At age 11 I heard a recording of Jimi Hendrix playing the national anthem and was blown away by the potential of creative output the guitar offered. I quickly put away my pencils and picked up the guitar.
When I entered college as a music major I decided to approach playin as a job, and took to practicing 8hrs a day, as well as doing gigs & rehearsals. You don't need to attain commercial success to make a livin in music, there are many ways to make money, you just have to keep an open mind. As long as I am doing something music related i am happy, and thats what drives me.