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Hey man it's good you set high standards for yourself believe me that will take you far. Look on the bright side, you are 17, most likely still in high school and you know what you want to do with your life. Look at me, I'm 27, played saxophone my whole childhood. Went to college for music, changed majors to finance and have worked miserable as a financial analyst wishing I never quit music. But I try and look at the bright side. I'm still 27, i've been playing guitar for a couple years and I understand my music theory. My dreams of being a professional on tour musician have faded but now i'd be content to one day just be a gigging musician while giving lessons on the side and maybe doing some guitar tech work. Just being around music is fantastic and i'm working hard to one day make it into a career.
You are 17. If you want to be a professional musician don't let anythiing get in your way. Keep setting high standards. Build your chops by practicing correct picking and finger techniques and you'll get the speed. Don't get lazy with your practicing. Instead of falling into that same old rhythm of playing try and really structure your practice time and work on the things you need to. I played guitar for years before I really started to structure my practice time and then it's amazing how much better you get. Natural ability only gets you so far.
It's not bad to SOMETIMES get down on yourself and feel inferior. I guarantee you Brad Paisley and Brent Mason still strive to be better players and that's what sets the really good from the greats.
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