What I wouldn't do to find a full time job doing something I love [preferably related to music].
Not that don't appreciate the current full time job I have had for the last 15 years...it has been very good source of income for my family. However, it is a "pay the bills" kind of job...get up go to work...do what ya gotta do and go home... and hate every minute of it! I regret that I didn't have enough foresight [at a younger age] to pursue music on a full time basis. Yeh I toured Canada and US for about 15 years full with SYRE but when that slowed down and eventually stopped...for all intensive purposes I left the music biz. Instead of sitting back and making a plan for my next music biz move, I did what most people do when suddenly finding themselves out of work....panic and take whatever job comes their way. This is what I did and haven't changed jobs for the last 15 years. I have climbed the company ladder over the years but it has never been enough for me. Music is the only profession I truly love.
What I have come to realize recently is there is more personal satisfaction in doing something you are passionate about rather than something out of convenience. Maybe it's my age [47] but now I look back and wish I had done things differently and really pursue what I love....music, both from a performance standpoint and a business standpoint. It the only thing I really know how to do. [lol] I have had a passion for music since a very young age....it is in my blood. Why on earth I didn't re-organize myself [until now] after SYRE and start a solo career is a mystery to me. Even on the business end I could have managed artists after accumulating a wealth of experience from years of road work and surviving every possible situation an artist can be confronted with. Maybe I didn't want to be part of the music biz leaches we experienced....always "painting the garbage can gold" and doing what was good for them and not for the band....would I have turned out like them???
I now realize life is not about 9 - 5 punching a clock and doing something you hate for 8 - 10 hours a day. It's about pursuing your dreams and making them a reality. As corny as that sounds it is very, very true....Would you rather make $50,000.00 8 hours a day doing something you hate day in and day out or $30,000.0 14 hours a day doing something you love....I should have opted for the latter....but I didn't.
Today, I find myself playing catch up with my music career. Not many musicians are starting their solo career so late in life however what I have found is that I have garnered a lot of respect over the years from musicians and music biz people. This surprised me to some degree...lol...maybe they are just humoring me, but their interest in what I am doing seems genuine. I still have that burning in my gut about writing and recording music...more than that ever. But I look at it differently than I did in the SYRE years. Those days were all about the party. We were young, naive and more worried about partying than really writing great music. the down side to this new found passion for music is that I hate my day gig even more...feeling like I am wasting 8 hours a day that I could be spending writing and recording new music or working on various music based business opportunities. This eats at me every minute of the day.
The reality is... I am way too old for major labels [but it's hip to be indie anyway...] and too stubborn to quit performing, recording and writing music. My personal goal was to still be performing live shows and recording new music at the age of 50...I am approx. 2 years and 5 months away from reaching that goal. The lesson for you younger artists out there is to persue your dreams to the fullest....do not quit and settle for a mundane day job you despise. Create your own business....network...do everything you can to reach your potential at something you are passionate about. Don't spend you life making someone else rich...spend it making you happy.
Not that don't appreciate the current full time job I have had for the last 15 years...it has been very good source of income for my family. However, it is a "pay the bills" kind of job...get up go to work...do what ya gotta do and go home... and hate every minute of it! I regret that I didn't have enough foresight [at a younger age] to pursue music on a full time basis. Yeh I toured Canada and US for about 15 years full with SYRE but when that slowed down and eventually stopped...for all intensive purposes I left the music biz. Instead of sitting back and making a plan for my next music biz move, I did what most people do when suddenly finding themselves out of work....panic and take whatever job comes their way. This is what I did and haven't changed jobs for the last 15 years. I have climbed the company ladder over the years but it has never been enough for me. Music is the only profession I truly love.
What I have come to realize recently is there is more personal satisfaction in doing something you are passionate about rather than something out of convenience. Maybe it's my age [47] but now I look back and wish I had done things differently and really pursue what I love....music, both from a performance standpoint and a business standpoint. It the only thing I really know how to do. [lol] I have had a passion for music since a very young age....it is in my blood. Why on earth I didn't re-organize myself [until now] after SYRE and start a solo career is a mystery to me. Even on the business end I could have managed artists after accumulating a wealth of experience from years of road work and surviving every possible situation an artist can be confronted with. Maybe I didn't want to be part of the music biz leaches we experienced....always "painting the garbage can gold" and doing what was good for them and not for the band....would I have turned out like them???
I now realize life is not about 9 - 5 punching a clock and doing something you hate for 8 - 10 hours a day. It's about pursuing your dreams and making them a reality. As corny as that sounds it is very, very true....Would you rather make $50,000.00 8 hours a day doing something you hate day in and day out or $30,000.0 14 hours a day doing something you love....I should have opted for the latter....but I didn't.
Today, I find myself playing catch up with my music career. Not many musicians are starting their solo career so late in life however what I have found is that I have garnered a lot of respect over the years from musicians and music biz people. This surprised me to some degree...lol...maybe they are just humoring me, but their interest in what I am doing seems genuine. I still have that burning in my gut about writing and recording music...more than that ever. But I look at it differently than I did in the SYRE years. Those days were all about the party. We were young, naive and more worried about partying than really writing great music. the down side to this new found passion for music is that I hate my day gig even more...feeling like I am wasting 8 hours a day that I could be spending writing and recording new music or working on various music based business opportunities. This eats at me every minute of the day.
The reality is... I am way too old for major labels [but it's hip to be indie anyway...] and too stubborn to quit performing, recording and writing music. My personal goal was to still be performing live shows and recording new music at the age of 50...I am approx. 2 years and 5 months away from reaching that goal. The lesson for you younger artists out there is to persue your dreams to the fullest....do not quit and settle for a mundane day job you despise. Create your own business....network...do everything you can to reach your potential at something you are passionate about. Don't spend you life making someone else rich...spend it making you happy.
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