Originally Posted by: Douglas ShowalterWow. This part of the forum is very often neglected, and I feel can be very valuable. Question:

How do you define success? I ask this in a musical sense. At what point do you feel "you" have achieved success with your guitar playing? Is it releasing your first album? Is it learning that Van Halen solo you always wanted to learn? Is it mastering the language of jazz?

Share your definition of success here. What is your ultimate goal?

It's funny, in my aforementioned 'back in the day' posts in the late 80's, I could play well beyond what I could have hoped when I first started. Odd part is, I never got good to the point where I was satisfied and even now, when I'm wiser (yes, because I'm older...) and have better perspective, I still listen to what I play and never really like fully what I hear. Back then I was selected in those player competitions out of many submissions and got good complements on my playing. All well and good but internally, I thought it was a farce and people would find me out for my weaknesses in playing.

In a way, my answer is 'never'.

What I have learned is that the journey needs to be fun. Eric Johnson did some studio interviews in the last few years and said that he needed to give up on being such a perfectionist and start enjoying the journey. I would have never characterized myself as a perfectionist but that is the mindset that has allowed me to understand that the process is the fun part. Discovery is fun and not so much the destination.

So, I think it is any 'a-ha' moment that I get when playing that becomes a success.