I’m a guitar player and songwriter. Granted, I used to play and write a lot more than I do now (kids’ll do that to you, ya know?). There were spurts you could’ve even considered me a professional of some sort. Those were good times.
Like with any endeavor, self-doubt is an ever-present obstacle. As I played with bands and wrote songs, I had big dreams. But I never went long without wrestling with the idea that I just may not have what it took. Maybe my chops weren’t good enough. Maybe the songs I thought were great actually sucked. Maybe I just wouldn’t catch my break.
Self-doubt like this is inevitable.
One day, a revolutionary thought struck me. A thought that, in and of itself, had the power to conquer self-doubt in a single bound. A thought that empowered me with the spark to quit pitying myself and get back to work and dreaming.
Wanna know what it was?
Remember Bob Dylan.
Bob Dylan is a legend. You could argue that he is easily one of the five most influential musicians ever. And there’s no arguing he’s one of the most prolific songwriters who’s ever lived. Bob Dylan changed music. Bob Dylan is covered by EVERYONE (C’mon, did you really think Jimi Hendrix wrote “All Along the Watchtower?”).
But here’s the revolutionary part. Bob Dylan is ugly as sin. He literally looks like a rat. His voice is absolutely horrible. Seriously, have you ever heard anyone hear Bob Dylan sing and respond with, “Oh, that’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard?” Most of us can’t even understand what he’s saying. We need an interpreter. He’s polarizing (people love him or hate him). He ignores trends. And for every great song in his repertoire, there are 20 others that are actually worse than screeching fingernails on a chalkboard.
By anyone’s standards, Bob Dylan is not cool. He’s just really good at being Bob Dylan.
Which, ironically, is what makes him cool.
In addition, Bob Dylan produced. He put it out there. He didn’t wait for perfection. He knew what he had did no good sitting on the dock. He kicked it out the door and gave it a shot at success.
When Self-Doubt Shows Up
When self-doubt would creep in for me in those days, I would remember that Bob Dylan was a huge success by being himself and by producing. I told myself “If Bob Dylan can succeed at this with his ugly face, horrible voice and long songs, then I’ve definitely got a chance.”
So, entrepreneur, I’m betting you face the same kinds of doubts, the same fears. The good news is you, too, can remember Bob Dylan.
Think of all the people you come in contact with that are “successful.” At best, they’re normal; more likely, many are knuckleheads (think “sleezy internet marketers” – yuck!). Sure, a few of them may have an unfair advantage or two, but I’ll be most of them are special for the same reasons Bob Dylan is.
Do what you do, and do it so others can watch. Revise, then repeat.
Just like Bob Dylan.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denaflows/
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I’ve often thought that Bob Dylan had no business being, for lack of a better term, a rock star, for all the reasons you cited. But what he is is revolutionary. He’s a visionary. He saw a new way of doing something and did it, and became an icon.
The flip side of that is, how many other visionaries are there who followed that same formula and were not successful? Was it because their visions were just wrong? Or was it because they just didn’t put in the work to make it happen? We’ll never know.
Another thing that interests me about Dylan is that he was not afraid to alienate his core audience. As I understand it (from my mom – this is all before my time) when Dylan switched to electric guitar, he really ticked off the folk music purists. He understood (or maybe he didn’t) that he did all there was to do in folk music and in order to expand his reach, he needed to change.
Great article. I struggle with self-doubt all the time. Except with my guitar playing – there is no doubt in my mind that I’m terrible.
Chris – no doubt Dylan should not be a rock star.
Well, the rest of the guitar-playing story is that I obviously didn’t reach the heights that Dylan did. So, to your point, I think its the work and the vision that’s key. Talent is optional. If you don’t have the vision and originality, you won’t stand out. If you don’t do the work, obviously it doesn’t how much vision or talent you have.
Then there are those who may have a vision that they are completely committed to and that’s completely unique, but nobody cares. That’s a tough one.
bd
@bdunc1