Tell an Ish person to show up around 9 a.m., and you'll see them somewhere around 9 a.m. Tell them to show up at 9ish, and you'll see them anywhere from 9:05 to 9:20. You have given them license to dilly dally, and who wouldn't take advantage of that? The other night at the big shindig dinner party, one of the drummers said the rehearsal the next morning would begin at 9ish. "I am an ish person," he says. Immediately the clanker goes off in my head--oh, good, I thought. I can deliver my daughter a little late. No Ish person is early, so if you say 9ish, that does not mean give or take 5, 10, 15 minutes. It's exclusively a taking phrase. Take an extra 10 minutes to drink your cup of coffee. We won't mind. We're Ish people. Sunday's rehearsal started at 2:00. Because it was conducted by the same people who conducted the Saturday rehearsal, my understanding was 2-ISH. My daughter is worse than I am about taking liberties with Ish time frames, so she d...
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Good list, Rich.
Holding you back from what, however?
This time of year, I like kicking through piles of leaves and eating baked apples, squash (ick, Robyn) and chestnuts.
Fear of failure doesn't hold me back.
Keep your goals small. You get to grin a lot more that way.
My next goal is catching sight of autumn leaves against a blue sky. I get a lot of grinning done in November …
Dive, when I read Rich's list, I was slightly startled because those are my issues as well. I can't speak for Rich, but by "hold back," I mean keeps you from attempting to reach some of the larger goals. I can kick up leaves with the best of them, but it takes a lot more courage to play in a orchestra with seasoned musicians, and I'm the novice. And I've missed some opportunities because of fear and self-doubt.
I'm working on taking each goal, big or small, one at a time and remembering my successes.
Remembering successes is great, too. High point of my life? Coming out on stage alone in front of a little over 25,000 people, sticking one foot up on a monitor and gazing out at them; then cranking up my Les Paul and watching 'em go ape …
Believe me, that feels goooood.
And if I can do it, then you certainly can.
The other musicians, no matter how crustily seasoned they may be, all started out as novices. They know just how you feel and will be supportive.
Don't hold back. Fear of failure is merely ignorance of your own abilites. If you were not good enough to be in the orchestra, you would not be in the orchestra. Period.
I like to think that I have my seat because I'm good enough, but I sometimes wonder if I'm only there because I'm a volunteer, and our orchestra is short on cash. It was suggested once by a pompous ass in the group.
And ALL orchestras are short of cash.
As for 25,000: you get to play in front of a lot more than that at festivals, but they're not all there specifically to see you. That lot were a bit special and I shall hug them to me on my deathbed.
I played in front of about 15,000 people when I marched drum corps back in the day.. "dadedadedadaa"