One of the things I keep stressing in this blog is education. Knowledge is power not power is power. The first thing you teach a child is nutrition. By 15, you should be well versed in nutrition and healthy eating.
Another idea I keep reiterating is the 20 year or 10,000 hour rule. It takes 20 years of one hour of practice per day, day in and day out, to master a skill. I mastered Judo and Music. Other people master other things. I know yoga teachers, vegan chefs, guitar teachers, judo teachers, sparring coaches, practitioners of massage, etc... If you start between the ages of 8 and 15 on your hobbies, by the time you are in your late twenties or early thirties, you will be a young master. The late twenties and early thirties is the best part of a human being's life.
Don't waste your life. And don't neglect your children. They shouldn't just go to school and enjoy television and video games and the internet when they are not in school. Get them involved in extra-curricular activities or they will be helpless later. Practice your hobbies long enough, and they become your profession. Most people will not do what I say, impregnate their high school girlfriend, and end up in a dead end job just to pay the bills to support their spouse and children. Even a gorilla can find a mate, reproduce, and support it's offspring. So a life of work and women is no better than that of an animal.
I am glad I am 41 and have no wife or children. I did other things with my life. I mastered judo, I mastered rhythm guitar, I mastered TCM theory, I write, I draw, and I am close to mastering cooking. So I am an exceptional human being.
There are other forms of success besides money and children. I consider myself a uniquely gifted human being.
I have 5 albums on Spotify and YouTube right now. I had a first album called Money and Women that came off the internet. And I have another album coming soon. This new one will be all electric and feature vocals.
Now that Judo is less age appropriate, I can switch my focus to music. Music is not dependent on speed, power, timing, or reflexes. It is a creative expression. I can still practice Judo in a diminished capacity than when I was in my late twenties. 20 years is a huge period in a human being's lifespan. It is a generation, and it takes 20 years to master a skill.
So I use judo to be a better musician and a better copywriter. When I am sitting infront of the microphone with my guitar in my hand, I am totally confident in myself. I wouldn't be able to do that without judo. Judo makes you tough. I also apply to copywriting jobs with no fear of failure because I know how talented I am and if the client doesn't hire me it is their loss not mine.
There are a lot of combat sports and martial arts to get involved in. Boxing and Tae Kwon Do is pretty cool but has more to do with self defense and ego and less with moral education. Grappling and MMA is for punks. Judo can be used for physical education and has more uses than just its efficacy in self defense. When you randori and compete, and get indifferent to winning and losing, it makes you mentally tough. This is a good quality for life. Not to be dissuaded by the outside world.
So I had some boxing potential but decided to switch to Judo because I had high minded ideals. Whether that was a good decision or a bad decision doesn't matter. I can't go back in time. But I can deal with the situation now.
I think, moving forward, that I should take some music education courses at the local community college. I would like to be around musicians and people who know music theory. The history of rock n roll fascinates me. Since the mid 1950s, rhythm and blues became rock n roll and since 1970, the past 50 years have been an explosion of creativity. You can do so much with so few chords.
So Copywriting can be a job, Judo can be an exercise, and Music can be a hobby. I live a full life and not having a wife or child doesn't matter. I have created things greater than children.
But I enjoy music the most, and wish to hang out with musicians and music teachers. That is why this blog post is called Music Education. The post is about music and it is about education.
So word to the wise, educate yourself, and do what you love.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Thursday, May 14, 2020
I Come Electric
Today I started work on my next album. I decided it will be all electric, including rhythm and lead. It will be called, "Rhythm and Blues World Service" and feature a couple of classic covers.
I am more a fan of acoustic music, but I am running out of ideas. Most of my acoustic songs are in the Key of E, A, or C. I don't often play in Open G or Open D because that sounds too old fashioned. The standard tuning of a guitar has the most versatility.
It is easier to sound good electric than acoustic, that is why most people prefer electric. But I prefer acoustic. This album will be exploring something new, and I will eventually go back to acoustic guitar.
When Bob Dylan went electric in the late 1960s, some people accused him of selling out. But he was just going with the times and exploring different things, he was still a folk rock musician. I dig Bob Dylan.
My album will probably feature 7 songs or so. At least 2 of them will be covers, and there will be a few instrumentals. But most of all, I enjoy writing my own songs. It is when you push past the three major chords and add something extra that you create something unique.
So this new album will be lively and original. I am hoping to create something as good as Lonely Days. All of my albums are available on Spotify and YouTube. You just have to look for Lior Avni in the search bar.
Meanwhile, I continue to write and plan a book for release by the end of 2020. It is harder to write a book than an album. Books are not easy to produce, but cost almost nothing to produce, so anything you make is profit.
So I continue to work as a musician and author, and I supplement my income with side jobs. Life is not that bad. It is when you stop learning new things that you die inwardly. You can study all your life and know a fraction of what God knows. So keep studying. And that doesn't mean high school or college.
