Having too many choices is a problem. What? Yes, you read right… having too many choices is a problem. At least for me. I’ll explain why.

See, I’ve had quite a blessed life. As a kid my parents always supported anything I would ever set my mind to. For example, I wanted to play guitar so they bought me a guitar. I wanted to go to private school so they put me in the school of my choice, I wanted to DJ so they got me some DJ gear and I certainly DJ’ed. later on I wanted to play drums so they bought me a drum set and I would bang on that thing day in and day out, but then… then I wanted to produce electronic music and so they got me what I needed for that too. I could go on like this with a multitude of instruments and other extracurricular activities that I felt like engaging in.

To get to the point, using the story of my musical adventures, I always played whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and no one could stop me. In fact, the neighbors DID try to stop me a few times but it was because I was driving them crazy with the drums and all that noise, so my dad and I turned one of the rooms of our house in South Florida into a soundproof studio, where I would invite all my friends over to jam out for hours and hours and days and weeks at a time. This went on for years.

After a long time of having a rich life, times began changing and the economic crash of 2008 took a toll on my parents fortune. We began selling everything in order to de-bulk from an extreme case of “too much baggage and not enough money” and they eventually sold the house we were in and moved back to our home country of Venezuela and into their old house at the top of a hill. I ended up moving into an apartment in Miami Beach by myself and a few years later to Chicago where I am currently living.

Ok back to the point… After having had any instrument I wanted and then going through the struggle of having to sell most of them, or choosing to let go of one in order to obtain another, I learned that back in the day, I never really appreciated having all of these privileges as much as I should have, until one by one they were all gone.

Sometimes I read stories of successful artist and musicians who started with a broken up trumpet or an old wooden piano that was missing keys, and they played that ONE instrument so much that it eventually became a part of them. They would practice so much that every time they played it, the music that would come out was flawless and rich and it eventually even made them rich… like, wealthy rich, and famous and loved by totally random people they’ve never even met. You know, fans.

Now I look at myself and think, holy smokes, I’ve had decades to master an instrument yet I haven’t mastered shit. Why? Because I’ve been so busy switching from instrument to instrument all the time instead of just focusing on mastering a single one. Ok so I can play a bunch of instruments… yay! Now, have I stirred anyone’s emotions with my music? Can I leave someone wanting more and more of it? Can I empower or inspire someone to achieve something great with their lives and all because of that one song they just can’t get enough of? I haven’t had such luck yet. Or at least no one has told me so. My closest friends always tell me that I’m brilliant and I should just focus on recording music, yet I’m so busy figuring out what song to work on that I never finish anything. I have a hard-drive with hundreds, literally, hundreds of unfinished music projects and how many releases? Zero. This must change soon.

To finally get to the REAL point… having too many options is not always a good thing. In my case, and with my lack of ability to focus on just one thing, I now have a really hard time finishing up just one great song. My message to anyone out there who read this whole thing is this:

As soon as you find something you like a lot and you feel like you could be great at that, DO IT! And focus on just that. Do it with a passion and do it well. Whether you are feeling good or not, whether its a good day or not, you will ultimately master that one thing, whatever it is. And it will lead you to your moment of glory. It doesn’t have to be music. It could be any other art form or even some kind of business or other activity or sport. Just focus on that one thing and learn to love it as much as possible and try not to get bored with it. Just be patient and keep going with it. You will save yourself the hassle of coming to the realization later on, that you’ve spent so much time trying to be the best at everything that you can’t really do a single thing at its best.

—Holsem