Can You Answer This?

How would you fill in this blank?

If I could make a living doing _________ I would be the happiest person on the planet.

Type your answer in the comments below.

Image by matthewvenn via Flickr

Have you ever swore up and down that you couldn’t do something, and then all of the sudden, get a fire under your ass to just go out and do it?

That happened to me recently. Regretably, ever since I have been playing shows I have been very hesitant to book 3-4 hour shows because I was afraid. I was petrified that I couldn’t hold a room and would just dissappear into the background if I didn’t have a lead guitar player or other musician playing along with me. Guess I needed a crutch.

Well, after some soul searching, a lot of practice and some great advice from my friend and fellow musician, Rob Anthony, I finally bucked up and booked a 3 hour show at Patriot’s Pub in St. Charles, MN (great bar BTW) to do all by myself.

After it was all said and done, all I can say is, what the hell was I waiting for? Read the rest of this entry

Today I rolled into work and there was a quote in our daily in/out email. It really got me thinking and I wanted to see if it would do the same for you. Here it is.

“The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.” – Brian Tracy (Personal And Professional Development Author and Speaker)

It really made me think about how I’ve been playing it pretty safe for most of my life with “security” as an excuse. The few exception being joining the National Guard and quitting a foundry job to go back to school while working another job for a lot less pay – both of which, by the way, turned out to be some of the most fulfilling, cherished and “alive” feeling periods in my life.

Stagefright

My most recent flirtation, with things not associated with security, would have to be the exploration of my musical side. For years I dodged it because I was scared. Scared of what people would think. Scared of getting up in front of people. Scared of letting people know what is going on in my head via the songs I write. Scared if my thinning hair line was gleaming in the limelight and on and on. I was just scared.

Other than this inner knowing that I needed to do something greater than just waste away in a cubicle during the day and in front of the TV at night, I also thought about my kids.  I looked at them and thought about the future. I feel that being scared is no way for a father to act. I mean how am I supposed to tell them to follow their heart and block out all of the noise if I can’t do it myself? That is not the example I want to set for them (and for the record I am deathly afraid of being a hypocrite and – to keep my honest – you are welcome to call me on it any time).

Out Of Thin Air

Now since I’ve been implementing this type of thinking, I notice a  funny thing happening. When I started looking at music as being an opportunity, things started to fall in place and continue to do so. For instance, places that I’d like to play at became available, old friends come back into my life and offer their support, I meet other artists and industry people who answer questions and provide guidance, I find all the resources necessary to help me record my CD, and I could go on and on!

The other thing I noticed was that the work I do (write and perform music) is about as fulfilling as anything I’ve ever experienced. It is so freakin cool to have people come up to me and tell me about how a tune of mine made them feel better about something, made them think a little more about a subject or just helped make their day better.

It is double freakin awesome to see the community that is slowly starting to arise around the music. When I play live it is  surreal to be able to look out into the crowd and see old fiends, new friends and family all gathered in the same place, interacting with each other and having a good time. What more could I person want?

The Rewards

Bottom line, if I had stuck with the security of playing my guitar and singing my songs behind closed doors, I would not know any of this.  I may not have met a good guy like Ray “Yeah Baby” Roberts. I never would have known what old friends Stacy and Marcy were up to these days. I might not know how dedicated my brother Troy,  sister Heather and the rest of my family are to going above and beyond helping me out. I might never know what a great excuse playing live is to go out and party with my friends all without my wife getting mad (had to throw that in). And again, I could go on.

What a boring waste of life it would have been to have not known any of these things.

So ask yourself this “Am I playing safe in some part of my life?” And then ask yourself, “what could I be missing out on because of it?”

Are you less than happy with what it is that you are doing in life or know someone else who is? Well maybe a post from a blog that I read regularly – called Leftsetz Letter – can give you a little perspective.

…Sorry if that sounded a bit like an infomercial but I think you get the idea…

Anyway, the post I am about to share with you is about doing what you want with your life.

This is actually something I’ve thought A LOT about the last few years and Bob Lefsetz has done a great job of summing it up. I wanted to share it with you because I thought it could either help you or help you help someone else (ie pay it forward).

Anyway, go and do yourself – and possibly someone else – a big favor. Read this post now and then refer back to it often like I am.

Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear any of your related stories and/or get a big discussion started.

P.S. for more on this and to let it really sink in – cuz music is really good for that – check out the Shinedown tune “Second Chance”.