Maybe you should get a job turning things into crap, lol. I mean Midas had the golden touch, maybe you have the crap touch.
(You know I’m just kidding around with you).
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I’m completely incapable of performing due to an extremely severe case of performance anxiety in front of any size audience.
So, you ask me why it is that I study piano performance? That, is a very, very good question.
Sounds like my sex life.
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If you imagine people are listening while you practice it helps. Stop thinking that playing for an audience is any different. That’s just letting them distract you.
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I know you’re kidding. 
and maybe I should. Could be the Fertilizer Queen and make a ton of money.
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What size of an audience do you need? 
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Just three dwarfs and a one-eyed, albino raccoon.
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I get the raccoon. But why dwarves, like the ones from Snow White?
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It’s more likely that I’ve done a lot of failing to try out of fear of failing along with low anticipation of success.
Here’s my list of successes:
…*graduated hs
…*won 3 journalism awards of community college
As you can see, I’m unfair to myself by not counting other successes. I’m also unfair toward strangers.
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Yeah, Dopey, Sleazy, and Humpy.
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You can’t leave out Gassy. He’s an important dwarf.
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Not very popular at parties and Bar Mitzva’s though.
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Is this a bad time to mention that you still owe me $10?
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A bar of gold will be in the mail.
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You guys are a hoot and a half 
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About piano lessons: As a choral student, an instrument takes FOREVER to perfect. This is really not a failure at all. To be honest, achieving intermediate level in piano may take 20-30 years in some people, especially if you have learned it starting from adulthood.
The advanced level, like sonatas and Chopin’s etudes, are really, really hard. REALLY hard. I can’t play it and it often takes a student to major in studies, like music, to perfect the piano skills. I can play some sonatas but Chopin’s etudes are another level of studies…honestly it’s really difficult to learn it.
The point is, you haven’t failed. Piano is a very difficult instrument requiring versatility and techniques.
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I tried going back to community college and failed over 3 times. Every time I fail. I didn’t even get to the part where I could register for classes.
I’m about to sound like one big cliche, but for everyone in this thread saying they failed something, I firmly believe you only fail when you stop trying. Most failures aren’t failures because they are a step towards where we are going to be. We are constantly evolving, changing, and becoming new versions of ourselves.
Failures only matter when you don’t learn something valuable.
I see everyone in this thread and none of you are failures. @Aziz is graduating. @anon28145038 the fact that you keep trying to go to college shows that you have the desire. This is the building block to success.
@SkinnyMe regardless of if you are considered “intermediate” or not you still stuck with learning for 14 years. That itself is success. Dedication and persistence are the pillars of success, and sticking with something for 14 years is definitely considered dedication and persistence. I remember you saying that you practice for an hour or more everyday? Most people on this planet don’t dedicate that amount of time to practicing their craft. Most people don’t have the grind to do it day in and day out.
@anon4362788, I don’t know your entire situation but you’re a published author and I’m willing to bet a damn good mom. Kids act out, they are supposed to be monsters running around trying to find their own way through life. The measure of a good parent isn’t if their kids behave, but it is that the kid is comfortable enough going to their parents for help when they get in trouble. It is knowing that they are loved unconditionally regardless of what mistakes they make. I’m pretty sure your kids know this just by going by what you’ve said about them in the past. I was a complete f-up growing up. Drugs, sex, and rock 'n roll was my theme. My mom was there for me through every failure, every bad decision, and every hangover. My parents never had all the answers, but they loved me and that’s enough. I know you love your kids, and time will show that this is enough.
@77nick77, you’re one of the most successful people I know of on these forums. You have lived through enough crap to write three books and inspire a movie and a miniseries. I can’t praise you enough for where you are now.
I wish I could tell everyone here how successful you all are. The biggest thing is we are still fighting. We are fighting a challenge that most people will never be able to comprehend, and we are turning ordinary goals into great feats of unimaginable difficulty.
We tend to focus on what we can’t do when compared to “ordinary” people, but I’d like to point out that we can do things ordinary people can’t, because we have to adapt and overcome. The fact that we are still six feet above the ground shows that we are adapting and overcoming. Imagine a PhD student trying to pass their classes when they are hearing 20+ voices.
Mental illness is like living life on difficulty hard, and to me it makes all of your successes that much more impressive.
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I failed at my career 11 years ago. It shattered me. I’ve never been so demoralized and lost before. I can’t get my $hit together, and it’s been 11 years. I feel like Sisyphus.
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