Success - a Musician's viewpoint

I have asked many artists - Just what it is you as wanting to achieve? How do you define success?
I was going to write about this - then ran across this essay from Jeb Hart  - Guitarist with Danika Holmes.  This says it all ....
Thanks to Jeb for allowing me to repost

A thought, A rant, a way of looking at things, call it what you will...

It the world of sports there are major leagues, minor leagues, college associations, intramural leagues, and games just for fun. To fit my personality, I think more in terms of flight... there being Astronauts, Jet Pilots, Commercial Airline Pilots, Sesna hobbyists, R/C controlled hobbyists, model airplane makes, and people who simply dream of flight.

Keep this in mind when you look at musicians... where are they in terms of commitment and goals? Hopefully, you would never say to your friend who plays intramural sports, "Loser, why don't you try harder so you can be the majors?" Right?

I have to remind Danika, and myself sometimes, that not everyone is competing at the same level, nor is everyone's goal the same. Many musicians are happy as hobbyists, or being big fish in small ponds. Nothing wrong with that...

To clarify the two points of thought that made me think about this is that 1) Many of my friends who are big "local" players sometimes get mad about how they are the big dogs in the city and I'm playing 4,000 miles from home, and 2) I find myself being frustrated by some bands immature attitudes and seemingly apathetic attitude towards perfecting their craft.

Once I stepped back and realized most of my friends are playing "intramural" music while Danika's current goals are more "Minor League" oriented (eventually to be Major League), it answered both of my questions/concerns. We have to appreciate that not everyone wants to tour. Not everyone is going to take this as seriously as all those of you who are reading this. You are playing in a league different from most of your perceived peer group.

That doesn't mean we have nothing to learn from them. Referring to the flight example that I had, look at vast difference between the doers and the dreamers. Many times it takes going all the way back to the beginning to open our eyes and see new ways of attaining goals. The music industry is changing, and sometimes (like radio play and major record label deals) the major leagues are playing by archaic, outdated rules.

Let's all remember what it was like when we first started playing music, the dreams we had, and everything we wanted to accomplish. Let's go out and play in the right league, whichever is best for each of us. Let's think as dreamers and rewrite rules where necessary to break into and explore new territory.

Rant done... It's 2:30am, if this doesn't make sense to you, welcome to my world. I often characterize what goes on in my head as the 1957 film 12 angry men, but with most of men having ADHD. Night!

Jeb is guitarist for Danika Holmes www.danikaholmes.com/  

Both Jeb and Danika are a vital part of the Ascension Tour - SXSW 2012 - www.facebook.com/AscensionTour