Work. When is enough enough?

Thanks again for your responses. And especially your concern. And Bermuda, your joke. :)

I don't mean to complain. That was not my intention. The issue on Saturday was a scare. But then I did not cancel my Sunday lessons because I wanted out of the hospital so I could teach. And was glad to catch that cab and ended up teachin 5 great classes. A new adult student was thrilled to bits and really inspired.

Larry may well be correct. I never eat home cooked meals. I can't because my kitchen is full of instruments. There's 10 snares on the stove! But I make sure I get plenty of veges in my diet.

Andy speaks of 80 hours a week doing manual labour and that has the affect of making me relish my own job more and want to simply do more.

I am lucky and I know it. I also recognise it is my hwrd work and determination that got me here. I broke my back and even while unable to walk and in bed I kept playing my pracice pad. Then when worry about my legs began I delved into hand percussion and would be in bed practising pandeiro. When out of sheer frustration with my inability to face my new situation, as she called it, my woman left me.I kept going. But I proved her wrong and here I am again. My second musical career. I doubt I'd get a third.

And make no mistake. I love it. I am simply interested how others deal.
 
When a business raises prices, it makes me re-evaluate weather or not it's worth the new price compared to the competition. Value is a sliding scale.


That is the whole point. The clients that find value in your service will stay, the ones that don't will leave. The goal in this case is to do less work for the same or more money.
 
Thanks again for your responses. And especially your concern. And Bermuda, your joke. :)

I don't mean to complain. That was not my intention. The issue on Saturday was a scare. But then I did not cancel my Sunday lessons because I wanted out of the hospital so I could teach. And was glad to catch that cab and ended up teachin 5 great classes. A new adult student was thrilled to bits and really inspired.

Larry may well be correct. I never eat home cooked meals. I can't because my kitchen is full of instruments. There's 10 snares on the stove! But I make sure I get plenty of veges in my diet.

Andy speaks of 80 hours a week doing manual labour and that has the affect of making me relish my own job more and want to simply do more.

I am lucky and I know it. I also recognise it is my hwrd work and determination that got me here. I broke my back and even while unable to walk and in bed I kept playing my pracice pad. Then when worry about my legs began I delved into hand percussion and would be in bed practising pandeiro. When out of sheer frustration with my inability to face my new situation, as she called it, my woman left me.I kept going. But I proved her wrong and here I am again. My second musical career. I doubt I'd get a third.

And make no mistake. I love it. I am simply interested how others deal.

Reading this last post, and I am not joking here, I can only hope you are, you need professional help.
 
I think you just need a vacation....
I used to work with my hobby and was an workaholic but after around 3 months of working every single day including weekends and no social life I felt the need for a break and went for a weeks holiday. funny enough it was often a work-holiday but it still felt much better when I came back and my work was fresh again! I kept having those vacations every 2-3 months. If you don't feel just like going to the beach for a week every 2 months, how about making a business-trip? Maybe arrange a gig somewhere in a different town, preferably at the coast so u also can get out and get some sunshine! I loved that life btw and am getting back into it now.. doing your passion full-stop is a great feeling but we all need regularly vacations so we don't burn out.
 
Well thanks Mikel for your input.

A student's father, who is a builder, recently had a serious operation on his arm. It seems strenuous work over a lifetime has left him worse for wear. This guy dutifully brings his son every week. And every time I see him he is covered in dirt from his efforts. He went back to work a week after his operation.

I am no better and no different. I am a man. I work. What would you have me do, lie down and give up? I have to keep moving. Just like Andy. Nobody is going to support me. Nobody is going to develop my chops. Look at Kenny Aronoff. He works way harder than me. I have pneumonia. It is as I thought. That coupled with serious arthritis and chronic pain has affected me. I am going to turn down gigs for a few weeks but keep teaching. I am not contagious. so my students are safe.

Any serious musician who has experienced long tours knows the fatigue. My case reminds me of that. Who hasn't had a bucket by the hats in which to vomit? I have a story involving a mirror, a scalpel, maxi pad and piles that would make your head spin. But what was I to do in the middle of nowhere without a doctor, a three hour show to play and another day in the van to look forward to followed by another month of the same?

Being a pro musician is not for everyone. It drives me. I used my own situation to describe how I am dealing with work and the visisitudes of everyday life.

