The Elusive 'Right'
There are no less than seven different ways for me to get from my home to my voice lessons downtown.
There are at LEAST seven ways that I counted--I'm sure there are far more, if I were to really sit down and think about it.
None of these routes are any inherently better or worse than any other.
Each one offers its own unique set of priorities, choices and challenges.
Issues only arise when someone decides to tell you 'the right way' to get somewhere.
Suddenly, everything changes.
Your field of vision narrows, eliminating unnecessary information and only allowing you to focus on a select group of factors.
Issues that were previously unimportant suddenly become VERY important: if I'm taking the bus, then the possibility of a weekend crowd surge becomes an important factor (whereas if I had the option of Ubering, I wouldn't give a fig that the #49 bus was running behind due to traffic).
Throughout an artist's lifetime, they will continually encounter people telling them 'the right way' to do something. There will be a never-ending onslaught of well-intended advice slung your way: the best teacher, the right way to write a resume, the perfect aria to demonstrate your talent, the best possible grad school to attend, etc.
Each choice offers its own advantages in terms of resilience, speed, cost or hassle.
The important thing to remember is that there IS no 'right' or 'wrong' choice.
You cannot make creative choices based on 'right' and 'wrong', because the normal construct of 'right' and 'wrong' doesn't exist within a creative platform.
Art isn't science. There are no hard and fast facts or rules, and everyone's journey is different.
The only useful construct that you can consider when making choices are your personal priorities, your own unique challenges, and the route that offers the best combination of trade-offs.
As long as you are growing, challenging yourself and exploring your craft, there is never a wrong choice to be made.
There is, however, an alternative choice: to do nothing.
But waiting for 'perfection' is a never-ending task, the same way that 'elusive right way' of doing things doesn't exist.
Begin now. Begin today.