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Mutlu
by Gary E. Andrews - 04/15/24 07:08 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
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Success is relative to your perspective I guess. I remember really wanting to post in this forum. I may have ten years ago. I dont toot my own horn much and dont have the money to pay someone else to do it. I have passed so many milestones that to list them all would take too much time and qualify for epic boredom status. I will try to list a few. The only reason I decided to post now is that a friend told me their nephew heard a song of mine on the radio.
On the radio. Sure its 3000 miles away from where I live, but still... its radio. Sure radio is a dying form like newspapers, but still... its radio. Sure my friends nephew probably called and requested the song, but still… I suddenly step into an episode of the partridge family.
I started out with goals. I dont really have specific goals any more. I have a general direction. Which is why I feel that success is relative. As long as I am still going in the right direction I am a success. My goal when I started this musical adventure fifteen or so years ago was to write a song I liked and was proud of. Since then most of what you would call milestones have passed with little fanfare on my part. In a marathon, the steps before or after any checkpoint seem about the same since the ultimate goal is a bit farther down the road and you focus on the next step not the finish line.
And so I have passed previously unattainable goals without realizing it. Playing in front of people was a tough one. I have known in my soul since the age of 16 that it could never happen. Now I am at home and comfortable playing no matter the situation. I have played for wealthy folks at banquet with the bishop and for drunks throwing up in a beer garden. Being paid was another one. My first tip was a dollar 85 in pennies and nickels that old man Jack collected from the drunks at the bar and handed me during the second verse of take it easy. Last week I paid 2 other musicians to play a show with me.
The steps have been natural. One foot in front of the other. Challenges, setbacks, problems, wrong turns? you bet. Lots of em. More to come I am sure. But, as long as I am still on this path moving forward I am a success.
This place has been pivotal in clearing that path and shining a light on the smooth places to walk. Brian has provided me with countless blessings by creating it and keeping it a wonderful place to grow. Thank you for helping me to be a success.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Success and failure is hard to measure. Is it in your eyes or the eyes of others. Is it how much money you make or what pleasure you bring. The yardstick it is measured by depends on the person. Some measure success by making a million dollars at something, others by bringing a smile to someone's face. If you are happy and content at whatever stage you reach, you are a success, at least in your own eyes. If you fall far short of your potential due to lack of effort or desire, you are a failure, at least in the eyes of others that expect more from you. It's like beauty, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Some beautiful people are never satisfied, they keep trying to improve on perfection, often making themselves less beautiful than before. So I guess success is in the eyes of the beholder.
Desire and ambition comes into the equation of success. Some will never be happy at what ever level they reach. Some millionaires are never happy with having plenty of money, they are always reaching for the next million, you might call it ambition or greed.
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Hi Doug:
Let me congratulate you for your story and the bravery it takes to share little moments with others. We have a great deal in common. I encourage you to "keep on keeping on," my friend.
All the best,
Dave Rice
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Congrats! Big steps or small steps, as long as you're moving forward, it's all good.
Ricki
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If success's aim is what you gain. Great! My ambition as a kid was to get out of the city and have a house in the country. I have that now so that is success for me. How you do it depends on how much you want it. Sounds simple but that's how it was for me.
Vic
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Thank you Everett, and Dan, and Dave, and Riki and Vic
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You are welcome Doug. Success is being content and happy at where you are in life.
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Congrats Doug! Performing in front of the Public is a huge step up the success stairs. Wish you more and more of those successful endeavors. Best, John
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Hey Doug, Great news mate ! Sounds like you have found your footing, and your zest. It only goes up from here on in. cheers, niteshift
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Success in America is all about money.
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"When will we all, as artists, creators and facilitators learn that the so-called experts in our lives are nothing more than someone who has stepped forward and called themselves an expert?" –Brian Austin Whitney
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