A young man was studying chemistry at college because his family thought education was the key to success. One day, his professor took him aside and asked a very simple question, “Why are you in my class when it’s obvious that you have little or no interest in chemistry?”

He stumbled through an explanation by blaming pressure from his dad, but he knew it was just a weak excuse. He gave him the following advice.

“Success can only be measured by oneself, and each of us is different. Your success will be different from mine and different from your neighbor’s or your parents’. There's no secret formula, exam, or guarantee, but there is a secret ingredient, and that ingredient is passion. To be successful in life in the broadest sense, you must pursue your passion. Whether you are passionate about fixing cars or exploring the world, you must be passionate about your goal and set a path to satisfy it. Only then will you find true happiness.”

At nineteen, he instinctively knew the advice was profound and correct. He made a conscious self-examination of his short life to determine where his passion was hiding; it was so obvious, even his kid sister could have told him if he had asked her. His true passion was music. Music was in his genes. His father was a self-taught jazz pianist, and his mum could sing like a nightingale. He could play the piano by ear and had suffered through piano lessons for more than eight years, but had only considered music as a hobby.

Could he be a successful musician? Or a songwriter? Or a music critic? There was only one way to find out, so he took the professor’s advice and switched to the university’s music school, studied harmony and composition, learned how to play a clarinet and joined the symphony orchestra. He felt as though he was on top of the world, and that feeling has never left him.

 “There is no secret formula, no examination you have to pass and no guarantee, but there is a secret ingredient.”

He is now fifty-four years old, and a very happy and content man. As he looks at the walls of his small office, he still gets a thrill at seeing the records he made, the photos of the famous musicians he was lucky enough to play with, and the accolades from many of the finest instrumentalists in the world who he is honored to call his friends.

It was a long journey, and not an easy one, but he followed his passion and succeeded.