I've worked hard, but this business can be tough, and I just consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the career that I have, and to still be having so much fun playing drums and making music.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the balance between hard work and gratitude for one's achievements in a challenging field.
In this quote, Taylor Hawkins emphasizes the significance of hard work in achieving success, while also acknowledging the role of luck in his career. He expresses immense gratitude for the opportunities he has had to pursue his passion for music and the joy he finds in his work, highlighting that success is not solely the result of effort but also of fortunate circumstances.
In practice
This quote can inspire young musicians to remain grateful for their journeys.
In the studio you can auto tune vocals, and with drums, you can put them on a grid and make them perfect. I hate that sound. When someone hands me a record and the drums are perfectly gridded and the vocals are perfectly auto tuned, I throw it out the window. I have no interest in rock music being like that.
In hindsight, if I could go back in time and relay a message to my younger self, I would tell him to work on his time keeping, and that the job of a drummer is not to be the one that gets noticed the most on stage, or to be the fastest, or the loudest. Above all, it is to be the timekeeper.
I think the combination of graduate education in a field like Computer Science and the opportunity to apply this in a work environment like Microsoft is what drove me. The impact these opportunities create can lead to work that has broad, worldwide impact.
I'll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age.
Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance.
Without question, the single most important attribute of a successful entrepreneur is integrity. And that's not some philosophical or theoretical malarkey; it's hard-nosed fact.
You must value the business in order to value the stock.
If you want to make money playing poker, find a game with a few suckers, fish, donkeys, live ones, or whatever you choose to call a bad player. Just don't let that sucker be you.
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