From dealing with New York producers to raising kids, and lessons like, don't waste your time doing things that don't make you happy, and always think about what you're doing. College teaches people that success means doing one prefab career perfectly. Horsefeathers gave me a whole different take on success.
Imagine hearing thousands of people cheering after you finish playing a song. It's pure, raw happiness - for you, the other guys in the band and all those people. Looking out at everyone jumping up and down and clapping gives you a very different perspective of success and life. It's the view of an entertainer, as opposed to a worker.
This guided me as I edited movie music, managed the promotion of a TV station and designed sound for Dangerous Creatures. Where the goal of a worker is to create a product or provide a service, the goal of an entertainer is to create happiness. Of course, you're not always successful, but there's one thing you can always be sure of - you're headed in the right direction, a direction with no dead ends and no end of possibilities. I think it's a much higher calling.
I just turned 70, and old age would be pretty bleak without the right perspective, the right idea of success. While the retired workers are playing golf, I'm writing music. That's what I mean.