Let me tell you a quick story. Music has always been in my soul, just never quite in my fingers.
Friends will tell you, I’m a recovering audiophile (with 10,000 albums to prove my habit). I’ve always felt frustrated that I don’t know how to create music of my own. So last summer, I bought an acoustic guitar with the wide-eyed dreams of fulfilling rock-and-roll destiny. I started messing around after finding some instructional manuals and videos.
For a few weeks I was well on the path to becoming the next Guitar Hero. I figured I would just figure it out. But then I realized that each guidebook advocated a different starting place, and none seemed to really make much sense. Then my fingers started to hurt. I got distracted by life’s other demands. My brand new shiny guitar began to collect dust, a lot of dust. Until I recommitted…
In March, I enrolled in the NYC Guitar School. Just had my second class last night, and already learned my first song – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2! It’s already proved to be an amazing school – with a passionate community of teachers and students. I found a home that inspires my guitar practice and journey into music. Their curriculum seems very intuitive and well-crafted. These are my peoples! Granted I’m just a couple of weeks into all of it. Yet I can already attest to the power of being part of a tribe.
Here’s the lesson: motivation and inspiration are often magnified when you’re in the right company. It’s like having a partner to go to the gym or attending a dinner party with just the right mix of folks. You suddenly find new energy, new insights, and new possibilities. A better version of you comes out to play, when you realize how much you share in common.
When any of us are trying to do something new or different – you don’t have to go it alone. Shifting from being a long wolf to learning how to travel in a pack. You can’t climb Mt Everest all by yourself.
I often remind myself, thanks to the lyrics of Jefferson Airplane:
“No man is an island.”
