First Time..and i talked to a legend..

Yo,
Darius checking in..
this is my first time blogging, i always wanted to try it, i like the idea.
I had an epiphany last night, which went a little like this.
Creating music is all i really love to do, and this was just an extention of that.
There is more than one way to think about music, as far as production and songwriting are concerned.
I recently sent Rob Lewis, a very famous keyboardist and Musical Director for acts like babyface and New Kids on the Block, a message on youtube, just asking for some advice, after checking his vids he seemed pretty approachable.
I asked him who i should gravitate toward as far as musical influences, and i ran down a few of my favorites just to kinda give him an idea of what i am currently into.
He went down a different road in his response to me, telling me that those guys that i considered great all have their own style; they all have something that sets them apart. He was like "listen to the greats ie Quincy jones, motown etc. and use that to create your own sound."
Hearing that brings me back to the point i was trying to make.
Being a great musical artist/producer/writer/whatever has more than one side.
You can be the most individual and unique artist ie. Bilal, Bjork has its perks, but it doesn't gurantee success..While being sort of a copycat ie. B5, Guerilla Black, almost seems to give you a better chance. At the end of the day, being a musician is a JOB, it is a business, and making money is pretty important. So what does a young aspiring musician do???
I can create "industry standard" music, or be a carbon copy of what is out and popular and making money, but its not quite the same because i still try to make it music..
But.
I want to create my own sound, fusing the greats with my own personal ideas, but will it be accepted and gravitiated toward?
Just my thoughts.

-Darius