Not everyone made a million bucks playing in huge arena bands. I am just one guy supporting myself doing what I love. Is it wrong for me to do that? I am 49 and I've been in the workforce since 1972. Working is all I know.

If this means I am crazy, then I am crazy and you should not expect sane decision making on my part.
 
Andy speaks of 80 hours a week doing manual labour and that has the affect of making me relish my own job more and want to simply do more.
Not 80 hours of manual labour these days. I used heavy manual labour when renovating a large property/grounds as my own version of therapy. Right now, those 80 hours consist of 56 hours Guru Drums, 24 hours engineering consultancy.

I have pneumonia.
I had double pneumonia many years ago. Not something you should take lightly Wy. Ok, modern antibiotics make a pretty fast job of getting rid of those shadows, but don't under estimate the cumulative scarring, & the warning shot it's just fired across your bows!

Working is all I know.

should not expect sane decision making on my part.
Unfortunately for both of us, I think we share a similar work ethic. It's an addiction. More powerful than any other addiction, & going "cold turkey" makes it worse, not better. The best we can hope for is to heed the messages our bodies send out, & at least for a while, throttle back a bit. Amazing how quickly we slip back into our old ways though isn't it Wy? :(
 
Wy, I think deep down you are worried. You know you need to take a break and sort your health issues out. Otherwise consciously or not you wouldn't have posted this on this forum.

I think this was a mini cry for help, a way of forcing yourself to hear what you didn't want to hear... that you need a break.

Good clients will understand if you have to turn work away for a while because of your health.

The answer to your thread title. "Work, when is enough enough?". When you can no longer work due to ill health!
 
You've been in the workforce since you were eight???

Dutch

Yes. I ran away from a violent home. Dangerous father. Mother tried to strangle me. Long story. I have spoken of it here in the past. My first job was working on an outback aerodrome. By 18 I'd had 21 full time jobs including hunter, jackaroo, fisherman on a trawler and many other things. I was even a full contact fighter.

Like I said, long story. I really don't want to go into it again. Not so long ago I spoke of a later violent sexual attack that left me living alone in a rain forrest. Speaking of it here embarrassed me. Mikel thinks I need help. I have been to a psychiatrist and told him my story. By the time I was done the room was full of doctors with open mouths. They told me I was sane. Perhaps a bit shocked. But I have done what I loved and succeeded in every pursuit I have taken on. I am simply getting older and my body is showing the the wear. I've had 29 broken bones.

Shit happens mate. No big deal. :)
 
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Wy, I think deep down you are worried. You know you need to take a break and sort your health issues out. Otherwise consciously or not you wouldn't have posted this on this forum.

I think this was a mini cry for help, a way of forcing yourself to hear what you didn't want to hear... that you need a break.

Good clients will understand if you have to turn work away for a while because of your health.

The answer to your thread title. "Work, when is enough enough?". When you can no longer work due to ill health!


You may well be right. I am not one to believe I am infalible. I have made too many mistakes. The visit to the hospital did worry me.

But you know, head down and carry on. I am not gigging for a month. People posting here made me decide on this. So thanks guys.

I owe this site a lot. It was drummerworld members who convinced me to try to pick up my career after I recovered. It is why I react so quickly to trolls.

My family is the world of drummers. I am obsessed with rhythm and drumming. I care a great deal about this community. It is my only in group. If I went on holiday you know what I'd be doing? I would be on a practice pad. Ask Grea. Every time I went to her place all I did was play rudiments. It cannot be too surprizing on a drumming forum surely? :)
 
The way I do it in my business is raise my prices. Supply and demand. . I make more money , work less and have a better quality of life.
 
Andy you know me well. I will do as you suggest and be careful.
 
I think you just need a vacation....
I used to work with my hobby and was an workaholic but after around 3 months of working every single day including weekends and no social life I felt the need for a break and went for a weeks holiday. funny enough it was often a work-holiday but it still felt much better when I came back and my work was fresh again! I kept having those vacations every 2-3 months. If you don't feel just like going to the beach for a week every 2 months, how about making a business-trip? Maybe arrange a gig somewhere in a different town, preferably at the coast so u also can get out and get some sunshine! I loved that life btw and am getting back into it now.. doing your passion full-stop is a great feeling but we all need regularly vacations so we don't burn out.


Wise words. Many thanks. :)
 
Wy, I think deep down you are worried. You know you need to take a break and sort your health issues out. Otherwise consciously or not you wouldn't have posted this on this forum.