That means the bookstore, the library, Udemy, and Skillshare. Even Adobe produces free video tutorials. So you don't need a college degree to be smart.
Knowledge is power, not power is power. Donald Trump has no real power. It is by learning about fact not fantasy that you acquire power. And when you are powerful, you are more joyous.
So I will continue to explore new sounds, new ideas, new exercises, new foods, and new women. What is life if you don't enjoy it? If you lived your life without enthusiasm, you missed the point. When you do the right thing with enthusiasm do you get good results and a good reputation.
So keep on keepin on.
I am more a fan of acoustic music, but I am running out of ideas. Most of my acoustic songs are in the Key of E, A, or C. I don't often play in Open G or Open D because that sounds too old fashioned. The standard tuning of a guitar has the most versatility.
It is easier to sound good electric than acoustic, that is why most people prefer electric. But I prefer acoustic. This album will be exploring something new, and I will eventually go back to acoustic guitar.
When Bob Dylan went electric in the late 1960s, some people accused him of selling out. But he was just going with the times and exploring different things, he was still a folk rock musician. I dig Bob Dylan.
My album will probably feature 7 songs or so. At least 2 of them will be covers, and there will be a few instrumentals. But most of all, I enjoy writing my own songs. It is when you push past the three major chords and add something extra that you create something unique.
So this new album will be lively and original. I am hoping to create something as good as Lonely Days. All of my albums are available on Spotify and YouTube. You just have to look for Lior Avni in the search bar.
Meanwhile, I continue to write and plan a book for release by the end of 2020. It is harder to write a book than an album. Books are not easy to produce, but cost almost nothing to produce, so anything you make is profit.
So I continue to work as a musician and author, and I supplement my income with side jobs. Life is not that bad. It is when you stop learning new things that you die inwardly. You can study all your life and know a fraction of what God knows. So keep studying. And that doesn't mean high school or college.
That means the bookstore, the library, Udemy, and Skillshare. Even Adobe produces free video tutorials. So you don't need a college degree to be smart.
Knowledge is power, not power is power. Donald Trump has no real power. It is by learning about fact not fantasy that you acquire power. And when you are powerful, you are more joyous.
So I will continue to explore new sounds, new ideas, new exercises, new foods, and new women. What is life if you don't enjoy it? If you lived your life without enthusiasm, you missed the point. When you do the right thing with enthusiasm do you get good results and a good reputation.
So keep on keepin on.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Nothing New Since Plato vs Artistotle
All Philosophy started with the Hellenic Greeks. You could even say high culture began with the Hellenic Greeks. Philosophy creates culture.
To this day, in Academia, people still learn Plato and Artistotle. There is not much new in the realm of philosophy. The basic idea was, Plato believed the idea exists in heaven and the idea shapes the reality. But Artistotle saw it the other way. He said, be ignorant, observe nature and what really works, then base your conclusions on what you observe.
I am more like Aristotle than Plato. A good scientist knows he doesn't know. There is an element of humility in science. If you are biased, egocentric, a xenophobe, or a retard, you won't make a good scientist. The Chinese are the best scientists because they are the least egotistical and proud and are open to what is.
The Ancient Greeks had a lot to offer modern man, that was Nietzsche's whole idea. They loved combat sports like boxing, wrestling, and MMA. They were secular yet educated. There was upward mobility in their society. They valued philosophy and the arts. They took care of hygiene and health. You could say all Western culture comes from the Greeks the way all Western religion comes from the Hebrews.
So there is nothing new in philosophy. You either live in the realm of ideas and scientific theories and mathematical equations, or you simply observe what works. You can study all your life and still be largely ignorant of many things.
Western Medicine is based on reductionist science. They do cadaver studies, so they know the way a human being is really made up. They do studies in Academia with mathematical equations and scientific theories. And they experiment constantly, even in the use of new medicines.
But there is another kind of science. There is empirical science, where the scientist observes what works in the real world, and draws his conclusions on what actually works in real life scenarios. This is what TCM is based on. Observation. The Chinese have been agrarian the longest, so they have had civilization the longest. So they've seen generations come and go.
Chinese culture is more like Aristotle. A good doctor can diagnose the patient just by looking at him or listening to his words. He doesn't need fancy machines or diagnostic equipment. And blood tests don't tell much about what is going on inside the human body.
So you can live in the world of ideas or the world of reality. Accept reality. It is what it is.
I love music the most, but I don't see it making a full time income for me. And I will never be the Beatles or even Mariah Carey. At best, I can be a copywriter during the day and play music during the evenings and weekends. I can also teach kickboxing and Aikido because i am qualified.
So there is hope for me. I am stable on my budget and more or less money is not the issue. By observing what the market wants, what businesses are profitable, and what I really need to do with my life, I can assess what is best for me. I should teach Aikido and sell articles online and keep doing music every day.
