Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Will Carriker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Will, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
As a musician/artist – I could not live any other way. It is truly a blessing from God that I found my dream, and am currently following that path. I have had “normal” jobs – and without sounding super lazy, it just drove me insane. Creative people are almost incapable of just staying on the same straight path all the time. Sometimes the thought pops into my head that I almost envy people who are content with their 9-5, coming home to watch TV then go to bed to do it all over again. The simple lifestyle and mindset is appealing if you know what its like to have an endless amount of things running through your head 24/7, but then I remember how rewarding the exploratory way of living is. If you can embrace the unknown, and delve into anything that intrigues you and sparks your inspiration, I can guarantee you that within time you will be truly experiencing all that life has to offer to you.. not just the same daily routine! (no offense to those who live that way at all!) I was presented with this path at a very young age, and have found that the most enjoyment can come from the infinite amount of new learnings, artistically, that life can toss you.
Will, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a professional guitar player/musician and teacher. I started learning guitar around the age of 8 or 9 I believe, and it was an immediate connection that I was not at all aware of. Guitar was presented to me by God, and my path was previously paved for me. I just went with it – I was in a period of time where I wasn’t doing any extracurricular activities like sports, so my folks suggested I take guitar lessons from one of my dad’s best friends. My grandpa had given me a guitar prior to, and from there the rest is history. When it comes to teaching music to others, for me, I have always felt that music is truly our only universal language. With all the troubles that were inevitable for human beings, still maintaining a way to connect and expand minds and souls, music is that gift. You are literally opening someone’s mind into a whole other world of infinite possibilities to help find out who you are, and give you comfort and inspiration that I think so many people have absolutely no idea even exists. On the flip side of that, practicing, writing, recording, and performing music is almost the same thing, just more of a journey figuring yourself out and then seeing how that resonates with all the walks of life. “The more time you spend with something, the more natural it feels!”
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
They can take music lessons and attend more concerts! To be blunt, when you make music, especially in a band, you basically have to find a way to make people give a “you-know-what” about you.. how do you even go about that? Everyone loves a concert, right? Those feelings and experiences you get from that one song, or band, all of those things that just take you to another world, uplift you or inspire you.. you can learn how to create those on your own. Essentially, it’s self therapy, and a safe space to always confide in despite whatever life throws in your face. The way to do that – is learn an instrument, or 2, or 5. What that is doing, is developing and discovering a true extension of yourself, and while you progress with learning, you are opening new understandings to yourself, and the world. That is how you can connect with others, and how you can always have that “special thing” to fall back on to keep your sanity, keep your comfort, and keep finding life enjoyable and interesting. Learn an instrument, buy artists’ music, and go to concerts! (it helps us pay our bills to keep doing that thing you love, ha!)
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Letting yourself be overly kind or trustworthy – there IS a line. Unfortunately now a days a lot of what we think is right or wrong has kind of gotten twisted due to inaccurate representations of what and how we should be. It doesn’t mean to walk around always thinking of yourself, but it does mean to carry yourself with respect and dignity, and remember that your soul is just as valuable as everyone else’s. People with kind hearts unfortunately can get taken advantage of just because they reached out first, held the door for you, bought you that drink, or laughed at your joke. Sometimes that allows cancerous people to feel like they can walk all over you because you’re nice and it won’t bother you because you don’t show negativity. People need to speak to each other more, honestly, and remember that if you base your words and actions on respect, that will come across no matter what. You can turn the other cheek, but you can always value yourself, because thats the start of confidence and growth in your life. Find it through respect, keep your dignity, and realize that everyone else has things they are dealing with too, and we are all in it together.
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