As you probably already know if you’ve been following me for a while, playing music is one of the things I love.
But did you know I used to be ‘torn’ (often with pain and guilt) confused about who I was because of it?
Musician
I used to believe that to be a successful, credible musician, I had to focus only on creating and performing music, be true to my art and leave the stuffy business, and corporate world behind.
The problem was – although I had lots of loyal, loving fans…I didn’t make a lot of money from my music alone. Just enough to get by and certainly not enough to live the kind of lifestyle I wanted.
I also got a lot of pressure from my family who saw it as a dead-end profession with no security unless you made it really big (like I said, pressure!) 😅
Businessman
So, I went down the corporate route, specialising in sales & marketing, and although my financial situation and professional status improved dramatically – The more focused and successful I was in my job, my soul felt “sick”.
Like a big emptiness was in my heart…and this hole kept getting wider and sadder…the less time I spent writing and playing music. I felt guilty – it was as if I had literally abandoned someone I loved.
I thought that to be successful at either one of these, I had to give up the other.
I spent many years feeling guilty, confused and sad about this – before I (finally)worked out that I was the sum total of the two; and that combining their best elements… would lead me to become the ‘best version’ of who I wanted to be – and also who I was meant to be.
So, my message to you… is to enjoy your journey wherever you are in your life. Take the highs and the lows, the bitter and the sweet with equal gratitude.
Very often even ‘pain’ can help us to find the right path by showing us things we need to learn about ourselves…things no one can teach us, and only time can reveal.
Be willing, grateful and open to evolve, learn…and embrace change….especially when change is needed.
Your ‘best self’ and the life of your dreams might be the result of a combination of things you have yet to discover about yourself.
It’s never too late to learn.
Mark
