25 replies to this topic

[J NOSK36]

hey guys, not sure if Im allowed to post this here, probably should be in a blog , and if so feel free to move it or have me move it to the right place. Just wanted to share this article I wrote on LinkedIn for those of you who dont have it, and if you do, feel free to comment on it in LinkedIn.

 

Its hard for me to believe that I have been playing the violin now for 13 years, its something that I never thought I would stick with when I started, it required more discipline than most people think, there were so many times where I wanted to quit and say I was done with it, but I stuck with it because at the end of the day; music is what I love , and its what I am passionate about.

 the question of doing what you love vs doing what makes you the most money has been a topic that comes up quite often with my friends and I during our various discussions and I imagine it happens with many other people as well. I to this day find it so stunning that a child is asked at 16 years old "what do you want to do for the rest of your life" when in reality his or her life hasn't even really begun.

When I was 13 years old I told my mother that I wanted to play the violin for the rest of my life as my career and she looked at me and said "do something that is going to pay the bills" that was her way of saying "absolutely not". If my mother said no then I took that in my head as "Maybe I shouldn't do that then, my family is made up of people in the medical field, maybe I should do that!" I thought "I'm gonna make a lot of money and be successful".

I should never have doubted my passion or talent for the violin, instead I let what my mother said to me stick with me and when the time came for me to go to college I chose Pre-medicine; I had no idea what i was getting myself into.

My first semester of college was the worst experience of my life; I was failing almost every class, I didn't like the school I was going to, I had no friends, and I basically was only happy when I was listening to music or practicing my violin in my room when I wasnt busy burying my head in a chemistry or biology book.

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and that if you are not on the path you are suppose to be on that God has a way of reaching out to you and telling you so.

I was sitting in my room, it was around December 15th or so and I was watching some videos by one of my favorite Youtubers "The Piano Guys" and they did this video for Christmas that was on the Mormon Channel Youtube account, and it was O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

I loved that song ever since I was a small child and I of course wanted to see what The Piano Guys version of it would sound like. As someone who is musically inclined I have such a strong bond with music and feel the emotion of every song i listen to, and when I heard this song, I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me, i put my hand on my heart and was overcome with emotion when i heard the song to the point where I began to have tears in my eyes, that night I changed my outlook on my situation and told myself i was going to switch to music as my career instead of Pre-medicine.

Ever since that fateful night when I saw that video I have been the happiest I have ever been in my life, and I have been blessed to have so many amazing musical experiences from opening for the band Gaelic Storm, to playing with The Piano Guys on stage. Currently I am going to school at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah for two degrees in Commercial Music, one in Media composition and the other in Music technology.

I firmly believe that you should follow your heart in life as much as possible and that includes when it comes to your career, had I not listen to my heart and follow my dreams I would not be the man I am today, nor having the success I am currently. We only have one life and it should be lived to the fullest with no regrets, don't let anyone tell you that you are not good enough for something, you wont know how things will end up unless you try it yourself. Be true to yourself and you will find success, it might not be big at first, but its the smallest of successes that lead us down a path to the journey of a lifetime.

in the words of Alan Watts, "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, then a long life spent in a miserable way"

In fact if you have time watch this video, Devin Graham AKA Devin Supertramp shared this video and I loved it so much, it really puts things in perspective: What If money were no object- Narrated by Alan Watts

[JC 042]

I'm going on doing what I don't mind doing with making money, I'm working towards doing what I love WITH making lots of money but the chances are always slim so I always stay realistic.

[J NOSK36]

I think it just varies for different people, i hated what i was initially doing, when i look at my life so far, any time i focus on just music and nothing else I accomplish amazing things, like i mentioned above: playing with The Piano Guys and just today Maroon 5 started following me on Instagram which is so freaking cool to me cause I love their music. if im not working on music in some way then im just kinda meh. 

im not worried about the future because the way things have been going for me I have no reason to doubt what might happen for me.

[JC 042]

I really think you should join a group or a band. Although joining Lindsey Stirlings band would be quite difficult...

[J NOSK36]

I really joining Lindsey Stirlings band would be quite difficult...

rephrase that, impossible 

[CruciasNZ]

Next time right click and hit "Paste As Plain Text" (Chrome) and it won't give you the white backgrounds. IPB is very intelligent and could detect the white text highlighting on the other site so it applied it here.

rephrase that, impossible 

Yeah, Pony is a competitor and her agent would never allow it. Playing with lots of different people is a good start, his next move should be to get a proper camera for recording videos - as far as I can see he's still doing that horrible upwards angle laptop cam thing.

[J NOSK36]

Next time right click and hit "Paste As Plain Text" (Chrome) and it won't give you the white backgrounds. IPB is very intelligent and could detect the white text highlighting on the other site so it applied it here.

Yeah, Pony is a competitor and her agent would never allow it. Playing with lots of different people is a good start, his next move should be to get a proper camera for recording videos - as far as I can see he's still doing that horrible upwards angle laptop cam thing.

Galaxy S5 phone, but yes, it has its good days with those videos 

[J NOSK36]

Also this is the video i referenced in my article 

[Authrix]

So it turns out me and Pony are hive mind.

 

I posted this on my blog a while ago:

 

 

 

Well, I promised a happy post, and here it is.

 

Happy post.

 

Yep.

 

...

 

Hmm.

 

Well, this is awkward.

 

I should go back to grumpy posting. People are dicks! I don't approve of the government or the world's priorities! Metal Gear! Nyeh!

 

Actually that was a double bluff. Because this post is about happiness - more specifically, the pursuit of it. And, for once, it's going to be a relatively simple post. Yes, I know my posts are usually a tirade of inane ranting and grief, but this time I'm taking a neutral stance. Unlike the governments of today, I'm actually making change you can believe in.

