Hey Friend,

Coming off a weekend of "fun" in the kitchen, I started reflecting on choices I've made in my life. 

I've determined I'm kind of like a polymath, or Renaissance Man. By definition, a polymath was well-rounded, able to speak several languages, play a musical instrument, a poet and well educated in a broad list of areas such as the sciences, religion and the humanities.

I'm not a great one, like Da Vinci or Galileo. Just a garden variety polymath.

I've studied sciences (was going to be a doctor once upon a time), business, marketing, real estate, psychology, French, Spanish, Latin and Russian.

I've done a bunch of different jobs, and for the most part, I've done them reasonably well enough to earn a paycheck doing them. Just to give you an idea, I've slung newspapers, been a bus-boy, caddy, landscaper, window washer, carpet cleaner (in the ghetto), trash man, bug-killer (I was an Orkin Man), cook, dishwasher, done furniture delivery, furniture repair, was an Army Linguist (Russian language), Army Finance Officer, retail and insurance sales, web designer, computer systems engineer, network administrator, shipping clerk, church secretary, restaurant manager.

I've done auto and motorcycle repair, but never been paid to do them. Hell, I've even delivered phone books (remember those?).

In the course of owning homes, I've learned demolition, roofing, plumbing, carpentry, wood and vinyl flooring, cabinetry, electrical, painting and pool maintenance. 

And I'm a guitar player/bass player/singer/songwriter/piano hack and teacher. 

I didn't intend to work in so many different areas - almost all of them just sort of happened. I only ever intended on being a musician. And I certainly didn't plan of having to do all these home improvements. Obviously, I should have intended harder on music...

We do many things out of necessity. In our case, it's a two-fold need: we can't afford to have someone else do the work, and we don't trust them to do it right at the level of quality we expect for our money.

I'm sure you can relate (at least on the quality side of things). In fact, I'd hazard a guess that because you're a guitar player, you're likely to be somewhat of a polymath, too. You probably get pulled into doing a lot of stuff you'd rather not do.

So I thought I'd put together a list or reasons why playing guitar is way better than doing home improvement projects. These are why you should focus on practicing and playing - instead of getting caught up in the trap of being able to do manual work.

10.    Less Offensive Visually

9.      More Mobile

8.      Less Tools Needed

7.      Less Physically Painful

6.      More Fun Socially

5.      More Impressive

4.      Sexier

3.      More Envy

2.      Less Expensive

1.      More Respect

Chew on that today - what do you think? Guitar is better on all these counts. I'll give my reasons next time...

Peace~

Dave

P.S. Crank up your guitar and do some manual work with power chords today. Check out Easy Power Chords.