I Am A rock Star! At doing body work. Simply because I have worked at it every day for decades now. And because I had a really good teacher. My Dad. Senior taught me that every aspect of body work was an art. Keep in mind his own mother once remarked he could not blow his nose without making it a work of art. I tend to approach every aspect of my life as an artist. Everything from my work day, to rehabbing my house to my music is basically an art project of some kind.  There is a certain amount of tediousness with no artistic merit whatsoever thrown in for good measure. 

Nearing the end of my Navy Reserve career I faced High Year Tenure. It was imperative for me to make the leap from E-6 to E-7, Chief Petty Officer, to buy a few more years serving as an active reservist. I studied for the advancement exam like never before. I maxed out my Physical Requirements Test. My friend Bryan I had served with for over a decade and who had risen to Master Chief and was poised to take the position of senior enlisted in the command  told me they were working on my Eval and were going to make me a Rock Star. On paper. 

Unfortunately my High Year Tenure date fell between the day I would have taken the Chief's test and the day the the results would have been released. So I retired as a First Class Gunner's Mate with an Expeditionary Warfare Specialist qual and years of soaking up the attitude in the NSW community. Whatever amount I receive in retirement benefits when I turn 60 pales in comparison to the benefit of observing the day to day of true Rock Stars at what they do for so many years. 

The secret of the NSW community is everything they do is mechanics. Muscle memory. It becomes second nature. That is how you become a Rock Star. All in, all the time. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Pays to be a winner. The only easy day was yesterday. 

In a nut shell, this is how I approach being a singer songwriter. It is a combination of my two careers. My day job, which I am really good at, and my side hustle for many years where I got to see up close and personal ordinary people excel and shine as true Rock Stars. Everything I do is an exercise of one kind or another. Songwriting sit-ups, Music production push-ups, social media squats. Trying to build muscle memory into every aspect of the art of wearing my heart on my sleeve and making it work. 

I am having the time of my life gearing up for my second childhood!