My college education didn't really help me, but my hobbies did. You learn by doing. Only through experience do you gain skill. If you do something one hour per day for 20 years, you become the master. So get children involved in extra curricular activities between ages 8 and 15. Their youth is the foundation of their entire life. Don't waste your youth.
If I could, I'd teach children what I know. But I don't socialize well. So maybe I can teach through the written word, by writing books and blogs and selling articles. Music is educational too. And Aikido is an education in survival and winning without a fight. There is more to the martial arts than Karate and MMA.
So Philosophy is not a waste of time and is not an optional subject. Quite the contrary, philosophy is the most important thing you can learn. Life begins in your mind. By taming the mind, you master the self. And then life is a breeze.
So in conclusion, I like Aristotle, the Chinese, and Nietzsche a lot more than Plato, Western Science, and Western Medicine. Don't be biased. don't live in fantasy land. Don't force the idea onto the reality. But be natural and simple and humble.
It is what it is.
To this day, in Academia, people still learn Plato and Artistotle. There is not much new in the realm of philosophy. The basic idea was, Plato believed the idea exists in heaven and the idea shapes the reality. But Artistotle saw it the other way. He said, be ignorant, observe nature and what really works, then base your conclusions on what you observe.
I am more like Aristotle than Plato. A good scientist knows he doesn't know. There is an element of humility in science. If you are biased, egocentric, a xenophobe, or a retard, you won't make a good scientist. The Chinese are the best scientists because they are the least egotistical and proud and are open to what is.
The Ancient Greeks had a lot to offer modern man, that was Nietzsche's whole idea. They loved combat sports like boxing, wrestling, and MMA. They were secular yet educated. There was upward mobility in their society. They valued philosophy and the arts. They took care of hygiene and health. You could say all Western culture comes from the Greeks the way all Western religion comes from the Hebrews.
So there is nothing new in philosophy. You either live in the realm of ideas and scientific theories and mathematical equations, or you simply observe what works. You can study all your life and still be largely ignorant of many things.
Western Medicine is based on reductionist science. They do cadaver studies, so they know the way a human being is really made up. They do studies in Academia with mathematical equations and scientific theories. And they experiment constantly, even in the use of new medicines.
But there is another kind of science. There is empirical science, where the scientist observes what works in the real world, and draws his conclusions on what actually works in real life scenarios. This is what TCM is based on. Observation. The Chinese have been agrarian the longest, so they have had civilization the longest. So they've seen generations come and go.
Chinese culture is more like Aristotle. A good doctor can diagnose the patient just by looking at him or listening to his words. He doesn't need fancy machines or diagnostic equipment. And blood tests don't tell much about what is going on inside the human body.
So you can live in the world of ideas or the world of reality. Accept reality. It is what it is.
I love music the most, but I don't see it making a full time income for me. And I will never be the Beatles or even Mariah Carey. At best, I can be a copywriter during the day and play music during the evenings and weekends. I can also teach kickboxing and Aikido because i am qualified.
So there is hope for me. I am stable on my budget and more or less money is not the issue. By observing what the market wants, what businesses are profitable, and what I really need to do with my life, I can assess what is best for me. I should teach Aikido and sell articles online and keep doing music every day.
My college education didn't really help me, but my hobbies did. You learn by doing. Only through experience do you gain skill. If you do something one hour per day for 20 years, you become the master. So get children involved in extra curricular activities between ages 8 and 15. Their youth is the foundation of their entire life. Don't waste your youth.
If I could, I'd teach children what I know. But I don't socialize well. So maybe I can teach through the written word, by writing books and blogs and selling articles. Music is educational too. And Aikido is an education in survival and winning without a fight. There is more to the martial arts than Karate and MMA.
So Philosophy is not a waste of time and is not an optional subject. Quite the contrary, philosophy is the most important thing you can learn. Life begins in your mind. By taming the mind, you master the self. And then life is a breeze.
So in conclusion, I like Aristotle, the Chinese, and Nietzsche a lot more than Plato, Western Science, and Western Medicine. Don't be biased. don't live in fantasy land. Don't force the idea onto the reality. But be natural and simple and humble.
It is what it is.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
What Judo Means To Me
Judo is not just physical education or an Olympic sport where two jacket wrestlers throw each other. There is a lot more to it than that.
Americans tend to be reductionist scientists and see one thing and one thing only. But someone who practices empirical science knows that what happens now is based on a complex variety of factors that culminated in the past. The past determines the present, and what you do now determines the future.
Judo is a martial art. It is based on Jujutsu, and was formulated in the late 1800s in Japan as a way of making Jujutsu less about fighting and killing and more about education, moral principles, sport, and martial readiness. It is not just throws and there are a lot of other forms of physical educaiton out there.
