I tried my hardest. I wrote the best lyrics I could write, with the best chords I could come up with and I gigged those songs with the best musicians I could find. I did this for 13 years.

Nothing happened.

All the gig venues stayed small. All the mailed out demos remained unanswered. All the Hot Press reviews remained unwritten. Despite trying everything I could think of, despite trying harder than I had ever tried at anything I had ever done, nothing happened. Slowly the flame went out, until eventually I had to admit I was sitting in the dark.

I realised that despite what I’d been taught by numerous inspirational movies, sometimes you try your hardest and nothing happens. Sometimes you’re just not good enough. So I decided to stop before I started to embarrass myself. That’s what you have to do I think: Stop, and if you have enough heart left in you, trim the gray hairs, shave the balding head, and try be something else. Learn to live with the fact that you need to make your dreams smaller.