It also connects to something I wrote at the beginning of my book Self-Discipline Superpower.

While much of this book focuses on the existential aspects of discipline such as making the best use of your time, energy, your body, and so forth, one critical aspect of discipline has to do with a much more fundamental aspect of your life. It’s easy to put off those choices, opting instead to follow the crowd, and coast through life defaulting to the easier path, the safe one borrowed from others, requiring no commitment to choosing long-range goals or values.

The discipline to which I am referring very much relates to you playing jazz.

To stand up and play the music that reflects you as an individual requires discipline. Choosing your own path, reflecting who you are as an individual, and resisting the temptation to sound like the safe voice of others is anything but easy.

As drummer Adam Nussbaum once said, “You just don’t luck up on this.” [playing jazz]. It takes effort.

In a prior email, I linked to a Soundcloud playlist of a bunch of rhythm tracks, and I challenged you to play something over one or more of them that reflected you as an individual. With just you and a microphone, what does that sound like?