Starting My Musical Journey as an Adult

It sat in our basement, a gleaming acoustic guitar, both beckoning and mocking. “Aren’t you a bit old for this?” the voice in my head whispered. “Shouldn’t you have started this journey decades ago?”. The same voice had haunted my leadership aspirations early in my career – that persistent whisper suggesting I wasn’t ready, wasn’t experienced enough.

But there I stood, fingers running along the smooth wooden curves of the guitar, remembering how my son had recently challenged my self-limiting belief. “Mom,” he’d said, looking up from his own guitar during one of his visits home, “you always told me to chase my dreams. So why don’t you follow your own advice?”

Coming from my son, those words hit home. As a leader in my organization, I had coached countless team members through their doubts, encouraged them to embrace new challenges, and championed the idea that growth knows no age limit. Yet here I was, letting those same fears hold me back from something I’d always wanted to learn.

I picked up the guitar that same day and started learning.

The Courage to Be a Beginner

The hardest part wasn’t learning the F chord (though that was a close second). It was walking into that first lesson, surrounded by teenage students, and embracing my status as a complete novice. In leadership, we often feel pressure to be the expert, to have all the answers. But true leadership requires something different: the humility to acknowledge what we don’t know and the courage to learn publicly.

My guitar instructor, a patient soul named Hay, taught me something profound in those early lessons. “Everyone starts somewhere,” he’d say, showing me yet another way to position my fingers for that elusive chord transition. “The only difference is some people let their fear of beginning stop them from ever trying.”

How many potential leaders hold themselves back with the same fear? How many innovative ideas never see the light of day because someone thought they were “too old” or “too late” to the game?

The Harmony of Leadership and Learning

As the months progressed, I began noticing striking parallels between my guitar journey and leadership principles that I’d both taught and lived throughout my career:

1. Consistent Practice Trumps Natural Talent
   • Just as 15 minutes of daily practice yields better results than sporadic three-hour sessions, effective leadership requires consistent, intentional effort
   • Small, regular investments in skill development compound over time
2. Embrace Imperfection
   • Every missed note and buzzing string taught me that perfection is the enemy of progress
   • Leaders who fear making mistakes create stagnant, risk-averse environments
3. Find Your Own Voice
   • While learning the fundamentals is crucial, true mastery comes from developing your unique style
   • Authentic leadership, like musical interpretation, can’t be copied from someone else
4. The Power of Feedback
   • Consistent feedback revealed gaps between perception and reality
   • Similarly, leadership requires regular self-assessment and openness to feedback

Growing Through Discomfort

The journey hasn’t been easy. There are still days when my fingers won’t cooperate, when a particular song seems impossible, or when progress feels painfully slow. But these challenges have reinforced perhaps the most valuable leadership lesson of all: growth happens at the edge of our comfort zone.

Every time I master a new technique or finally nail a difficult passage, I’m reminded that leadership, like learning an instrument, is a never-ending journey of growth. There’s always another level to reach, another skill to master, another way to improve.

The Ongoing Symphony

Today, that guitar no longer sits in a basement. It’s front and center in my home office, a daily reminder that it’s never too late to start something new. It is even accompanied by a small Martin’s backpackers guitar, which travels with me on my trips. When team members come to me with doubts about taking on new challenges or stepping into leadership roles, I share my guitar journey. Sometimes, my kids and I even play together during their visits, each of us learning from the other in different ways – a beautiful reminder that wisdom and learning can flow in both directions.

As I continue to develop both my guitar skills and my leadership abilities, I’m grateful for the parallel lessons they teach me. Whether you’re considering picking up an instrument, stepping into a leadership role, or taking on any new challenge, remember: the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is now.

After all, leadership, like music, is not about age or experience. It’s about having the courage to begin, the persistence to practice, and the humility to keep learning.