When I lived on Dauphine St. in Faubourg Marigny back in '79, I knew this cat from San Francisco who was a bartender @ THE DREAM PALACE on Frenchman St. He told me this story about this guy he worked for in the mountains outside of San Francisco. This cat started a bar in a remote mountain town & his only goal was to have Van Morrison play in his bar. He worked his tail off for a couple of years and then it happened. Van was playing a gig in the Bay area and agreed to go out to the boondocks & play a gig in the cat's bar. The night that Van played the bar, the owner closed the deal and sold the entire business. Now that's beginning with the end in mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5E8Bc9q_ok&feature=related