Sport Judo is about throw, pin, choke, and armlock. It is like freestyle wrestling, but involves a jacket, the guard, the half guard, chokes, and armlocks. So in theory it is more dangerous than wrestling, but in reality it is much safer.
MMA is essentially two punks brawling in a cage. 70% of MMA champions are freestyle wrestlers. They almost make martial artists look bad, how strong and fast they are. Aikido is weapons grappling, and involves the clinch in a different way. It involves trapping and blending and pinning uki without harming him. If you win without harming, you are a master.
Judo is great for the young. Ideally, you should start between 8 and 10. You could start as late as your teens or college years. But if you want to be World Champion, start at 8 or 9 or 10.
Boxing is more hardcore, and has nothing to do with physical education. It is essentially a fight with gloves on, and only people from the lower echelons of society who have no other option to make money get involved in pugilism. Judo is something high minded and civilized, and is very popular with the Police and the Military.
I am not a fan of BJJ and MMA. They seem like guys who took judo techniques and took it too seriously. It's just Judo. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it matters that you get on the mat and you try. It is better to try and lose than be an empty talker.
So in my life, I used Judo to make me mentally tough, to be confident, to believe in myself, and not to look down on anyone. You could be champion one tournament and last place finisher the next. That is what it can be used as phsyical education. It makes you mentally tough.
Jigoro Kano was a great innovator in the martial arts. Guys who are too dangerous to spar are delusional. Just get on the mat and see who's better. Randori is the vital aspect of Judo practice. It is all non lethal techniques done in full force sparring. There is no theory or technique or discussion. You either win or you lose and you don't complain.
So if I had it all to do again, I wouldn't have done anything different. Boxing is for guys who have nothing to give. Grappling and MMA is for guys who think they are tough but can't stand up. Wrestling and Judo is one thing, scholastic sport, and that is where the real men are. Most truck drivers and cops were wrestlers in high school and college. Then they got day jobs. Now that Corona Virus has ruined America, we see that these low end, physical jobs are the most important jobs, and 80% of jobs are useless, sitting infront of a computer trading time for money. In my part of New York, truck drivers, police officers, gas station employees, and grocery store workers are still hard at work while you enjoy downtime.
Perhaps my philosophy is not just empty philosophy. Hindus do Hatha Yoga because it makes their body tough. Joy lives in strength. When you are physically strong, you are joyous and generous. Judo makes you tough, and this empowers you to do something in the world.
I don't want a boring dayjob but I will work one if I have to. I just want to play my guitar and cook my own food. But if I want better women, I need more money. So I see work as a fight I must fight. That is the ideal of the Hindu warrior. The man who fights because he must, not because he wants to.
So just keep showing up to work and doing the right thing. They only way to get success and fame is by doing a little bit every day, day in and day out, and never quitting on yourself. I use judo to make me better at everything else.
Americans tend to be reductionist scientists and see one thing and one thing only. But someone who practices empirical science knows that what happens now is based on a complex variety of factors that culminated in the past. The past determines the present, and what you do now determines the future.
Judo is a martial art. It is based on Jujutsu, and was formulated in the late 1800s in Japan as a way of making Jujutsu less about fighting and killing and more about education, moral principles, sport, and martial readiness. It is not just throws and there are a lot of other forms of physical educaiton out there.
Sport Judo is about throw, pin, choke, and armlock. It is like freestyle wrestling, but involves a jacket, the guard, the half guard, chokes, and armlocks. So in theory it is more dangerous than wrestling, but in reality it is much safer.
MMA is essentially two punks brawling in a cage. 70% of MMA champions are freestyle wrestlers. They almost make martial artists look bad, how strong and fast they are. Aikido is weapons grappling, and involves the clinch in a different way. It involves trapping and blending and pinning uki without harming him. If you win without harming, you are a master.
Judo is great for the young. Ideally, you should start between 8 and 10. You could start as late as your teens or college years. But if you want to be World Champion, start at 8 or 9 or 10.
Boxing is more hardcore, and has nothing to do with physical education. It is essentially a fight with gloves on, and only people from the lower echelons of society who have no other option to make money get involved in pugilism. Judo is something high minded and civilized, and is very popular with the Police and the Military.
I am not a fan of BJJ and MMA. They seem like guys who took judo techniques and took it too seriously. It's just Judo. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it matters that you get on the mat and you try. It is better to try and lose than be an empty talker.
So in my life, I used Judo to make me mentally tough, to be confident, to believe in myself, and not to look down on anyone. You could be champion one tournament and last place finisher the next. That is what it can be used as phsyical education. It makes you mentally tough.
Jigoro Kano was a great innovator in the martial arts. Guys who are too dangerous to spar are delusional. Just get on the mat and see who's better. Randori is the vital aspect of Judo practice. It is all non lethal techniques done in full force sparring. There is no theory or technique or discussion. You either win or you lose and you don't complain.
