Be Tom Edison.
Persistence.
Ah yes.
The serious bloggaratti will tell you “don’t apologize for missing posts”. “Don’t write posts about missing posts, etc.”
Don’t meta-blog. Just blog.
So, okay already. But that leaves an elephant in the room, called persistence–or lack thereof. So..here’s a primer, as much for my own benefit as anyone else’s:
Persistence:
- The act of persisting.
- The state or quality of being persistent; persistency.
- Continuance of an effect after the cause is removed: persistence of vision.
It’s that third one that catches the eye. Continuing to work at something AFTER the cause is removed. Everywhere you look in life, you can see failures of persistence.
–Missed blog entries (Take that, bloggaratti!)
–lapsed practice (doesn’t matter if its a pen, guitar, or brush–did you pick up your instrument today?)
–ANY activity designed to display “six pack abs”, “big arms”, “toned ____”, etc. (How many diets have you heard of? If they worked, would people want new ones?)
…..And the list goes on.
So, we know that there is value to persistence–perhaps it is the ONE thing that matters. And who owns it?
Why do I ask, you might ask?
Because I have a bit of a debate going–there are those who use the phrase “for the love of the _____”. The blank is commonly “game”…but it could just as easily be “music” in that blank space.
“For the love of the game” is a phase that often refers to youthful enthusiasm, the amateurs love for something. Something that amateur would do for free.
As if doing something for “free” demonstrated “love”, in and of itself.
I would put forth that Professionals love what they do MORE than amateurs.
Pros show up every day–even if their head isn’t in the game, their body is.
Amateurs go home when its raining.
Pros do what is needed–when its needed.
Amateurs do things “when they have time”.
and the list goes on. Steven Pressfield has done a better job than I ever could defending this point of view. Just about any artist will benefit from reading his book “The War of Art“.
Not too long ago, I heard a most crushing defeat. I heard this:
“Man, we’re never going to “make it”. This is only a hobby. Its the greatest hobby in the world, but its only a hobby.
Defeat. The pro goes amateur. How did I respond?
“I want my 1,000 true fans, Damn it!”
What I should have said was something I wrote later:
My hobby is computer games, thanks. Pick em up, put em down, try a new
one, dump the old one–no worries.
The band–this music– is something I sweat for, give to, and scheme about. Its an oath to respect other’s contributions and time as if they were my own, with a common goal in mind. When I don’t contribute, I feel guilty. When I do, I feel satisfaction. When we succeed, I feel elation.
I never feel guilty about frickin video games.
Success is not always the top tier. It _can’t_ be, for MOST of us, by definition.
Only so many players make the big leagues–does that make a college athlete’s efforts any less successful?
And unlike sports, music can be made for the rest of your life. Ask a blues fan sometime how many ol’ blues players played for 20, 30, or even 40 years before they “made it”? Those players didn’t care. They were doing what they loved, every day–like a pro. They were/are making a living doing it–like a pro.
Amateurs equate success with the top level of success in anything–its hidden perfectionism–a neat little trick..because like the fox, the amateur can then decide the grapes “were sour anyway”.
The professional stops jumping, and gets a ladder.
Thomas A. Edison said it best..here are a few of the things he said about persistence. :
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
And finally…..
“What you are will show in what you do.”
