Quarter life crisis, anyone?

[Kurtis]

26 and in crisis mode. Oh hell no. I was doing what Matt mentioned. I had a job that paid the bills. It was enough to get by. I practiced drums about 3 to 4 hours a day after my 8 hour shift. 7 days a week for about 4 years. That's all I cared about when I was 26. I went out once in a while to the Spud or Catalina's to see world class cats. When I was low on funds would hang outside of Catalina's and watch through a tiny circle in the stained glass and could see the stage. Could hear good enough also. Saw lots of Wek, Stewart, Elvin, Corea. All the cats. I biked all over Hollywood. Didn't use my car. Didn't watch TV. Didn't care about sports. Listened to a shit load of Vinnie boot legs. Lots of jazz and fusion listening. Was homeless from time to time. It was tuff but got through the lows. I did the GC thing also. Didn't last long. The tuff times were fun looking back at it. Great life learning phase. Also got my chops together at that age. In your twenties you need to hone in on the skill/craft you want to do with the rest of your life. In your 30's you refine them. 40's and beyond you have either made it or crashed and burned and pursued another way to make gobs of cash. Dude hey 26 is by no means a time to be in crisis mode. At least you are aware time is ticking away and the time is now. You need to get in 10,000 hours of practice and making music to get really good. Kobe Bryant is really talented and he puts in crazy amounts of practice time. Imagine all the practice Wek and Vinnie put in. They are obsessed with their craft. If your not crazy obsessed look else where for a line of work.

[Paul Marangoni]

Ask yourself what turns you on...passion...what gets you excited.

Uh-oh, there's that word again: PASSION! Is passion a useful tool for success, or is it just something that makes you irrational?

Passionate people are more likely to take big risks in the pursuit of unlikely goals, and so you would expect to see more failures and more huge successes among the passionate. Passionate people who fail don't get a chance to offer their advice to the rest of us. But successful passionate people are writing books and answering questions about their secrets for success every day. Naturally, those successful people want you to believe that success is a product of their awesomeness, but they also want to retain some humility. You can't be humble and say, "I succeeded because I am far smarter than the average person." But you CAN say your passion was a key to your success, because everyone can be passionate about something or other. Passion sounds more accessible. If you're dumb, there's not much you can do about it, but passion is something we think anyone can generate in the right circumstances. Passion feels very democratic. It is the people's talent, available to all.

It's also mostly bullshit.

It's easy to be passionate about things that are working out, and that distorts our impression of the importance of passion. In hindsight, it looks as if the projects I was most passionate about were also the ones that worked. But objectively, my passion level moved with my success. Success caused passion more than passion caused success.

Passion can also be a marker for talent. We humans tend to enjoy doing things we're good at, while not enjoying things we suck at. So sometimes passion is simply a by-product of knowing you will be good at something.

If you ask a billionaire the secret of success, he might say it is passion, because that sounds like a sexy answer that is suitably humble. But after a few drinks I think he'd say his success was a combination of desire, luck, hard work, determination, brains, and appetite for risk.

So forget about passion when you're planning your path to success. You already know that when your energy is right you perform better at everything you do, including school, work, sports, and even your personal life. Energy is good. Passion is bullshit.

[taken from "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big"]

[Da Chooch]

I think this can also shed some light on the subject of PASSION? I thought it was very interesting.

[Pocketplayer]

Not to hi-jack Willy's thread here...but an added reaction to the topic at hand.

Passionate people are more likely to take big risks in the pursuit of unlikely goals,
and so you would expect to see more failures and more huge successes among the passionate

I guess that's one way to react...lol

Eat the melon, spit out the seeds...passion, desires, strengths...what you are attracted towards
what excites you, natural hardwiring, core intelligence all = ENERGY. Who cares how you got there.
The EGO side of passion can have its downfall, but I cannot judge a man's passion by also inferring he will
be this or that. We can unpack the negative side of any positive. That's not too difficult.
Passion is BS...hardly...just a part of the overall composition. Yes, when it is highlighted too brightly, it
can cause imbalance into negative experiences. Rather, I'd like to see it as part of the picture, and not
the entire picture. I sense some reactions to the positive guru's (name whomever you will) that seem
to manipulate personality and try to mold it in an hour or weekend seminar. Just an impression I got.
Yet, they also can offer nuggets or tools we can put into our personal container. I react in similar manner
to them when they speak with such confidence about what they believe in to the exclusion of other
known facts and information. The diet folks especially!

26 and in crisis mode. Oh hell no...Dude hey 26 is by no means a time to be in crisis mode.

