I guess I'm not a good example, but here's how my history went...

I live in a big town were there's some studios used by the local scene and more and more groups that become successful. So there has been a lot of music industry coming down here to check it out. With this buzz, some guys finally started writing singles/jingles etc. (they live in my hometown) at this time I was going around clubs just to jam and I was recording some stuff I wrote for various schools, etc. One of the guys I was working with lend a tape to one of those writers, and he liked my playing, so now I work most of the times on the sessions he is involved with. I have decent music reading skills, and I can play pretty good, but a LOT of other guys in my town could just wipe the floor with my face, but since I'm a team player, I have a good nature, they didn't look somewhere else.

Then the more you work, the more you work, sounds stupid and simple, but it's the truth... It's a LOT about networking and public relations, and you make them through sessions. If you are the new hendrix but you're an asshole you will only do one session...

Then there's the classic stuff, the guy who went to berklee/GIT/University, applied to a gig, and got it... But I'm not of that kind!!