The story behind my career choice ... I was competing regionally in piano in upstate New York against people from all over the east coast. I had a peak performance for the event where everything went just perfectly. This was it. This was as good as it ever was going to get... and I didn't place. It was eye-opening to the talent out there. So I kept the piano on the side, particularly in musical theater, and went to Boston University to pursue an economics degree with a business minor.

I somehow stumbled upon a job and ended up being music director of... I don't know how to describe it... a cheesy dinner theater. It paid great and was every other Friday night while I was in school. I did that throughout college.

At the end I graduated and was interviewing at places like Solomon Brothers, Chase Manhattan (international finance was my focus), but it was just turning me off. I couldn't get into the interview process. I couldn't get into the people I was meeting. I'd ask during interviews, "What is it you like about your job?" and no one would give an answer. Everyone would talk about the numbers and the money they made, but I couldn't sense their passion.

So I stepped back from that and started to reexplore the arts again. I applied for internships and during the 90's it was a depression in Massachusetts and the only person that would take me was the Boston Ballet. I ended up doing work with their board for an education program. Within about six months I was playing piano for them as well. So I got back into music again.

Success is a balance. Finding my career is only half the picture. I'm engaged and will be married next June. Even when you work a twelve hour day, when you leave for the day and the lights are out and the door gets shut and work is behind you there is the rest of your life: books, TV, baseball, family, friends... all the things that round out your character. It's important to me to not focus on or get absorbed by one thing. Know what two or three things are important to you and balance those out. There are things that make you a good leader or a good manager that will also apply to help you achieve, like good listening skills and communication skills.

Success is how you maintain your relationships. It's a difficult thing sometimes. There's no clear answer. You have to take it a day at a time. Success is that juggling. It's constantly feeling out what's happening at work and at home and being very sensitive to the situations around you.

Part of getting to the stage I'm at now was growing up and breaking away from family expectations, not that I ever remember being told that I should be a successful businessman or anything. I got a very practical degree, economics with a business minor. The values I had in school - that of security and knowing that I could provide for myself and any future family - were so strong they guided me to pursue the practical financial path.

The job I'm in now is something in the middle. It is a steady salaried position, so it's not like being a freelance musician or any sort of freelance artist where you don't know where your next paycheck is going to come. The balance of those two things, the music side and the business side, was important to me. When I was only pursuing the business jobs, there was something missing, a feeling of indifference. I was looking for something that was interesting to me. It was frustration trying to conform into something that I was not. I love not having to wear a suit and tie everyday or having to conform to a whole social scheme and hierarchy that seems phony to me.

People have certain skills that they are good at. The skills I have could probably allow me to be in two or three different careers. And while I have some talent playing the piano, I don't think that was my calling even though I love to play. People have to be open to what the signals are. You have to know what you're good at and what you can succeed at as well.

To find your path, you have to find what interests you and what keeps you engaged. Do what you love. There are a million different cliches'... you have to understand who you are and what it is that makes you click. That's the energy. That's what you should pursue. For people who are struggling, there are hundreds of ways to find that. It's not necessarily what you think society thinks. Because I love music, doesn't necessarily mean there's a job in music I should pursue. As long as you find time to include that passion in your life whether it's buying recordings or reading about it... that's what keeps that fire going.