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About
this series
Last week when I began this series, Motivation
for Guitarists, I didn't fully explain my plan.
Instead, I just dove right in discussing an aspect of
motivation that was on my mind. So I'll take a moment
to explain what I'm up to. Each week I want to write
a brief article that inspires you to play, practice,
record, and perform with your guitar. I'll be discussing
what I've learned about motivation but I'm not covering
these topics in an A to Z fashion. This series will
be more like a blog and it may end up actually becoming
a blog. Each week I'll discuss whatever topic comes
to mind concerning motivation and may end up eventually
editing the entire topic into a cohesive guide. For
now I just want to have fun writing about what inspires
and motivates me. For obvious reasons I'm discussing
Motivation for Guitarists,
but the information I'm writing about can be applied
to all aspects of your life.
When
I was a child my dad took the Dale Carnegie management
training program. As part of his studies he read some
of the most popular inspirational and motivational books
of the era. The first book he read was Dale Carnegie's
How to Win Friends and Influence People. After
he studied the book it somehow ended up in my hands.
Knowing dad he probably bribed me to read it, "Read
the entire thing and I'll give you $10." I'm not
sure if that was the case but we did make similar deals.
In another deal we made I remember he offered a dollar
for each book of the bible I read. I only made it halfway
through Genesis so that didn't work out in my favor.
I
remember being inspired by the Dale Carnegie book but
that happened so long ago that I don't remember the
impact. I'm sure that the book was influential but don't
remember which specific lessons I learned by reading
it. Chances are that some of the motivational information
that I pass on to others came from what I learned from
reading How to Win Friends and Influence People.
"If
you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead
of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets
you, not the loss of sleep."
- Dale
Carnegie
When
I was about to turn sixteen I wanted to get my learner's
permit. Dad insisted that I take driver's education
first. I was as stubborn then as I am now so dad finally
relented. One day he handed me Norman Vincent Peale's
book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Dad wrote
in the book, "After you've read this book we'll
get started driving." That was another amazing
book that inspired and motivated me. Dad died before
he had a chance to teach me to drive but he gave me
something a lot more important than driving lessons
- he helped motivate me for life.
Through
the years I've continued to study motivational material.
Probably the best stuff was written and recorded by
Anthony Robbins. While recording the 1992 version of
The Complete Basic Course I was studying his material
and it gave me the motivation to actually complete the
project. Those of you that have studied the 1992 version
are familiar with my motivational pep talks that were
included at the beginning of each lesson. When I read
student reviews of the course on our forum usually the
most favorable comments about the earlier program pertains
to the motivational aspect of it.
Motivation
is like water - that's right grasshopper
If you read the article that I wrote last week (newsletter)
you may have been quite inspired for a day or two. As
each day passes the inspiration decreases. That is the
one aspect of inspirational messages that used to bother
me. There was a point in my life when I thought, "Why
bother? This feeling won't last. I'm not really going
to change." Eventually, I realized that wasn't
true at all. Every time I'm motivated I do things that
change me and often change others. Sometimes being motivated
even for a short period of time changes my life and
others in amazing ways.
Here's
an example. As I mentioned, I was quite motivated while
working on the 1992 version of the course. That motivation
translated into many of my students being motivated
to become better guitarists. Many also applied what
they learned to other aspects of their life. The motivation
allowed me to create a course that didn't need to be
revised for seventeen years! That's powerful stuff.
So
here's today's lesson. You don't drink a glass of water
and say, "That's it, I've had all the water I need
for a lifetime." Instead you realize that the daily
consumption of water is necessary to sustain life. Motivation
is like that too.
Sometime
this week stop by a library or book store and browse
through the motivational section. Pick up something
that speaks to your passion. If you don't have time
to browse, check out Amazon. I also like to watch
The Big Idea hosted by Donnie Deutsche, on CNBC.
It's on five nights a week and always has a positive,
motivational message. It's important to develop the
habit of seeking inspiration.
I've
included motivational material in my course from the
very beginning. In 1984 my ex-wife, Londa and I wrote
a monthly motivational newsletter called The Metal Message
during the entire year of 1984. (a copy of is included
with the original audio
version of the course)
Earlier
this week I received an e-mail from one of my first
Metal Method students and he referred to that era. I
would like to share a piece of his message with you.
Here's the quote from my former student, Rusty
Cooley who is today a well known guitar virtuoso:
"I
don't know if I have told you this before but I used
to take the lesson booklets to school and stick them
inside my school books so I could study guitar all day.
My cassette player would loop the (basic course) cassettes
in my headphones all night as I slept and I would read
all of the Metal Messages as well. You have had
a huge impact on my playing and life including setting
goals and developing a plan of action to attain my goals.
I started reading self help and motivational books in
high school and still buy them today and listen to them
while driving my H3."
Now
go find yourself a good book and seek your own inspiration.
Series
Continued: Part 3
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