So if I had it all to do again, I wouldn't have done anything different. Boxing is for guys who have nothing to give. Grappling and MMA is for guys who think they are tough but can't stand up. Wrestling and Judo is one thing, scholastic sport, and that is where the real men are. Most truck drivers and cops were wrestlers in high school and college. Then they got day jobs. Now that Corona Virus has ruined America, we see that these low end, physical jobs are the most important jobs, and 80% of jobs are useless, sitting infront of a computer trading time for money. In my part of New York, truck drivers, police officers, gas station employees, and grocery store workers are still hard at work while you enjoy downtime.
Perhaps my philosophy is not just empty philosophy. Hindus do Hatha Yoga because it makes their body tough. Joy lives in strength. When you are physically strong, you are joyous and generous. Judo makes you tough, and this empowers you to do something in the world.
I don't want a boring dayjob but I will work one if I have to. I just want to play my guitar and cook my own food. But if I want better women, I need more money. So I see work as a fight I must fight. That is the ideal of the Hindu warrior. The man who fights because he must, not because he wants to.
So just keep showing up to work and doing the right thing. They only way to get success and fame is by doing a little bit every day, day in and day out, and never quitting on yourself. I use judo to make me better at everything else.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Love Doesn't Come In A Minute...
Sometimes, it doesn't come at all.
That is a lyric from a Paul McCartney song. It is true. Most things in life, especially the good things, don't just happen in a flash and they are done. Good things take a prolonged effort, sometimes many hours, many days, many years, before you reach your desired result. I have been playing guitar since 1995 but only recording albums since 2017. In three years, a lot has changed.
Even three years is not a long time, and I feel my life has improved dramatically since becoming an online musician. I have a presence on YouTube, Instagram, Reverbnation, Twitter, and of course, Facebook like everyone else.
If I learned more about business principles and music marketing, I could make more income as a musician. It turns out streams and downloads is the worst way to make money as a musician. And that is my only musical income stream. So I am not rich.
I have published one album through Reverbnation, two through CDBaby, and three through Routenote. They are all good sites, but I feel intuitively that I am being ripped off of thousands while I get dollars. The music industry is extremely corrupt and most of the money you generate does not go to the artist himself.
When I first released Money and Women in 2017, I had no idea what I was doing. I had a friend who was my music marketing guru at the time instructing me on how he did his career. I feel my music is above average and his music is below average. But since he had the experience in recording and publishing, he was the teacher and I was the student.
The best albums were the last three released through Routenote. It seems like a fair business paradigm where you publish for free and they take a small percentage of everything you make. It uses mostly streams and views from Spotify and YouTube, which by itself is not that lucrative. But at least I am doing what I want to do and I have enough income every month anyway. I do what makes me happy, not what makes me rich.
Coffee Blues, Lonely Days, and Trouble On My Way are good albums. Each subsequent album gets more creative and masterful. Some of my favorite songs that I have written include Roll Over and Boogie, Lonely Days, Trouble On My Way, Down So Low, and Weekend Blues. It is better to feature vocals than to create an instrumental.
I look on Spotify and see that in 2019 alone, I generated 5.1 thousand streams. That is not a lot, but in actuality it is for an indie musician with no advertising. Somebody out there digs it.
Spotify and the MP3 both ruined music and gave it to the whole world. If you only make 7 dollars per 1000 streams, it is hard for musicians to make money. But if all the music of the past 70 years is online on Spotify and is free to listen to, music has become a big part of modern life. We need music. It is emotional therapy.
So music fans are happy and full time musicians are sad. It is not easy to make money as a musician, but it is possible. The distance between starving artist and rich and famous is shrinking. With clever business savvy, an understanding of marketing, and an advertising budget, one can create a side income of online music. That is my ambition. Perhaps music cannot be my main job. But it is perfect for the evenings and weekends.
So being a famous musician didn't come in a minute. And it may not come at all. But as long as I am creative, playing my guitar, writing new songs, and pretending I am the fifth Beatle, than life is alright. I can do a dayjob and do music too.
Get a job.
That is a lyric from a Paul McCartney song. It is true. Most things in life, especially the good things, don't just happen in a flash and they are done. Good things take a prolonged effort, sometimes many hours, many days, many years, before you reach your desired result. I have been playing guitar since 1995 but only recording albums since 2017. In three years, a lot has changed.
Even three years is not a long time, and I feel my life has improved dramatically since becoming an online musician. I have a presence on YouTube, Instagram, Reverbnation, Twitter, and of course, Facebook like everyone else.
If I learned more about business principles and music marketing, I could make more income as a musician. It turns out streams and downloads is the worst way to make money as a musician. And that is my only musical income stream. So I am not rich.
