brassandzin

Everything he said is true, but also not specific. Like all "advice" one just needs to see how it applies to your current situation.
The thing that popped out for me was about not trying to fit into that tiny box, that pre-conceived notion of what a life in music means. I took some time off after college and found that music was not something I could just leave. I taught myself to play bass, performed in many rock/blues/folk groups and eventually ended up where I started, with the trumpet. But now I have this breadth of experience in music that allows me to perform in many more situations than I was prepared for after college. Add to that my decades as an audio engineer and I actually feel more prepared musically than ever before. I'm not a household name, but I'm a much better musician now than I could have imagined just after school, and while you won't usually find me playing the lead book in a big band, you'll find me in all sorts of musically interesting and challenging places (playing cartoon music, or with an accordion folk group, or a brass quintet, a small jazz group...or who knows what).