Adversity
My doctor’s a Republican. Seems hard to fathom until one contemplates how he got to his esteemed perch. Through a ton of hard work. He had to get good grades to get into a good college and had to repeat this process to get into a good medical school and become chief resident.
Still, despite now being chair of the department, he makes a small fraction of the salary of the man who runs the hospital.
But at least the race was defined. Becoming a doctor is a game. Difficult to play, but easy to define. Becoming a successful artist? That’s murky and we don’t need you. Everybody says they’re an artist, just listen to the track they created with GarageBand! And many are willing to play for free. And although we need health care, in a pinch, we could live without music.
I’m reading a book about the founder of DHL, Larry Hillblom.
He came from central California, farm country. He got good grades to get into a good law school, Boalt Hall, and to pay his bills, he became a courier.
Yup, he’d fly from the Bay Area to L.A., sleep in the airport and return the next day in time for class. As for his abode, he oftentimes didn’t have one, he slept in his car or crashed at a friend’s house.
And after graduating, while studying for the bar exam, Larry realized he could do it for himself, he could start his own courier business.
But he needed contacts. He went into partnership with a salesman from the old company. As for money… They started with nothing. And never got a big bank loan, never got a fat cat to invest. Finances were sketchy.
But nowhere near as sketchy as the development of their business.
Because once DHL achieved success (and in case you don’t know what DHL is, consider it to be a foreign Federal Express, before FedEx existed, never mind got into the overseas business), a competitor tried to put it out of business. Yes, Loomis, the armored car company.
But it gets worse. Loomis was tied into the government. They used their juice in Nixon’s administration to hobble DHL.
So what did DHL do?
It sued.
Well, it appealed. After losing in court and given months to remain in business.
But that’s an oversimplification. The government required a license as a freight forwarder that DHL did not need. This was the Loomis pressure. And the government told Hillblom to get rid of his foreign subsidiaries.
In other words, the government wanted to ruin his business.
And reading this, one does wonder if regulations are put in place to protect those already entrenched. It’s just like copyright law, where Disney got it extended seemingly forever and now you’ve got no right to mash-up Mickey Mouse in one of your projects.
But the point is there’s a fantasy that your career is going to be clear sailing. That you’re gonna get a VC or a record label to invest in you and make you happen.
WRONG!
The greatest successes come from those working the fringes, with ideas the mainstream can’t comprehend. And if you think it’s as simple as launching and you’re in the black… If you’re lucky, clients will clamor, but if they do, the big boys will want to put you out of business.
This is the story of Napster.
You might think it’s as simple as copyright infringement, but the truth is the labels have unclean hands. And want no progress. And just want to protect their monopoly.
Napster lost. But so did the labels.
Believing they’d triumphed, they rested on their laurels and then were eviscerated by not only YouTube, but Tunecore and iTunes, which allowed anybody to get their music distributed. You don’t see the majors suing Tunecore, they’ve got no case!
Becoming a winner is not a decision. You don’t look in the mirror and say "I’m smart enough, I want it enough, I deserve it."
That’s hogwash for pussies.
First and foremost you must prepare.
You don’t have to know how to read music to be successful, but it certainly helps. Larry Hillblom did not have to be a lawyer to make DHL a success, but the fact that he was one gave him insight into the process, and allowed him to chart a path to success.
And once you’re in the game, expect to be beaten down.
Sure, there’s the occasional artists who’s led a charmed life.
But most of them can tell stories of not only being ripped off, but pushed off. Lady Gaga lost her label deal. If you don’t know how disheartening that is, you’re still living in your mommy’s house and on her payroll. And then there are acts that despite the big push, don’t break through.
But there’s a certain sect of acts who just won’t give up.
If you think you’re good now, if you think you know everything, I’m laughing.
All those prepubescent acts. It’s got little to do with their talent and all to do with the machine. From Miley Cyrus to Justin Bieber to Willow Smith. Once the machine gives up on them, once they’re no longer a cash cow, they’re done. Can you say Leif Garrett?
You think it’s about your lucky break.
No, it’s about a series of breaks, and you can’t predict in advance which one is the one that will make a difference.
But even more than breaks, it’s about losses.
So, if you want to be a winner in this world, stay in school, play the game as hard as you can. Then you possibly can have the status of the M.D. above.
If you want to win in art, know that the odds of success are infinitesimal. And what you learn off the stage is just as important as what you learn on.
It takes a lot to make it. Outsiders may not be able to see the bruises, but they’re there. And they fade, but they’re never forgotten.
I believe in a safety net.
But despite the hoopla about welfare queens, no one living on the dole is doing well.
If you want to do well, in today’s winner take all society, you’ve got to do the work. When no one is paying attention, when no one cares. If you haven’t thought of giving up, you just haven’t tried hard enough. If you believe you should make it because everybody believes in you, you’re delusional.
If you realize music is a lonely pursuit and only the most dogged and talented have a chance of a lifelong career…you’ve got a chance.
