Use older people in your profession to teach you a valuable lesson
I go to two types of industry events where people my age go, those who are very successful and still in the loop and to those where the people go who never grow and are stuck on yesterday and what used to be. There are people who work in the industry who are well into their 60s but most of that small population are extremely successful. There are others who hang on waiting for another basic opportunity at 50 years of age. They eventually become bitter and/or sad and they feel as if the industry threw them away but the truth is, they were not prepared and it##Q##s very depressing to watch. Had I not started my own business, for example, in my early 30s I would not still be in the music industry today. There was no way I would have allowed myself to be a 50 year old DJ unless I was Rick Dees or Casey Kasem but there are 50 year old DJs and older who are still where they were 20 years ago. That may be perfectly fine for them but it would not have been OK for me. A few years ago, I went to a party for a man who was leaving LA. He had worked in the industry for 40 years and he was ready to retire and he was moving to another state. I went to his event and there were many older people there in their 60s and 70s. It was literally like an old folks home. They were just sitting there as if someone had stolen the life out of them. They were barely talking or smiling they were just sitting there. These people were HUGE in the music industry 20 or 30 years ago but the industry was done with them and it was like they were lost without the industry. Someone whipped out a stack of photo albums from 30 years ago and those people lit up like Christmas trees. They were laughing, singing, dancing and having an amazing time by connecting to what was. It was terribly unfortunate to me but I was glad to see them happy. At the same time, I realized I did not want that to be me when I get older. When I get older (God willing) I want to STILL be working, producing and connected to great current things and people. What I am basically saying is, if you want to see who you will become in 20 years by doing what you are doing now, talk to one of those people and see what kind of advice they can give you based on where you are now. I##Q##m willing to BET you they will tell you to diversify your talents.