 

Vote Authrix 3099.

 

Ok, so the "Pursuit of Happiness". Well, it's - yeah, define that off the top of your head. Go on. definitively. In such a way that no one could question it, that it would be put in the dictionary as "the definition of what the Pursuit of Happiness is". And no, we're not talking about the film. Will Smith won't be making any appearances in this blog. Not until I complain about Men in Black or something.

 

Basically, I'm going with something along the lines of "How we all aim to live our lives", and hell, I know it's a catch all description. Really, I'm not sure what else I could go with for such a loose ideological... idea.

*Sigh* This is why we don't write at 11PM.

So, "How we all aim to live our lives" - after all, I think it's a fair assumption that pretty much everyone wants to be happy and takes steps towards that.

 

Well, in order to be happy, there are certain things a human needs; food and water to live, shelter to keep warm and protected and what have you, companionship (usually - we'll leave the uncommon denominator of Sociopaths out of this for now), some way to stave off boredom, a few other bits. But, what does this mostly boil down to?

 

That's right. Gettin' dat paper.

 

 

Or... does it?

 

 

Well, let's look at the facts here. Yes, you do need money to buy food. You need money to buy a house, pay the bills and other costs associated with living. Heck, some people even only have friends because they have a large wad in their back pocket. 

 

But I have to ask, what is the motivation behind making as much as humanly possible? 

 

This is a trend that is drilled into people from birth; that they must be as successful as possible, they must make as much money as they can, and there is no other way to be happy.

 

Well, I have to ask - just how much of that is true? In my opinion, not a lot of it.

 

Let's tackle these one by one: Firstly, being as "successful" as possible - but just what is "success"? Well, that depends. Most people would probably tell you something like "making a lot of money, doing what you love", or similar words to that effect. Ask your parents, and they'll probably (hopefully) give you some sort of sage advice in the direction of "happiness". Ultimately, the only person that can define what success is to you is, well... (you see where this is going, right? (You. In case you didn't. It's you.)) So, what is success?

 

You tell me.

 

 

Ok, number two, the one that really gets me: making money. Getting "dat paper", raking in the cash, the Wargs salute, however you know it. Making as much money as humanly possible, the fundamental rule of capitalism: too much is never enough.

 

And I'll never subscribe to it. I have one argument for it, a single one line argument: Why bother making all the money you can if you never have time to spend it or enjoy yourself?

 

Ok, a little over a line. Dock my pay for it.

 

The point is, you can make all the money in the world, but you'll never, ever be happy if you can't form a decent relationship with someone, or do something you love. I won't deny that that may be one and the same for some people.

 

Anyway.

 

In fact, I'd argue that money is worth less than happiness. I wouldn't just argue that; I fully support and believe that statement. Money is nowhere near equal to happiness, it's how you use it that can bring you happiness; at best, money is just happiness potential. That and food, housing, so on - which we clarified as happiness in the beginning.

 

And finally number three, that money is the root of happiness. 

Let's not kid ourselves here. Because, it kind of is.

 

"Wait, what?"

 

I'm not pulling a 180 on my argument, I'm making a concession. Yes, money is required for happiness. It's required to live. How far can you get without money? You can't rely on food unless you grow it yourself, you can't rely on energy or housing unless, surprise, you provide it yourself. You certainly can't use most amenities or public services without a bit of green. It's required to use and access the things that make you happy.

 

But it's not the be all and end all of existence. Despite what 1920s-present American culture (and so many others) would have you believe, money doesn't turn the world. While you need it to live, and realistically want to keep a bit aside for a rainy day, no one should dedicate their life to bringing in "happiness potential" and never using it. That's just filling a void with - well, more void. In fact, I'd wager most people that make less are actually happier. I know I am; I have a good amount of free time currently, few obligations putting pressure on me (though money is one of them... typical), and I get to do a lot of what I love. That's not a humble brag or anything - I'm just doing alright without a massive pile of money.

 

Why do something you hate for the money, when you can be doing something you love and still get by comfortably?

 

My golden rule for this then, and something I'd like everyone to consider: If you're making enough to live comfortably, then it doesn't matter what job you do. Someone has to take the bins, clean the tiger poop, whatever. If you're getting by and you like it, then I guess that means you're successful.

Edited by Authrix, 21 July 2014 - 10:00 AM.
Formatting and shizz

[CruciasNZ]

Well written Authrix. For me to be with my girlfriend I would need a substantial amount of money, short of winning the lottery here it's going to be years until either of us can afford to join the other.

 

Also, you probably don't want to claim you think the same way as Pony

[J NOSK36]

 

Also, you probably don't want to claim you think the same way as Pony

it is frowned upon 

[Authrix]

I know.

 

Halp. pls.

[An_A10_Pilot]

Help cannot avail you. Only prayers to your dark gods will allow you to escape ponyfication.

[CruciasNZ]

Prayers to dark gods won't help against me. Now bribes, that'll do it

[Authrix]

How about I don't tell people about your ice cream stealing exploits?

[CruciasNZ]

How about I don't tell people about your ice cream stealing exploits?

Go right on ahead, I don't steal Ice Cream because it's cheap as chips for me. Souls on the other hand....

[Authrix]

Dammit Cru, I know you sent the damn seagulls to steal my ice cream. I demand justice.

[CruciasNZ]

Dammit Cru, I know you sent the damn seagulls to steal my ice cream. I demand justice.

I didn't hire the seagulls, I hired the rats. The rats subbed out the work to Seagulls so blame them

[Authrix]

Dammit Cru, why must you ruin everything ice cream related?

[CruciasNZ]

Dammit Cru, why must you ruin everything ice cream related?

 Because I am a twisted individual made worse by my long term exposure to Naia. Just ask Pilot, he is being converted to Laurentology as we speak