In 1999, Pat and his rock band had almost given up. They had tried to break through, had several small recordings but never had a big hit that would make the record label want to keep them. Then Pat’s mother died and so did a part of his soul. He was lost, only 31 years old and didn’t know what to do, how to move ahead. All he knew was song-writing and he wondered if he was really any good at that.
Devastated, he spent time thinking about his mom and how she was so young at the time and the promise of what she could have become. So he wrote a song about his mom. It took him a few weeks. Drops of Jupiter. The band is Train. Pat Monahan is the lead singer and the song became a huge hit. So huge, it won two Grammies including Best Rock Song in 2001. It hit # 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the album earned double platinum certification from the RIAA. Train has never looked back and, since that success, have gone on to a great career of tours and subsequent albums.
When he was writing Drops of Jupiter, he changed up the lyrics from his usual writing style and instead wrote more in a 1960s Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds or Flower Power style that celebrated his mother’s lifestyle.
Since then, Train has written and performed many other hits such as Calling All Angels, Hey, Soul Sister, If It’s Love and have had their own concerts recorded live for MTV, AXS and other streaming services over the years.
It’s a great story, full of inspiration to never give up. As Winston Churchill encouraged his fellow countrymen as Hitler’s Luftwaffe were raining down bombs on London during WW II, “Never, ever ever ever ever give up.”
Fast forward to the present. We’re in a whole new world now. People are refusing to return for work or are quitting their day jobs, they want something new, something better. You’ve heard all the buzz: Find your passion. Never give up. Follow your bliss. Or just do it as Nike commands us.
The internet has provided us so many tools at our disposal to allow people to become successful without a company structure helping us. It’s still not easy. You do need a USP, an idea, a brand, a product or service or clothing line. An app? Sure, that helps. But what is the service being offered? A computer can help you research that idea like never before. And today’s job tools and software can help people narrow down and sharpen their search plan and skills.
But go for it. I asked my kids years ago, “Why not you?” a line made popular by Russell Wilson, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. Don’t assume only others can create a successful life or business. Many know how to harness their energies, contacts and vision into a venture; even if it fails, they learn from it and start anew with great lessons learned.
In 4th grade, I was a solid B student with some As, mostly Bs and a few Cs. But I was born reading and writing, always getting As on essays, book reports and compositions. When I was assigned a book report in 4th Grade on Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, I realized I was being challenged by my teacher. It was difficult reading for a nine-year old. I am sure I missed many key elements and darker themes of the novel but I impressed enough to earn an A for my work.
Growing up, I always wanted to become a writer, later dreamed of living on the North Shore of my native Long Island and writing the next Great American Novel. That was my passion and I did not follow it. College and work got in the way. Instead, I majored in Philosophy and after an insufferable freshman year, gladly changed my major to English Lit. Yes! All the great writers are English Lit majors, right? (not really)
Anyway, pressure built to “do something” and I ended up changing majors once again into Management and I enjoyed a great career in marketing. It was in marketing and later, market research, where I did use a lot of my creative and writing skills. I did write tons of business articles and “State of the industry reports” which were published for the trade magazine company where I later worked. So I was published, beginning in 1985. Sort of. It wasn’t quite the same as being a published novelist.
I’m 68 now, retired, and I’ve finally begun on the road to writing whatever the hell I want. I’m starting this blog since I have written tons of articles, concepts, scripts, stories, ideas and some are just what I call ditties – kind of like this piece. All pieces I like to share. It’s no longer about the money. I don’t care. It’s not about income for me at this stage; it’s about my voice, about writing and being heard (or read). I do it for sheer enjoyment.
But many are not retired and do need income. Where do you start? As many career advisors will tell you, go with what you know. Easy advice, sure, but one solid idea. You are not restricted to doing something you already know from your current or previous job. But if you worked in sales but hated the constant sales quotas and pressure, you might have loved a certain product, design or style that you realized you were a natural at selling. It was easy because your enthusiasm was conveyed to your customers and they then became enthused. Go back to that design or idea that captivated you and use the internet to learn everything you can about it. Check out Etsy if applicable. Remember I said there are so many tools now at your disposal? It’s not a cliché. You really do have more of a head start than most people ever did.
Don’t concentrate on what you hated about your job; concentrate on what you loved or what drew you in. If nothing, then move on. Become even more curious. Never give up (remember?) Read more. I get so many ideas reading about new developments in the arts, science (genetics, physics, biodiversity, the universe). Always find interesting, new ideas – always be curious, be searching.
Read more biographies, history and novels. I read constantly, but not because some professor is hanging over me. My dad used to catch me reading in bed under the covers with a flashlight late at night when I was 7, 8 or 9 and yell, “Turn off that light!” But I am so glad I read so much, and that I was and am so damn curious.
Read books that attract you, not necessarily those that “You should read.” Hopefully, they will also lead to ideas which will inspire or motivate you to do what you feel is grand. The grand idea.
Then research, research, research. I spent 21 years of my 44 year career in market research and I loved it. But you don’t need to conduct expensive surveys and run highly complex focus groups; you can and should Google your concepts with a few keywords and by looking at what competitors are doing. Then figure out your niche, your USP, by differentiating or tweaking a bit. People now have so many more resources at their disposal.
Don’t say, “It’s so hard!” Of course it is a huge challenge but this is gonna be your life and whoever said Life is Easy? That’s why you quit your job and you want to make it your own, right? So own it. Become it, all the clichés. But I’ve waited 44 years to finally do and launch what I am loving. With the job market the way it is, and considering we are now living in the Great Resignation, this is the time for start-ups all over to spring up and help revolutionize the job economy.
When I asked my kids years ago, “Why not you?” I was talking about their dreams but I was also hinting at them becoming contractors, professionals or entrepreneurs, not necessarily employees. We are gonna see the HR economy swiftly evolve into more professionals providing their services, but on their own terms.
As unsettling as it may sound, it is an exciting time to be looking for a job or a new career. The possibilities are endless (as they have always been) but the opportunities are now more exposed than ever before: companies are desperate for help and if you have a suggestion to provide your own team instead of them constantly hiring and firing mediocre employees, you now will be heard, not ignored.
So get your ass in gear, don’t quit that job yet – after all, you do need seed capital for your big venture. And start dreaming like Pat Monahan did back when he was a teenager or like Steve Jobs did back before he started his own company. They both took a while to get there. But Train is still a successful band and Apple was born April 1, 1976.
It’s not easy. If you want easy, stay where you are where someone else previously did the heavy lifting. But it will be fun, challenging and rewarding. If you have to adapt (and you will), do it. Just move it up a notch.
Chris Ebel
10/4/21
Photo credit: @WHAZZUP