I gave up a lot of things in exchange for my success.
It was also important for me to have a burning desire to achieve something worthwhile on that instrument, and I devoted many many many hours with little or no compensation to perfecting whatever I could, because I loved it so much.
History has repeated itself many times througout the ages.
I'm a fan of many different styles of classical and symphonic music.
It is never easy for anyone to have success in music.
I didn't follow the standard rules of bass playing, and many musicians on many different instruments who became noteworthy for their unique or particular style did a very similar thing.