If You Never Give Up, You Cannot Fail

As I teach and work in the community as a musician, I have come across many great people who have quickly become my friends. After a certain conversation yesterday, I realized that there are realities in life that must be faced, especially as one gets older and is living on their own. Bills need to be paid, jobs need to be kept, along with many other responsibilities. Oftentimes the high school musician will become the waitress, the salesman or go to school in a completely different field after graduation. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, but there is another reality to be faced as life gets more demanding: you should never give up on your music.

I say this due to the fact that so many people have expressed their regret with letting go of their musical skills. They got married, they started school, they got a demanding job, they started having kids, etc. After all that, they have told me that they wished they set aside time to keep up with their art. I have never known it to be beneficial to let go of a hard-earned skill, especially with the arts.

So I for those parents, full-time employees and students who once played an instrument, danced or were skilled in any art: I dare you to start it up again. It may be hard and seem silly at first. You may have to start from the beginning again and learn the keys, the techniques, etc. But it is worth it.

For those of you who are still practicing the arts, I challenge you to never let it go and grow in it, no matter what life throws at you. It will prove to be a priceless skill later on in life. Whether it is to teach your children, to be a stress-reliever, be a skill that brings you financial comfort or to just give you something to do in your spare time.

And for those who never thought they weren't any good or gifted in the art, I dare you to keep going and not care about that but love to do what you love, even if you don't think you're very good--you'll become great over time, even if much later. It will happen, I promise. Just remember this: If you never give up, you cannot fail.