WWE legend and 17-time World Champion John Cena recently appeared on “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.”
During the episode, he discussed a variety of topics, including how he taught himself to play the piano on his 40th birthday. For years, Cena believed he wasn’t suited for playing an instrument, but he decided to challenge that belief.
Cena said, “I mess around on piano. It’s strictly for me, not to monetize it or a skill to show; it’s a hobby. It’s a safe space for me. I wanted to play music so bad as a kid, and I look at my hands, and I have a catcher’s mitt and small sausages. It was easy for me to say, ‘I’m not built for this,’ and for the longest time, I did that. On my 40th birthday, I was like, ‘F**k it, you’re going to learn music. You’re just going to learn.’ I got a sh**ty keyboard, and I started mashing keys. I was like, ‘Man, I’ll be good at this in five years.’ In five years, I was better than I was when I was mashing keys, but compared to someone who is a musician, I still sucked. I’ve been playing for almost ten years, and I’m better than I was yesterday, but I still suck.”
On his current goal:
“Right now, I want to play jazz. I want to sit down with a scotch and jazz it up. That’s my goal. I know I’ll be there in five years. I’m just learning fundamentals, blues, and cocktail jazz. I try to put in an hour a day. I’m on my own speed. Because it doesn’t sound right right now, I don’t care. What’s it going to sound like in 2035? If I’m not there, I have to pivot. Each year, I take an assessment: ‘I’m not where I want to be, but you didn’t know how to play this last year.’ I’ll work on a piece for a year or the fundamentals.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
