It was 2010.

Years had gone by and life was the same. I tried so many things and kept an open mind. I got my real estate license. I went on auditions for film and theater every week. I took a job as a personal assistant to make extra money. I even started day trading which turned out to be a horrible idea.

I was fed up.

I was tired of working for minimum wage. Tired of people telling me what to do. I followed all the rules and did everything they told me yet I was still without any direction or meaning.

I was 23 years old and couldn’t understand why I was building other people’s dreams rather than my own.

The one thing that brought me happiness was Music.

I would play piano for hours and it seemed like time would drift away. I was learning and discovering new ideas daily, allowing myself to flow and let my hands do the talking. The process of discovery was always exciting.

Improvisation is a beautiful experience because it forces you to be purely in the moment. When you’re in the moment, its impossible for you to be thinking about anything else. When improvising music, it feels as if my hands have a mind of their own and ideas I never thought of would emerge.

im·pro·vise

/ˈimprəˌvīz/

verb

create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation.

To improvise is to be spontaneous. It is to be courageous. It is to not know what happens next. Being in that state of mind has always been exciting for me.

But music is emotion and sometimes its easy to get lost in the thrill of it all… Time to get back to work.

I was driving a white 18 foot box truck to deliver painting for an artist, Robert Bery. In the beginning it was fun. I drove from NYC to Miami for Art Basel, hung some paintings, got paid, and flew to Dominican Republic to visit a high school friend. It was the first time I ever left the country solo and it was a magical experience.

I was learning a new language, learning how to ride dirt bikes, meeting people from another country, and experiencing life from their perspective. I was living purely in the moment and I never knew life to be so adventurous! After 5 days I flew back to Miami to return the truck to NYC. When the entire trip was over I walked away with $500 in my pocket. I didnt realize I could explore the world, meet new people, have fun, work a little, AND make money!?

This was the seed.

Every day I would ask myself:

If I could do anything with my time what would I do?

It was clear to me.

I want to live a life doing the things that I loved most:

Traveling the world, meeting new people, discovering and learning new things daily, and making music.

Many people live life without ever finding true meaning.

What is the point of this thing called Life? Why are we here? It’s easy to abide by the rules and follow the same path as others. But you will never find true meaning this way.

You have a choice. Either you create meaning for yourself or have someone else create meaning for you.

You must be willing to go into the unknown and break the habit of doing what you are told.

You must be courageous and take the road less traveled to live a life worth living.