Subject: Finding Your Happy Place
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, I think it's safe to say you play guitar because you enjoy it. Sure, it can be a frustrating instrument to learn, and to achieve a fair level of mastery takes at least two years of daily consistent practice, but it's very satisfying to fill the silence with music.Unfortunately, most of us have to settle for music as a sideline gig. We might dream of playing on a stage or writing songs for famous artists, but often we don't have the time to devote to those dreams because we're too busy working. To paraphrase Dolly Parton, we're so busy making a living we often forget to make a life. As a result, our lives become split between work life and personal life. We behave differently in each life. Unfortunately, because we are often forced to spend more time on the job than we do in our personal lives, the job personality starts to creep over into personal life. We humans are strange creatures. We have the ability to take on different personae to fit whatever scenarios we face. Much like an octopus that can change color and shape to blend in, humans change their outward appearance to fit into social situations. Think of this behavior like different masks that we wear. It could be argued that we do it for the same reasons - survival. Of course, we don't have to worry much about literally getting eaten (like the octopus), but we adapt to the scene to try and blend in as much as possible. A cat is a cat; we can pretty much count on its behavior to be fairly consistent. Most times a cat will react to its circumstances the same way. But human beings can modify their behavior to fit into a situation at will. While having this ability is a good for survival, it doesn't always result in what is best for the human. There's a big difference between surviving and thriving. Paying the Piper... All this shape shifting and mask wearing can take its toll after a while. I've come to realize I'm a square peg. I also realize my job is a round hole. And I think it's the same for every one of us. When we attempt to make the best of a situation where we clearly don't fit in, the long term results are disastrous. No one ends up being happy. We make a lot of career decisions because they seem to make sense at the time. Decisions like studying computer science versus studying music. Following the "safe bet" instead of doing something we know we love. The problem is the head and the heart can be out of sync. The head knows logically that something can / could be good for you, but the heart has its own agenda. When the two don't line up, or you force one (the wrong one) to take priority over the other, you can manage the disconnect for a while, but eventually things will break down. We have no way of knowing if our decisions are good at the time, but it's almost always a mistake to discount what your gut is telling you. We need to be happy. We need to be doing work that is in alignment with our dreams and desires. We need to feel like we make a contribution to those around us and the world. When you do work that doesn't fulfill this need, life becomes very monotonous. Sure, you have small pockets of time where you get to do enjoying things with people you like, but most of the time it's day-to-day drudgery. Think I'm just being a whiny little b...? OK, answer this question. Which statement are you more likely to make: A. "Thank God it's Friday!" or B: "Thank God it's Monday!" Did you pick A? Yeah, I thought so. Ask 90% or more of the general working population and you'll get the same answer. The Shift Fortunately, I really believe there is a shift happening where we will all eventually be able to use our best talents to earn a living while making a huge contribution to the world. The way business has been run for decades can't continue - it's not sustainable. "Business as usual" tends to produce so much waste that companies simply CAN'T afford to keep running this way. The world is going to be a much better place when people are allowed to be who they were meant to be, not a cog to fit in the gear-works of some corporate behemoth following a business model that perpetuates indentured servitude (slavery). If this is a scary thought for you, I understand. We're afraid. We get conditioned to believe certain things about living and work. That we have to find safe and respectable careers so we can lead productive lives, even if those careers result in lives that are half-lived. And yet there are examples of people all around us that have followed non-conventional paths to do work that they are both extremely successful at and fulfilled by. They've managed to crack the code to doing work that allows them to feel they are making the contribution to the world they were meant to make and they are rewarded with personal, professional and financial prosperity. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to play guitar full-time? Or write and record music as your main gig? Maybe you're very technical and would be more interested in mix engineering. Or are you a professional manager? There are many different opportunities for people that are drawn to music as a career. Most of the time we only see the performance side of the music business and that tends to color how we perceive potential careers in music. The truth is, no matter what your background happens to be, there are opportunities in music that need your talents. Think of it as a way to marry your love of music with some of your other skills. Not everyone wants to turn their favorite past-times into their careers. There can be the fear that as soon as you start making money from your hobbies, they become jobs. I get that, but the way I look at it, I'd much rather be working in a field where I feel like what I do matters and contributes to make life a little better of other people than to continue doing a job where it really doesn't matter if I show up or not. Hopefully you'll read this and it will cause you to think a little about how you could create some more satisfaction in your life. Are you doing anything now to explore the possibility of turning your love of music into a new career? I'd love to now what you think! Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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