I believe that one must have a certain amount of ego to perform at all. Those who have control of their ego make it work for them.

The first time I ever met John McCutcheon I had no idea who he was. He was not yet a national name. I was just learning to play the fiddle and was very proud of the tunes I knew. A group of us were sitting around at a festival picking (I was the only fiddler) when this figure appeared out of the dark and stood listening. As he was carrying a fiddle case some one asked him to sit in. He declined, saying that he prefered to listen. And listen he did, for a good half hour before moving on.

Next day I saw him on stage and was blown away. He could have done it the night before but chose not to.

troll