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You are here: Home / Guitar / Thoughts on the Road: Just Go For It!

Thoughts on the Road: Just Go For It!

By Adam Rafferty 3 Comments

Greets Gang!  I am on a morning train from Dresden to Osnabruck, Germany today…it’s a sunny morning, and my eyes are barely open…

I just finished 4 days in the Czech Republic playing for the “Guitar Across Styles” festival, and had a wonderful visit there.

Adam Rafferty - Fingerstyle Guitar in Prague October 9, 2011
Adam Rafferty - Fingerstyle Guitar in Prague October 9, 2011

As I sit on the train, I am feeling tired but very happy. As I reflect on that….

Quite often I get messages from younger fans who struggle with whether to go into music professionally or something more “stable”.

I am in no position to comment on what anyone should or shouldn’t do – so, this is not about choosing music or not.

However, it is important that you, I and everyone just “go for it” in our lives through a position of strength and courage – as opposed to a fearful, careful sense of living.

There was a time in my life that I knew I wanted to play guitar full time, but always had a “backup safety plan” which invariably became the “plan”.  (A little study of the “Law of Attraction” would explain why this happens! )

I had to have a lot of courage (cahones) to “go for it”.   This came after years of feeling a “dissonance” between my day to day life and my dreams – and living  a frustrating life for some years.

Each time I would shed a “steady” job (that I felt I needed for survival) it took an enormous amount of courage.

I would feel like the wheels were coming off, it was so stressful with each courageous step!  And like diving from a high diving board, I had to leap – and it was scary as hell.

This morning I am quite tired, sitting on a train, carrying heavy crapola on the road all over Europe…this is a job I’d do for no one if were it just for the money.  But it’s not – it’s for the love of what I do.

The warm feeling in my belly is exactly the opposite (and absence) of the gut wrenching aggravation I felt many years ago of having a dream, yet not having the courage to go for it.

Eventually I took the leap…with no safety net.  To my surprise, I am flying better than ever.  So can you!!!

When you have the courage to go for it, and actually do in fact go for it – it’s the greatest feeling in the world.

So – Swami Raffanada’s advice for the day is….whatever your dreams are, just go for it!  It’s worth it.

Filed Under: Guitar, Jazz Education, Law of Attraction, Personal Developement, Success, Tour Diary

About Adam Rafferty

I’m Adam Rafferty – a guitar player born and raised in New York City, and currently spending most of my time on tour playing concerts and coaching my guitar students online at StudyWithAdam.com

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roland Kalus says

    October 13, 2011 at 10:07 am

    Hi Adam, this is just one thing – true! Let’s go for it!

    Reply
  2. Misha Sakharoff says

    October 13, 2011 at 11:04 am

    Dear Adam, I wish all the best on your path 🙂

    Reply
  3. dave says

    October 14, 2011 at 11:02 am

    hmmmmm…..sounds like you have been channeling Steve Jobs……

    “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” Steve Jobs commencement speach at Stanford 2005

    Reply

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