessed her age to be in the mid-twenties. I wondered why someone with her beauty, presence, and, above all, extraordinary talent was not already a household name by age thirty-two

She realized that she had been given a gift at birth, and a little voice from within kept telling her that it was wrong not to use that gift. Finally, one day, she made up her mind to take bold action to change her circumstances, and thus began her belated singing career

The stage, no matter how small, was her world, and an appreciative audience, no matter how sparse, her reward. I was really impressed with her purist attitude and her passion for performing.

At the meeting, Dionne assured that, with one exception, everything she had told me about herself was true -- her study of classical music in college, initially playing the role of the traditional housewife, then pursuing her destiny as a singer, and the fact that she had no manager. The part of the story that had not been true, however, was her age.

As things turned out, my relationship with Dionne lasted only about a year, chiefly because I couldn't afford to continue the level of investment I felt was required. The music business gives new meaning to the term dirty, and it became apparent that, despite Dionne's talent, it was going to be a long, hard road to the top -- and long was something that was in very short supply in her case.

People who should listen to this show are entrepreneurs, career coaching, solopreneurs