In the previous video, I talked about desire – how it forms early, how it becomes a core driver, and how it silently shapes the direction of your drumming life.
This follow-up goes one level deeper.
Because once desire is formed, three very different forces begin to operate in your life:
- Desire
- Seeking
- Wanting
Most drummers confuse these. And that confusion is why progress often stalls.
Why Wanting More Didn’t Work for Me
For most of my career, I believed I wanted to be a wealthy drummer.
But that wasn’t true.
What I actually wanted was to be more successful than I was at the time. And that distinction matters.
It wasn’t a specific outcome.
It wasn’t a clear target.
It wasn’t emotionally charged.
It was an empty want.
That want created friction and dissatisfaction, but it did not create movement. Why? Because it wasn’t backed by desire – the engine that actually drives behaviour.
You can want a Rolls-Royce while driving a Ford Escort.
But if your desire is the Ford Escort, that’s what your life will continue to deliver.
And that was exactly my experience.
The Three Levels That Govern Results
Looking back, my career followed a very clear structure:
Level 1 – Desire
I desired to work with a very specific type of performer – entertainers, comedians, TV personalities, theatre shows. That desire formed early and never changed.
Level 2 – Seeking
Because of that desire, I actively sought more work within that world. More gigs, more shows, more opportunities in the same niche.
Level 3 – Wanting
On top of that, I wanted to be even more successful. But that want had no power because it was not backed by a deeper desire.
So I maintained my position.
I refined it.
I expanded it slightly.
But I never broke through to something greater.
Why I Never Went Higher
This is the uncomfortable part.
I never knocked on new doors.
I never sought a different level.
I never formed the desire to go further.
Not because I couldn’t.
But because I didn’t want it deeply enough.
And that was fine – I genuinely loved what I was doing.
The struggle only appeared because I was wanting improvement without desiring change.
That internal mismatch creates frustration without progress.
Seek and You Will Find (And Why That Matters)
There’s a reason the phrase “seek and you will find” appears in so many traditions.
Seeking is not random.
Seeking is an effect of desire.
You cannot fail to find what you actively seek because seeking itself is driven by a deeper desire.
Desire sets the direction.
Seeking creates the movement.
Wanting is just commentary.
Why This Matters to You
Most drummers are not stuck because they lack ability.
They’re stuck because:
- Their desire is pointing one way
- Their wants are pointing another
- And their seeking is locked to the old desire
Once you see this, everything becomes clearer.
You can either:
- Stay aligned with your current desire
- Or consciously reformulate a bigger one
Either way, your results will follow.
Why This Led to Something New
Over time, a new desire formed in me.
Not for more gigs.
Not for more shows.
But to help other drummers avoid the confusion I lived through for years.
That desire came from:
- Wanting a different kind of success
- Reflecting on my own ceiling
- And realising how many drummers are stuck without knowing why
To fulfil that desire, I needed to build a tool – something practical, usable, and accessible even to beginners.
That tool is what this series now introduces.
And everything that follows builds directly on this understanding of desire.