I have published one album through Reverbnation, two through CDBaby, and three through Routenote. They are all good sites, but I feel intuitively that I am being ripped off of thousands while I get dollars. The music industry is extremely corrupt and most of the money you generate does not go to the artist himself.
When I first released Money and Women in 2017, I had no idea what I was doing. I had a friend who was my music marketing guru at the time instructing me on how he did his career. I feel my music is above average and his music is below average. But since he had the experience in recording and publishing, he was the teacher and I was the student.
The best albums were the last three released through Routenote. It seems like a fair business paradigm where you publish for free and they take a small percentage of everything you make. It uses mostly streams and views from Spotify and YouTube, which by itself is not that lucrative. But at least I am doing what I want to do and I have enough income every month anyway. I do what makes me happy, not what makes me rich.
Coffee Blues, Lonely Days, and Trouble On My Way are good albums. Each subsequent album gets more creative and masterful. Some of my favorite songs that I have written include Roll Over and Boogie, Lonely Days, Trouble On My Way, Down So Low, and Weekend Blues. It is better to feature vocals than to create an instrumental.
I look on Spotify and see that in 2019 alone, I generated 5.1 thousand streams. That is not a lot, but in actuality it is for an indie musician with no advertising. Somebody out there digs it.
Spotify and the MP3 both ruined music and gave it to the whole world. If you only make 7 dollars per 1000 streams, it is hard for musicians to make money. But if all the music of the past 70 years is online on Spotify and is free to listen to, music has become a big part of modern life. We need music. It is emotional therapy.
So music fans are happy and full time musicians are sad. It is not easy to make money as a musician, but it is possible. The distance between starving artist and rich and famous is shrinking. With clever business savvy, an understanding of marketing, and an advertising budget, one can create a side income of online music. That is my ambition. Perhaps music cannot be my main job. But it is perfect for the evenings and weekends.
So being a famous musician didn't come in a minute. And it may not come at all. But as long as I am creative, playing my guitar, writing new songs, and pretending I am the fifth Beatle, than life is alright. I can do a dayjob and do music too.
Get a job.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
The Story of Lior J Avni
I will not write out my whole life story in this brief blog post. All I want to tell you is the history of how I got to be such a great musician and writer.
With music, it all started in the 1980s. I was young when I first learned about music. Most of the music of the 1980s was crap, but some of it was good. It was nothing like rhythm and blues or rock n roll of the 50s 60s and 70s. I used to listen to mixtapes and dream with my eyes as I heard with my ears.
When the 90s came, I was a teenager in high school. I had other interests like swimming, wrestling, food, pornography, and I had many friends. But music was the most special. I hated waking up at 6am to make the bus to high school because I am a night owl and can't wake up before 9am. So I would go through high school like a zombie and come home exhausted.
Every day, I would nap from 3pm to 6pm and then wake up and watch MTV from 6pm to bedtime. That was my life in high school. Between 1992 and 1996, I absorbed pop culture. I wouldn't even do exercise or homework. I would always manage to do homework the next day in the library during my free period. So although I was lazy and self indulgent, I was intelligent enough to graduate high school with a 85 average, which is slightly above average. Anything above 90 is good.
Nirvana was the biggest hit of the 1990s, and there where other hit acts then like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Iced Tea. Then there was pop music like Mariah Carey.
This was the last great music of the modern era. When Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1993 or 1994, he ruined himself, pop music, and western culture with him. The music of the past 25 years has been commercial crap, with some cleverness here and there. I started playing guitar in 1995 when I discovered The Beatles. Their 30 year reissue of their two greatest hits albums was a revelation. I could hear real music from creative musicians having a ball.
After my youth and obsession with the Beatles, I went back in time to the rhythm and blues that inspired them. Most of all, I liked Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The black musicians of the 50s spawned the British musicians of the 1960s, and the past 50 years have been an explosion of creativity. Pop music is very important to me.
I am not just a musician. Throughout my four decades or so, I have mastered Judo, writing, drawing, cooking, the Baghavad Gita, the concepts of Kabbalah, and other things. My two books on Amazon are about using my TCM education in a way to educate the common people on stuff people in India and China already know.
Best of all, the Baghavad Gita inspired me to fight the good fight and never quit. Philosophy can save your life. By doing the right thing with enthusiasm, you get good results and a good reputation. I used Hindu Philosophy to be a great Judoka and a great musician. I am also a great writer.
I know I should concentrate on writing moving forward because that is where the money is. And nutrition seems to be a subject that appeals to everyone. You won't get very far talking about race, gender, politics, the history of America, Aryan supremacy and its fallacy, or the Asiatic Black Man. These are controversial subjects. Race and Gender are hot topics in the USA.
Moving forward, I will create more albums or original music with some covers on them, write boooks on health and nutrition, and resume practice of my favorite exercises, like kickboxing, judo, swimming, and yoga. I have let my physical health go. Perfect diet is not enough to be healthy. You must exercise or your body will become decrepit by age 50.
