Musicians, stop questioning everything you do

Today's video is a bit different. I wanted to talk about something that affects everyone from struggling beginners to successful professionals: impostor syndrome. In a nutshell, this is the phenomenon of doubting that what you're doing is cool or feeling like you're on the verge of being outed as a fraud. What causes it? How do we overcome it? YES, you can do something to fight it. A couple of somethings, actually. This video is about how I overcame mine. Thanks for watching!

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0:00 Welcome from snowed-in Nashville!
1:20 Every creative person deals with this at some point.
2:13 Impostor syndrome.
3:40 At times, I envy those who DON'T do what they love for a living.
5:45 A couple examples of triggers
8:23 Don’t take others' failure to follow through personally
9:09 Social media is a trigger for many.
11:05 What can one do to combat it?
11:26 1. Separate your self esteem from your playing.
13:59 The SECRET to all of this.
18:31 2. Practice cures impostor syndrome
20:13 Progress through practice looks different than we expect.
22:21 Concluding thoughts
Please SUBSCRIBE, and thanks for hanging out!

[robertcella]

Love your channel and your trust me....those of us who work jobs we dont love bring all kinds of things home with us. Nobody is immune from this nonsense.

[dekeknox]

I worked 40 years as a freelance cameraman… always waiting for a call. Jobs could be for one day or one year, you just need faith that something good will turn up. Finally, just as I retired I won an Emmy. I see a lot of parallels between the session musician and the film/TV pro.

[PhoShzel]

I get so much out of your videos Justin. This hit me on many levels. Your willingness to be "real" is greatly appreciated.

[shawndeveau]

You are mentoring ~50k fragile artists and we love you for it! You will officially be known as Uncle Justin from now on. :) Thank you for sharing dude!

[RyanWellsMusic]

I too have struggled with this. For me, instead of trying to be on the lookout for triggers and whatnot, it's more about replacing fear with gratitude. I think it's that simple. When fear and uncertainty start to creep in, ask yourself what it is you have to be grateful for and acknowledge those things.

I watched this thing years ago where this guy carried a small polished stone in his front pocket daily. Every time he put his hand in his pocket and touched it, he would remind himself to be grateful. That kind of stuck with me. Gratitude is super healthy medicine. It leads to humility, ego check, balances fear...

[Tonecaster]

You are so right. It was for me a reason not to be a full time musician. I didn't want to hate what I loved. Thanks!

[TimsGuitarWorldwithTimFeskorn]

I hope it clears up soon i'll be down is a few weeks on Broadway.😎 Very fitting video. Thanks Justin for your great content.

[tristanavakian]

This was very helpful. I got called shortly before the holidays by a big legacy producer - one of my heroes actually - who offered me a project in May. I immediately jumped through a lot of hoops to lock in a sub to cover my road gig, and and told the producer I was now 1000% available. His reply? He was "waiting to confirm". Nothing since. I get more communication from heckin' Sweetwater. All this at a slow time of year for me, so I have too much time to ruminate, and that is bad for me. Thanks for reminding me that I've come this far and, one way or another, I'll get through - if I keep showing up and working on my craft. Oh yeah - and that not everything is about me.

[dannymacnevin]

Great video Justin. In the mid 90's, I recorded in Nashville, at the studio now owned by Jamie Tate, it was owned by Lonnie Mack's drummer back when we were there. I got through it, but being a 25 year old kid from Canada, I was overwhelmed. I stayed at it, I've toured, and done lots of tracking, can read number charts etc... however, shortly after our recording sessions, I set my sights on Computer Programming, and that has been my career for 20+ years. It's still a form of creation, with those same ups and downs you speak of. But I still do music as much as possible. I'm hired to do shows, and I take every gig serious! We did a 2 night Led Zeppelin celebration last fall, I just finished doing an 80's and 90's female country show and I am currently working up all the guitar parts for a Cream celebration which we are doing in early March. Music has been my life long passion, but I never made it a career. You speak of moving rocks, when I was learning all the stuff for the 80's / 90's country show I just played, I was familiar with every song they were doing. I learned all the guitar parts, and what got me the most, was back then, a lot of the sessions were Albert Lee! I remember trying to learn them when I was a teenager, and into my 20's, and struggled. But this time around, they all just felt great. It was more getting the feel right, and the rest just fell into place. So even though it had been 30+ years, I had moved that Albert Lee rock... and really enjoyed playing that show! I wish I would have had this video to watch 30 years ago. Maybe I would have stayed in Nashville! Keep up the great videos!

[thepanda]

Absolutely nailed it Justin Many thanks! How many out there have thought " wow..I pulled out some good stuff on that gig" to be met with total indifference and then on the flip side you play total crap for two hours and an actual musician approaches to say how much they enjoyed listening to you. Yes... guilty as charged. I always aligned my self worth to reactions to my guitar playing until I realized it was all my own ego. Social media really doesn't help and people are real keyboard karate experts. Reading books is better for me personally and two come to mind: "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius and "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner. If I could get close to following a third of what is contained in those books, I'd be in great shape.
Love your channel and playing.
Respect and best wishes to you.

[oundStudio]

I really liked the part about looking back and not forward. I'm always afraid that I will lose my client flow, but it literally never happened. I just need to let it go and work with what I have now. thanks for sharing

[kurtc]

I'm an anesthesiologist and describe our role akin to session musicians. We're there for the surgery (i.e. song). Appreciate the candidness and you really gave some sage, well thought out advice. This is one of the best guitar channels on YT. Cheers!

[SIXSTRING]

Oh believe me Justin you can take your day job home with you. I have been a gigging guitarist for 40+ years and played full time for ten years out of high school. When the bottom fell out of bar gigs at the end of the 80’s I had to fall back on a trade I took in high school, being a machinist. I went to work at a small job shop while still playing every Friday and Saturday night for the next 30 years. I put hard work into my day job by getting into an apprenticeship program and going taking college math and a metallurgy course as part of my classroom time. I finished my apprenticeship in two years of a four year program. I became a project leader and later the head lathe programmer making everything from military aircraft parts to MRI machine parts and anything else that we bid on. The reality was that I would take that job home every night trying to figure out programs, fixtures and setups, tooling purchasing………….unfortunately if you wanted the top pay that was the price. My operators would run the machines and leave every night without a care. Being the guy doing the programming is just like being a session guy coming up with a good part for a song. I know I would be thinking of a great guitar part as much as I did of setting a machine to run a quality part. I guess it depends on the job you choose that lets you walk out the door and not think about it until the next morning.

[nickm]

Man, sometimes you just have the right video with the right message at the right time. Thank you Justin!

[ScottyJohnson]

It is strange that I do not really care for country music. I started to abandon this channel, but something made me stay. I am glad that I did. I am not always just a fan of the music, but a fan or maybe an admirer of someone who is good at their craft. I was not that into SRV's music, maybe somewhat, but the guy could play and that is what I liked to watch and hear.

[mikedr]

You're definitely the Bob Ross of session guys. So soothing and calm! Thanks for the pep talk.

[michellerolando]

Justin this a great perspective! I can tell you after 50 years of session work the insecurity always raises it ugly head. So none of us is immune.

[telecasterbear]

I learned many decades ago not to get too excited about anything. Expectations can lead to disappointment. I have been disappointed. I enjoy the ride, as it comes.

[mediocrecoverbandguitarguy]

Thank you for this video, a lot of people don't realize they are not alone.

[Tonetwisters]

Justin, you talk to that camera as if you are sitting right here in my office/music room. That is a gift. Another guy I watch who can do that, is a guy named, Evan, from Country View Acres. In your "spare" time ... look him up.