As a person who considers himself to be a good
musician, I know how difficult it is to have to work a menial,
dead-end day job, while knowing that I had other talents that were
not being used. Talents that I felt had exceeded the requirements of
the type of jobs I had been working.
Although I believe that a truly wise man as well as a good manager
or supervisor sees the potential of an individual, In our society,
people often base their opinions of someone else upon what they are
currently doing for a living and not what their potential is. I
don't think people realize how common it is that people with
exceptional abilities are often forced to work a job that is, quite
frankly, beneath their talents, experience and knowledge.
I will give you some examples of the types of jobs some musicians
I've known have had to work to pay their bills. I'll use fictitious
names like "Joe Guitar", "Joe Drummer" and etc. to avoid
embarrassing them. So without any further stalling, let's get to it:
Joe guitar worked at a slaughterhouse that cut up dead cows and
horses that were dragged off of fields and the meat was used for dog
food. Sometimes a cow might be lying in a field for a day or two
before they called his company to have it removed. So they would
sometimes be bloated and would make a hissing sound when joe would
go to skin it. I'll spare you the more grisly details.
Joe Drummer worked for a disaster restoration company that would
deal with water, mold, fire and smoke damage. The worst would be
sewer or septic backups. Sometimes an entire basement would be
filled with sewage that had backed up through a toilet in the
basement. He would have to drain out the septic sludge and cut out
the sludge drenched carpeting and bag it up to haul outside and load
into the truck.
Joe the keyboard player worked at a powder coatings factory. They
made the powder coatings that is sprayed on metal and baked on. It
is much more durable than paint, by the way. The factory workers
would usually take on the color of the powder coatings that were
being made each day. If they were making blue, they'd all be blue
and smurf-like in appearance. If it was yellow, then they would all
look jaundiced.
Joe the singer worked at a factory that manufactured vinyl wall
covering. There was always the strong overpowering stench of the
inks and various solvents that permeated the place. God only knows
how many years that cut off Joe's life. But don't worry; it just
cuts the years off of the end of his life. Those are usually the
worst years anyway.
I could list a number of other jobs some musicians I've known have
had to work but I won't bother to list them all due to the fact that
this article might go on for ever. I just wanted to present the case
that if you are among the ranks of musicians forced to work a job
you hate, you are not alone.
It can be difficult sometimes when you know for sure that you are
capable of doing more. Yet the real opportunities for you to show
what you are capable of seem to never arise. Quite often, for most
people, they don't. You see, the real opportunities don't come to
you. The real opportunities are the ones that you pursue.
So maybe you've also had to work that horrible day job to pay the
bills while waiting for opportunity to come knocking on your door.
Let's face it though; opportunity doesn't even know where you live.
You have to find his address and knock on his door.
I knew I was capable of doing more than what I was doing for a
living. You know that you are capable of doing more. So go out and
do it! Find the time. Make the time. Show the world what you're made
of. Show them all how wrong they are about you. You might even
surprise yourself.
About the Author:
Bob Craypoe is a musician, writer cartoonist, 3D artist, webmaster and
entrepreneur who resides in Northern New Jersey. He is the creator
of Guitar4Blind.com (a site that teaches the visually impaired how
to play guitar), Punksters.net (punk rock comic strip) and other
websites. His instrumental CD
To Infinity
is currently available on Amazon.com and his music site is
www.craypoe.com/bob All of his websites may be accessed from
www.craypoe.com. |
|