So my life began in the attainment of zen, and ended in music. I have learned a lot in 41 years. By far, music gives me the most pleasure, but it doesn't give me the most money. And at this point, I need to improve my money situation. I am not as established as most middle aged men.
So I need to scheme up a way to increase my money situation without relying solely on music. Judo, writing, health education, fitness, are all possibilities. I don't want to do the bare minimum for the rest of my life. I am not doomed. I want multiple streams of income from online work that help me live a humble but contented lifestyle.
If I want to enjoy the next 20 years of my life, and 20 years means a generation, I must learn to get out of the house, socialize, create relationships, and be of benefit to someone other than myself. It's easy to do the bare minimum and just live for yourself. But that is how a child is not a grown person. The riddle of Kabbalah is, altruism is more fun than being selfish, but most people are selfish and not altruistic, that is why they are miserable. Learn early that giving is better than receiving.
With music, it all started in the 1980s. I was young when I first learned about music. Most of the music of the 1980s was crap, but some of it was good. It was nothing like rhythm and blues or rock n roll of the 50s 60s and 70s. I used to listen to mixtapes and dream with my eyes as I heard with my ears.
When the 90s came, I was a teenager in high school. I had other interests like swimming, wrestling, food, pornography, and I had many friends. But music was the most special. I hated waking up at 6am to make the bus to high school because I am a night owl and can't wake up before 9am. So I would go through high school like a zombie and come home exhausted.
Every day, I would nap from 3pm to 6pm and then wake up and watch MTV from 6pm to bedtime. That was my life in high school. Between 1992 and 1996, I absorbed pop culture. I wouldn't even do exercise or homework. I would always manage to do homework the next day in the library during my free period. So although I was lazy and self indulgent, I was intelligent enough to graduate high school with a 85 average, which is slightly above average. Anything above 90 is good.
Nirvana was the biggest hit of the 1990s, and there where other hit acts then like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Iced Tea. Then there was pop music like Mariah Carey.
This was the last great music of the modern era. When Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1993 or 1994, he ruined himself, pop music, and western culture with him. The music of the past 25 years has been commercial crap, with some cleverness here and there. I started playing guitar in 1995 when I discovered The Beatles. Their 30 year reissue of their two greatest hits albums was a revelation. I could hear real music from creative musicians having a ball.
After my youth and obsession with the Beatles, I went back in time to the rhythm and blues that inspired them. Most of all, I liked Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The black musicians of the 50s spawned the British musicians of the 1960s, and the past 50 years have been an explosion of creativity. Pop music is very important to me.
I am not just a musician. Throughout my four decades or so, I have mastered Judo, writing, drawing, cooking, the Baghavad Gita, the concepts of Kabbalah, and other things. My two books on Amazon are about using my TCM education in a way to educate the common people on stuff people in India and China already know.
Best of all, the Baghavad Gita inspired me to fight the good fight and never quit. Philosophy can save your life. By doing the right thing with enthusiasm, you get good results and a good reputation. I used Hindu Philosophy to be a great Judoka and a great musician. I am also a great writer.
I know I should concentrate on writing moving forward because that is where the money is. And nutrition seems to be a subject that appeals to everyone. You won't get very far talking about race, gender, politics, the history of America, Aryan supremacy and its fallacy, or the Asiatic Black Man. These are controversial subjects. Race and Gender are hot topics in the USA.
Moving forward, I will create more albums or original music with some covers on them, write boooks on health and nutrition, and resume practice of my favorite exercises, like kickboxing, judo, swimming, and yoga. I have let my physical health go. Perfect diet is not enough to be healthy. You must exercise or your body will become decrepit by age 50.
So my life began in the attainment of zen, and ended in music. I have learned a lot in 41 years. By far, music gives me the most pleasure, but it doesn't give me the most money. And at this point, I need to improve my money situation. I am not as established as most middle aged men.
So I need to scheme up a way to increase my money situation without relying solely on music. Judo, writing, health education, fitness, are all possibilities. I don't want to do the bare minimum for the rest of my life. I am not doomed. I want multiple streams of income from online work that help me live a humble but contented lifestyle.
If I want to enjoy the next 20 years of my life, and 20 years means a generation, I must learn to get out of the house, socialize, create relationships, and be of benefit to someone other than myself. It's easy to do the bare minimum and just live for yourself. But that is how a child is not a grown person. The riddle of Kabbalah is, altruism is more fun than being selfish, but most people are selfish and not altruistic, that is why they are miserable. Learn early that giving is better than receiving.
Friday, May 1, 2020
The Courage
It takes courage to survive this world. These days, religion is less popular because people feel they can't be religious and have a good time. But this comes from flawed logic. They assume that since Christianity was the prevailing religion of Europe and they assume that white people are the master race, that if Christianity is dying all religion is dying. But this is not an accurate use of logic.