I think this was a mini cry for help, a way of forcing yourself to hear what you didn't want to hear... that you need a break.

Good clients will understand if you have to turn work away for a while because of your health.

The answer to your thread title. "Work, when is enough enough?". When you can no longer work due to ill health!

It was either a cry for help or a "Look at me aren't I clever, look at what I have sacrificed for my drumming". If the way you are doing things has cost you your marriage and is costing you your health It is plainly not sensible to go on that way.
I am not taking a pop, I am genuinely concerned about you.
 
If this means I am crazy, then I am crazy and you should not expect sane decision making on my part.

Well, I reckon that with any extreme passion comes a little craziness and obsession, sane decisions, which means cutting back and restraining that lifetime passion, gets relegated into the background, the passion is what gets us going and always wanting more, it is what helps us to carry on, no matter what life's throwing at us, where there's a will, there's a way.

Enough will be enough when you decide Wy, but I believe you won't make that decision in your lifetime, the mind is powerful and when it's linked with our passion and obsession, it's pretty unbeatable, even if it's quite scary sometime.

Get well soon Wy and don't do what I won't do... but if you do, (as I know you will) be careful... :)
 
It was either a cry for help or a "Look at me aren't I clever, look at what I have sacrificed for my drumming". If the way you are doing things has cost you your marriage and is costing you your health It is plainly not sensible to go on that way.
I am not taking a pop, I am genuinely concerned about you.

We were not married. Anyway, she left me when I broke my back. I am better off. Thanks for your concern.

Also it is not a matter of look at my sacrifice. I knew other kids who died. I am lucky. To me life is a battle. One must fight to live. A mate of mine on this site fought in Afghanistan. Things are simply what they are. To speak of actual events is not to whine. It is simply to speak of the past. And every past led to this point. I have simply been attempting to show how much I love drumming. I do what I love. How is this showing off when I state I am afraid to lose it? Since when is vulnerability strength? Excuse me while I puff out my chest and tell you I am scared????

Just take the words for what they are. I have no need to be a he man. As stated, I have made many mistakes. A wiser more intelligent individual would have gotten more out of my life. I am just a drummer with a few snare drums.

No big deal.
 
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Well, I reckon that with any extreme passion comes a little craziness and obsession, sane decisions, which means cutting back and restraining that lifetime passion, gets relegated into the background, the passion is what gets us going and always wanting more, it is what helps us to carry on, no matter what life's throwing at us, where there's a will, there's a way.

Enough will be enough when you decide Wy, but I believe you won't make that decision in your lifetime, the mind is powerful and when it's linked with our passion and obsession, it's pretty unbeatable, even if it's quite scary sometime.

Get well soon Wy and don't do what I won't do... but if you do, (as I know you will) be careful... :)

Cheers mate. :)

I also want to add that people who do this for a living should be able to speak of it. To talk about my career is not showing off. I am just talking about my job. If this were an automotive site and I was a mechanic, would I be accused of showing off if I stated I was tired? A bit unfair if you ask me.
 
Cheers mate. :)

I also want to add that people who do this for a living should be able to speak of it. To talk about my career is not showing off. I am just talking about my job. If this were an automotive site and I was a mechanic, would I be accused of showing off if I stated I was tired? A bit unfair if you ask me.

No, but if you were a mechanic that made himself ill through massive overwork, and checked out of hospital to get back under a car, and then came on a site and told people about it? Then yes.
 
Yes. I ran away from a violent home. Dangerous father. Mother tried to strangle me. Long story. I have spoken of it here in the past. My first job was working on an outback aerodrome. By 18 I'd had 21 full time jobs including hunter, jackaroo, fisherman on a trawler and many other things. I was even a full contact fighter.

Like I said, long story. I really don't want to go into it again. Not so long ago I spoke of a later violent sexual attack that left me living alone in a rain forrest. Speaking of it here embarrassed me. Mikel thinks I need help. I have been to a psychiatrist and told him my story. By the time I was done the room was full of doctors with open mouths. They told me I was sane. Perhaps a bit shocked. But I have done what I loved and succeeded in every pursuit I have taken on. I am simply getting older and my body is showing the the wear. I've had 29 broken bones.

Shit happens mate. No big deal. :)

Considering your past and the fact that you're still here, can only mean you must have been making the right choices at the right time. Just look after yourself.

Dutch
 
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