i chose both, because playing gigs/getting paid is a lot of fun, but i truly enjoy self-improvement in many areas of life, and bass is one where i focus a lot more than anything else. i've been hitting that berklee chord studies for electric bass book pretty hard lately. what frustrates me the most is the plateaus. i hold myself to a high standard of playing, so I am always reaching for the top.
as far as i am concerned, the only thing keeping me from being super-ultra-pro is a few more years of serious, focused, dedicated practice.
of course, this will probably be my self-estimation a few years from now too.