There are other religions, systems, and worldviews out there. I myself am not a practicing religious person but realize that religion civilized humanity and was the driving force behind law and ethics. It started with Abraham the first Jew who was monotheistic, nonviolent, and monogamous when a time when men were lawless barbarians. Then Jesus came a long and reworked the Hebrew tradition in his own way.
But there is also the religion of the east, of India, a nation that spawned Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. All three religions are valid, real, and worthy of study. Hinduism became popular in South Asia, Buddhism spread to East Asia, and Jainism stayed small because of its unrealistic nature.
Buddhism is about monastic discipline and finding enlightenment. Jainism is about nonviolence, veganism, and avoiding doing all evil. But Hinduism seems to have the most potential. Yoga is the mystical aspect of Hinduism and Hatha Yoga is just one aspect of it.
In India, education if the youth is very important. Children should be educated in diet, wrestling, hatha yoga, and sex education. As you progress, you should learn a skill and take 20 years to master it. If you start judo at the age of 8, by the time you are 28 you will be a World Champion. It takes 20 years of daily practice to master anything. I am just using judo as an example.
As you go through young adulthood, middle age, and old age, you should work and play and love in harmony. By the time you are really elderly, you should leave the world of men and retire to nature to find God. To die with contentment is victory.
So it takes courage to live, and you don't actually have to knock anybody out. That doesn't make you courageous. A good man is instructed by his father, teachers, and rabbi or priest and does the right thing because he must do it. This is one of the essential teachings of Hinduism, duty. That life is not a free for all or orgy, that you must do service before you get to the fun part.
Real courage is about doing the right thing with enthusiasm and getting the right result. The main holy book of the Hindus is called, 'The Baghavad Gita' and summarizes all Hindu philosophy in one book of 18 chapters. Chapter 7 is a summary of the summary. In it, a Charioteer instructs and Archer on the nature of duty, success, the meaning of life, a man's role in society, vice, virtue, courage, and excellence. It is one book that summarizes a thousand books.
So instead of debating on Evolution vs Christianity, or going to the next Tinder date, or watching MMA at the local bar, I suggest picking up a copy of this book and reading it for yourself. Even if you understand one line from this book, it will enrich your life and help you live better.
Hinduism and Yoga is not about morality. It is not about worship. It is about lived religion, about living a good life and dying a good death. It has tremendous potential.
There are other religions, systems, and worldviews out there. I myself am not a practicing religious person but realize that religion civilized humanity and was the driving force behind law and ethics. It started with Abraham the first Jew who was monotheistic, nonviolent, and monogamous when a time when men were lawless barbarians. Then Jesus came a long and reworked the Hebrew tradition in his own way.
But there is also the religion of the east, of India, a nation that spawned Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. All three religions are valid, real, and worthy of study. Hinduism became popular in South Asia, Buddhism spread to East Asia, and Jainism stayed small because of its unrealistic nature.
Buddhism is about monastic discipline and finding enlightenment. Jainism is about nonviolence, veganism, and avoiding doing all evil. But Hinduism seems to have the most potential. Yoga is the mystical aspect of Hinduism and Hatha Yoga is just one aspect of it.
In India, education if the youth is very important. Children should be educated in diet, wrestling, hatha yoga, and sex education. As you progress, you should learn a skill and take 20 years to master it. If you start judo at the age of 8, by the time you are 28 you will be a World Champion. It takes 20 years of daily practice to master anything. I am just using judo as an example.
As you go through young adulthood, middle age, and old age, you should work and play and love in harmony. By the time you are really elderly, you should leave the world of men and retire to nature to find God. To die with contentment is victory.
So it takes courage to live, and you don't actually have to knock anybody out. That doesn't make you courageous. A good man is instructed by his father, teachers, and rabbi or priest and does the right thing because he must do it. This is one of the essential teachings of Hinduism, duty. That life is not a free for all or orgy, that you must do service before you get to the fun part.
Real courage is about doing the right thing with enthusiasm and getting the right result. The main holy book of the Hindus is called, 'The Baghavad Gita' and summarizes all Hindu philosophy in one book of 18 chapters. Chapter 7 is a summary of the summary. In it, a Charioteer instructs and Archer on the nature of duty, success, the meaning of life, a man's role in society, vice, virtue, courage, and excellence. It is one book that summarizes a thousand books.
So instead of debating on Evolution vs Christianity, or going to the next Tinder date, or watching MMA at the local bar, I suggest picking up a copy of this book and reading it for yourself. Even if you understand one line from this book, it will enrich your life and help you live better.
Hinduism and Yoga is not about morality. It is not about worship. It is about lived religion, about living a good life and dying a good death. It has tremendous potential.
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