This week I was interviewed by Dom Famularo as a part of the Sabian Education Network’s Educator Spotlight! It’s an amazing career milestone for me to be recognized by top drummers as an up-and-comer and as an educator with an important message.

In the interview, I discuss my early education, career in the record industry, becoming a professional drummer, my book Paradiddlemania and more!

This interview was such a massive event for me. I’ve talked about this subject before and you might see me mention it again in the future. At my age (almost 40), I often feel behind the ball in my artistic growth, business growth, technical playing ability and overall, what I can even offer other drummers at this stage in the game. In the world of ever-so-polished social media and its effects on self image, it’s easy to fall into the thinking that there are people younger than me who are more qualified for the gig, the money, or the lifestyle.

There’s always someone better, and that’s always been the case, but I think that social media can make the reality of it worse. Comparing myself to others can sometimes lead me to feel like a bit of an imposter.

Most of that view comes from myself - it’s called negative self-talk.

One exercise I use to get perspective on this negativity is to imagine saying the things I say to myself to another person. If you try it now, how mean are you to yourself?

It turns out, I’m pretty mean to myself, and I would NEVER say the things I say to myself to another person. Just by trying this little thought experiment, it’s helped me realize that the way I think about myself is not okay!

Now from that viewpoint, I can make changes. Part of those changes include a lot of saying to myself, “I can”. I learned from Dom, and later Joe Bergamini, that I truly can do the things I aspire to. These two men have been absolutely critical in helping me rediscover my self esteem and they build me up.

If this little aside has anything to offer, I hope it this. Don’t give up on your dreams, you can do anything. Stop comparing yourself to others and be happy with where you are in your growth.

If you aren’t where you want to be, what do you need to change to make it so? For example, I take lessons with Joe and we work on things that I believe I “should” have learned in high school. It turns out I’m the only one who thinks I should have already learned some of these things and there aren’t drum police out there judging me for where I am in my personal growth.

Don’t look at starting something new as a sign of weakness. Realize that new adventures take courage.

Find mentors and teachers that will build you up. I don’t mean teachers that will lie to you. I mean people who have a vested interest in you becoming the best you can be.

Also, recognize that if you are a sensitive person, having a drill sergeant for a drum teacher isn’t going to help. They can get results, but if you are not the type of person to respond positively to that sort of teaching, don’t put yourself through it. That sort of thing can be more damaging than helpful.

I’m not sure why I decided to dedicate this space to talking about self esteem, but I’m glad I did.

This was the first interview I’ve ever given as a “pro drummer” and I think I did a pretty good job. I hope you check it out!