If this is a man's feelings...if someone FEELS old at 25 or they are in a life crisis, then that's what they carry
inside. Honor that. Your life experiences are yours. His are his. I get the encouragement behind your story,
and it is a subtle point I make, but when I share my heart with someone (and Willy was vulnerable to do this with us)
the last thing I want to hear is how I shouldn't be feeling what I carry inside. Maybe that's just me.

Age is irrelevant to feelings and life's pressures. We all have our own story.

[Rodge]

26 and in crisis mode. Oh hell no. I was doing what Matt mentioned. I had a job that paid the bills. It was enough to get by. I practiced drums about 3 to 4 hours a day after my 8 hour shift. 7 days a week for about 4 years. That's all I cared about when I was 26. I went out once in a while to the Spud or Catalina's to see world class cats. When I was low on funds would hang outside of Catalina's and watch through a tiny circle in the stained glass and could see the stage. Could hear good enough also. Saw lots of Wek, Stewart, Elvin, Corea. All the cats. I biked all over Hollywood. Didn't use my car. Didn't watch TV. Didn't care about sports. Listened to a shit load of Vinnie boot legs. Lots of jazz and fusion listening. Was homeless from time to time. It was tuff but got through the lows. I did the GC thing also. Didn't last long. The tuff times were fun looking back at it. Great life learning phase. Also got my chops together at that age. In your twenties you need to hone in on the skill/craft you want to do with the rest of your life. In your 30's you refine them. 40's and beyond you have either made it or crashed and burned and pursued another way to make gobs of cash. Dude hey 26 is by no means a time to be in crisis mode. At least you are aware time is ticking away and the time is now. You need to get in 10,000 hours of practice and making music to get really good. Kobe Bryant is really talented and he puts in crazy amounts of practice time. Imagine all the practice Wek and Vinnie put in. They are obsessed with their craft. If your not crazy obsessed look else where for a line of work.

I really like that Kurtis, warrior/fun mode !!!

[Paul Marangoni]

My point was more about highlighting the fact that simply telling someone to figure out what they love, and then focus on that, isn't very helpful. It is more important to figure out which skills you lack in order to do what you want, and then develop or learn those skills. Also, find out which skills are in demand, and learn the ones that appeal to you.

[TsonicTsunami]

Enjoy your youth and get some Bitcoin and sit on it! That'll do ya!

[Pocketplayer]

Agreed Paul...this is actually a great thread for us all...who can say they have a total command over career
and life?

I look once again at my buddy with Disney. He knew jack squat about his eventual position. I believe
much of his success was due to who he was as a person. He fit Disney perfectly. A guy like Willy, and
all serious musicians know what to do to get chops. Willy will breeze here because most people have not
imo, given themselves to mastering a discipline over a long period of time. In fact, I would guess that
where ever Mr Willy lands, much of his eventual success will be due to drumming and the disciplines
achieved over many years (if this is indeed outside of playing which he seems to have at this time accepted).

He will never NOT be a drummer. So many of the already developed muscle-memory skills (self-practice,
performance, listening, analysis, venturing outside of box musically, thinking, team work, travel, facing fear,
performance anxiety, etc) are in place. It's just a mater of transferring to another discipline and THEN as noted,
pouring his dedication and focus to that subject.

The reality of passion for me I (the not-so-good aspect)
I would say much of my frustration in the work place is because I have tried to connect with a "team" like I did
as a drummer, and most have no clue what that is like. I felt 1,000 miles ahead of the pack here, waiting for them
to catch-up to understand "groove"...and few really do. Just my experience. I grew frustrated and went solo and am
now getting back to "team". Music is extremely passionate, and locking into a groove as a drummer intense. Add the
power of music, audience, etc...and then working for/with people who seem to be proud of "cookies-on-the-bottom-shelf"
and doing the least amount to get by was beyond frustrating. We had very different ideas about what "good" was
and how to accomplish stated goals and objectives. I would advise Willy or any other musician to NOT pursue work
in the Government, or Public Sector where creativity, enthusiasm, and talent seem actually penalized.
Again, just my experience!

[Gaddabout]

My point was more about highlighting the fact that simply telling someone to figure out what they love, and then focus on that, isn't very helpful. It is more important to figure out which skills you lack in order to do what you want, and then develop or learn those skills. Also, find out which skills are in demand, and learn the ones that appeal to you.

I agree with that, and I think that's part of the process. Make decisions on what you know, not what you feel.

[Old Pit Guy]

So 25 is the new 50, who knew. You got someone to kiss goodnight, you got it made.