Inspiration to go your own way

As musicians, we have all heard time and again the old refrains - "you won't make money doing this", "why don't you focus on more important things", etc. If anyone who has made it in music, i.e. their passion, had let such comments turn into more than just a hint of self-doubt, but actually let such opinions control their decisions, we would have no philharmonic orchestras, no jazz clubs, no DJs, no Grammy awards, and no music teachers in schools.

Music is a great passion of mine, not because it will give me money or power, but because it gives me freedom. When I am playing or listening to music, I don't care where I am or about the worries that I have, because music helps me remember the greater world, and that through the ages people have felt the same way about so many things.

I, like many of you reading this, have a lot of interests and passions. But I would not be me without music and the peace it has given my soul. No amount of money or power can compare with that. If you want to have freedom, you have to go your own way and follow your passion, whether that is with music or anything else.