If I started at 13, by the time I was 14 I was already good enough to play in front of people. I started off playing drums when I was 5, so playing in front of people didn't matter - not a problem.
You have to pay a lot of attention to what's important, what's permanent, what's real.
Emotions are the fuel to really move you along - that's the only way you can create music. If you don't feel any emotions, it's not going to happen.