It’s all about now… Now. Now. Now!

MasterMind Drummer

Newsletter #52

Dec 16, 2024

“Shit’s happening now! It’s all about now; now, now, now! Bigger, faster, sweatier, skinnier, whiter, blacker, Gracer…”

– Jeff Buckley

I love this quote. Actually, it’s not really a quote, it’s more like a line, as it’s from one of Jeff’s live concerts back in the 90s. Specifically, his concert ‘Live in Chicago’, filmed May 13th, in 1995.

It was an incredible performance, to say the least.

If you are already a fan of Jeff, great, you are awesome in my books, but, if you haven’t listened to him much before, I highly recommend you take some time to get to know him, as his music is truly life-changing.

Jeff is one of those artists that you can listen to him through the good times, AND through the bad times. Its up to you. Those artists are special, and are important, too.

I’ll start you off here with his track GRACE. This is actually the song that Jeff goes straight into, after saying that line above.

I could go on about Jeff forever, but I won’t (not yet anyway), as that is not the point of this week’s newsletter.

So what IS the point you ask? Great question…

Well, if we go back to that quote above, it’s a simple and direct reminder that with everything we are doing (or not doing) in life, don’t forget, it is all about now. Now. Now. Now.

We are coming up to the end of 2025, and need to reflect on how well we put our best foot forward throughout the year.

You had goals. Did you achieve them? If not, why not?

I think one of the biggest problems is, because we live in a modern developed society, subconsciously, there is no real urgency as, you know, ‘I’ll get to it tomorrow’. Do not fall into the trap that you can just ‘get to it tomorrow’. You can’t, and you won’t. Why? Well,

A. It’s a shit attitude right off the bat, and

B. Well, there is no tomorrow.

As Jeff said, it’s all about now.

“I’ll go for a run tomorrow”. Nope. You won’t.

“I’ll start that daily practice I always talk about on the 1st of January”. Nope. You won’t.

“I’ll spend less time doom-scrolling as of tomorrow”. Nope you won’t.

“I’ll start getting up earlier, as of tomorrow”. Well, maybe you will, as that one actually needs to start tomorrow.

Anyway, my point is, you need to create urgency in your life, and stop putting things off to tomorrow, that you can start today.

Start showing some serious interest in your day-to-day life and stop taking it for granted. Because, guess what? This is it, man. You’re living it right now, and as far as we know, you don’t get another shot at it.

This sounds heavy, I know, (like most of these newsletters), but that’s because it is. Life is heavy man. I want to shake you sometimes, just to shake some life back into you!

This is it, man! This is it!

Life truly is what you make of it, and there is opportunity for all. It’s a decision to commit to getting better; body, mind, which in turn aids creatively, then understanding the steps that are involved, and at that point, just taking that first step.

But taking that first step today, and NOT tomorrow. That is key.

Taking action right now!

I read this great book a few years back, called Born To Run.

This was at a time when I wasn’t yet ‘a reader’ per se, but I was a runner, and was absolutely loving it. I was clocking around 60-70km a week. It was a lifestyle.

Anyway, this book tells the story of Christopher McDougall, and his quest to discover what humans are truly capable of when it comes to running. He was plagued with injury and was questioning the conventional running advice that got him there.

But what I love about this story, and what has always stuck with me, was his turning point…

He was already a runner, and living quite a textbook/normal life by all standards, then one night, while out having a few drinks with some friends, he basically reached a point where he just had enough with it all – with his injuries, his day-to-day, his body packing in… all of it, and decided right then and there, whilst wearing his jeans, to grab his things and immediately run the 10km distance home, and start making some necessary changes.

The story isn’t even really about THAT moment specifically, but man, do I love it! Acting on things, now! That has always stuck with me.

The word that comes up time and time again for me, is attitude.

Make no mistake, it’s the attitude that you emit to the world, that dictates the attitude you get back from the world.

Living in a constant state of gratitude that you were gifted the love of the craft, removing ALL expectations, and getting into a ‘rhythm’ of showing up daily for all the things that will help move the needle in your life.

You want to be a better musician, right? A musician that gets more opportunities, and in some cases… world-class opportunities, right?

Great! Adjust your attitude to reflect that, start paying the universe with a good attitude, your time, your commitment, and your consistency, then just get to work. Thats it. Then just let the chips fall where they may.

I often say, this instrument owes you nothing. Just because you have a set of sticks in your hands does not mean you are entitled to a career from it. It’s important to keep that in mind.

But! Guess what? A ‘pro-attitude’ towards your craft, and the world that is around it, will definitely increase your odds.

Look, here are some facts about me –

I started drumming at 13.
I left home and school at 15.
Found out I was going to be a dad at 19.
Sold all my gear many times, just to make ends meet.
To offer stability for my family, had a career in a completely different industry, and for 15years!

But guess what, NONE of this prevented me from working on my craft and moving forward, because no matter what, my attitude was always, ‘well, at least I have my practice pad’.

It was hard sometimes, trust me, but I never felt like I wasn’t in control of my future, and that I couldn’t keep working on my playing. I was in full control of that, and always have been.

I knew my time would come (more on that soon…), if I just kept showing up warts and all, and putting in the work on and off the kit.

That’s all I’m ever trying to get across here… You are in control of your life 100% of the time. No one else. To put it simply –

Your life, your responsibility.

That’s all I’m ever trying to teach my students.

You want it? Great! Its there. Just go get it.

Will it happen straight away? No, not at all, and in some cases it may take 20yrs, but just be consistent, and as I said earlier, make payment to the universe with a good attitude, your dedicated time, true commitment, and most importantly, your consistency.

I suppose the one final note I’d like to add here, is if you struggle to naturally have a good attitude about things, then just fake it. Faking personality traits that you would ultimately love to have, overtime, will actually have a cognitive impact on you. They start to embed.

Even with your presets, you are still in control.

As they say, ‘fake it until you make it’.

Neuroplasticity is a real thing! (Google it).

So, to wrap up, I’d like to end this right where Jeff started us –

“It’s all about now… Now. Now. Now!”

So don’t waste it.

——————-

As always, thanks for reading these, and thanks for all your feedback, too. I really appreciate it.

I read them all. So please, if you have any thoughts, send them through, and let’s get a dialogue happening.

Don’t forget… Stay hungry (and stay healthy!)

See you next week.

Stan