I was asked and this is my answer ::/ Is it too late to become famous artist/musician? Also, is fame important?

For all *struggling* artists out there (eg: musicians, painters, drawing artists, designers, photographers, etc), 

have any of you ever struggled/wrestled with the questions about being a "famous artist", 

ie: do you want to be a famous artist, if you could? do you aspire it? is it really important goal/dream of yours, as an artist?...or not so much? if it's not, then what or why can you actually feel 'content' by not having fame over your artworks?

My biggest dream has always been to be a professional Musician/songwriter, performing, and sharing my music, touch and inspire many souls and hearts in this world. 

But lately, with me being 28 yrs now (will turn 29 this August...oh how time flies so fast!), 

and with many 'pending' and 'unclear' and failed music projects in the past (ie: bands broken, projects postponed because one or two members got busy with fulfilling 'parental or school's obligations', a member whose parent told him/her to stop all the music/artistic activity and to continue his/her family's business/shops, etc), and also my parents (especially my father)'s constant pressures on me to NOT pursue my musical dreams (or careers) but to focus on the "big money-making business world", and also with an artistically-stifling environment where I currently live at,...I have finally come into a thought that as follow:

what if it's all too LATE for me to "making it" in my music/artistic endeavors/dreams? 

what if I simply couldn't become, or didn't have the right environment & supports, to become a long-dreamed famous artist/musician ?...can I accept this reality? or would I easily lose my own identity, as a musician/artist?.. 

and what if, finally, I yield to my father's 'realistic/pragmatist' expectations of just helping him in his businesses, to continue running the non-music-related family business, and just put music as a 'hobby' or as"just do it on the side/free time only" (as my father always advised me to do so),....if I were to finally yielded and accepted all of that,...would I easily lose my own core identity? would I have a 'dark, depressing' future, with full of regrets? or, would it actually [I]liberates [/I]me from the 'haunting' of "too late to make it in music"?...

This is such a very important, huge dilemma and lingering thoughts that recently have really crossed on my mind, perhaps as a 'cushion' or 'life safeguard' , if I were to *finally* compromise and accept my father's realistic expectations..

To all 'struggling' artists out there, please share your opinions and own experiences here regarding this matter. 

I would love to hear yours. 

thank you.

My Answer is;

I've known people to have left home the moment it was legally possible, take any sort of job, and continue in their music studies.

I've known people who even with a healthier home environment picked up and left town to be in a more hospitable environment for music, a career, and to distance themselves from one or more family members who could not stop themselves, one way or the other, from toxifying the atmosphere by 'suggesting' the person quit music and get a "real job."

I've known people.... who all, one way or the other, if they were driven, got away, got on with it, and pursued a career in music and made / obtained one. Famous? No. Working musician with a good reputation, whether local or wider? Yes.

Many an actor and pop performer have not come into their own or gained any wide recognition until their early thirties. I maintain careers are established between twenty and thirty, and often that includes previous time in childhood and teen years of study and prep, at least in music performance.

{{{ The DREAM THING. EVERYONE JUST STOP. It's Become Very Weird: It's Unhealthy: Most importantly It Does Not Work because it is Not Enough! You have to fire that band member who is not showing up. You have to quit the band and move on to more earnest musicians if you can't fire that band member. You have to determine if others you work with are serious enough to not cave in and take over the family business when pressure is applied. You have to aggressively get information about exactly what it takes in the way of technique to be able to produce at a rate which makes you viable as a musician, and go about the business of getting that technique. Realizing The Dream = Getting Very Real, including very real and industrious preparation of skills, and developing the ability to assess yourself so you know which doors to knock on and will then open to you.}}}

If you have any real ability, and you want to do this, you have a few years left before it is really too late (although I find it more than worrisome that at 26 you are not yet professional and do not seem to associate with other professional musicians.) It is to be hoped you have a very strong background at 26 and some talent. If you do not look into what it really takes, nuts and bolts in a very pragmatic way, and Act On It, including moving away from your locale if necessary, it might just eat you up later if you did not find out "IF."

If you think that horrible question, unanswered, will gnaw at you for the rest of your life, there is the partial answer of what you should be doing next. Looking for shared sympathy on line is not one of those things.

Fame and acclaim are ***** (insert legitimate word for 'female dog' here) Goddesses, since you have not experienced either, I assure you that Mr. Warhol was very canny: the high lasts fifteen minutes, and then you're once again just a guy on the street.... This is like wishing for a little piece of tissue paper, it will be lint in your pocket in five minutes.

Best regards.

@Bigmikemusic