The Difference Between Passion and Ambition (And Why it Matters for Your Music Career)
Image by Flickr user Martin Fisch.
The word “passion” is often slipped into conversations about music, as in: “I’m extremely passionate about this album that I have been writing for the past 6 years.”
But is passion enough if you are interested in a career in music?
Having passion is obviously a major plus, as it can help you get much further in anything that you do.
For instance, having a natural talent for a given trade is always a good thing, as it immediately sets you apart from 90% of people who might also wish to pursue it. Having that talent coupled with passion is better still, as you will enjoy pursuing the skills you are already naturally predisposed to, meaning you are likely to go much further with them. But even then, there is only so far you can go on talent and passion alone.
Throughout your life, you are likely to meet people who are extremely passionate about their music or engineering craft, but who still end up working on only a handful of projects here and there, keeping them from having a truly sustainable career in the industry.
It’s easy enough to find things you are passionate about, that make you feel engaged with what you are doing. Passion can help inspire you to improve, and make you wish that you could spend even more time pursuing your goals. But when it comes to our careers, passion alone isn’t enough.
The difference between the ones who wind up with sustainable careers in music and the ones who don’t is often the difference between passion and ambition. Passion is an emotion, whereas ambition is a mindset. Passion leads to action in the moment, while a deep-seated ambition leads to developing strategies that keep you going even when passion ebbs now and then.
Obviously, we should all feel those intense emotions of desire and drive when jumping head first into the music business. (Lord knows you’d better be passionate, as the money isn’t quite as good as it used to be.) But oftentimes, new entrants into the industry aren’t prepared for things like long hours and sporadic paychecks that are a month and a half late already. It takes a passionate individual to take the plunge into this industry, but it takes ambition and the will to work long hard hours in order to stay afloat.
Ambition, and the presence of so many ambitious individuals, is what sets an industry like ours apart from many others. Working the 9-to-5 is safe, and oftentimes comfortable, but to the successful music-makers out there, that kind of life is a cage. We thrive on building and connecting every single day. We thrive on being business owners and independent contractors and masters of our own destinies.
Every step of the way is a new and exciting challenge, and it takes a person who is both passionate and ambitious to wake up every morning and ask: “What can I do to get ahead today?”
So, to all of those hopeful musicians or engineers out there who are passionate about music but can’t get a foothold, ask yourself: “Though I may be passionate and emotionally invested, do I have the ambition, the mindset, and the strategies to work on this every day and figure out how to make it into a career?”
You can choose to be an amateur at music and live a very rich and creatively rewarding life, and you can choose to be professional and be miserable with it, or vice versa. Either way, the most important thing is to know your interests and know your goals.
Life is too short to spend it wishing for something you really don’t want. And life also is too short not to jump in with both feet if that’s what you’re really driven to do.
A love of music is built on passion. A fruitful and impressive hobby in music is built on passion plus talent. But a career in music is built on passion, plus talent, plus ambition and drive.
Garion Wells is a producer and engineer who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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