Today I showed my students a seven-minute video of Henry Rollins. I don’t think anyone knew who he was–at least no one let on that they did. It’s because he comes from a different world than the one my students live in. He’s fifty-five and works non-stop. Movies, podcasts, music, spoken word, his show on NPR, and whatever else, Henry Rollins keeps himself out there, but just not in the circles my students travel in.
I’m not saying Henry Rollins is good at anything in the way of talent. Although, I did see him many moons ago with Rollins Band opening for The Dickies, and he pretty much rocked like an uncaged animal for about an hour. Not sure that’s talent, but he was very physically present. And, whether you like his books, podcasts, or spoken word performances, he still has them out there. You can find tons on YouTube just by typing in his name. I’ve listened to his show many times on NPR, enjoy his perspective on music (hey, he’s my age so we have some common ground) and life, and appreciate him in his more subdued state on the radio.
The video I showed will play at the end of this blog. Actually, I will put my wife’s TED-Ed lesson up there, complete with video and topics to explore, along with questions. I don’t know what my students take on it was, but I always let that sit for a day and then come back with something the next. I’ll ask them some questions, we’ll discuss the difference between talent and tenacity, and maybe even explore the meaning of discipline when it’s used in the sense other than punishment.
I watched the video five times which I never had before. The first time I watched I took it as just the simple story of how he got a lucky break, took it, fought to keep it, and the rest was history. But after repeated views, it started to hit home a little. Granted, I really appreciated that he didn’t sugarcoat anything and tell all young people to follow their passions. Some kids are never going to have great passions, despite whatever we shove down their throats, and hearing about it all the time must make them even more bitter. The deal with Rollins was not that this was his passion, but a CHANCE to do something that he MIGHT like. It also helped that he did end up liking it and held onto it by being tenacious and outworking the other guys that may have had more talent.
It hit home with me because I used to like writing. I was a Creative Writing major and later went back and received an MFA in Fiction, hoping that something would come of that. I was always deadline-driven–never missed one–and tried to go above and beyond what was expected. I liked writing and thought that I could produce something interesting. Sadly, because I was in the initial MFA class of Long Beach State, the final standards were not that high. We did not have to produce an entire novel, which I think was expected at the program’s outset. Instead, we produced what we had, which I did.
After graduating with my MFA, I did not have the discipline and tenacity to go back and finish what I started. I believed that friends and fellow writers were placating me when saying they liked what I wrote, and, because I’m super critical of my writing, I didn’t know what to believe. Then the paycheck of teaching came around and my book hit the back burner.
I started this blog with the hope of stimulating my desire to finish my book, and it has, for it has awakened my discipline once again. It doesn’t matter to me if people don’t like what I write, but I have produced something every single work day, and then some. Trust me, it’s not as easy as one might think, especially when writing about work and its ridiculousness. And, I’m not out to “get anyone” here, even though many have it coming.
Thanks, Henry Rollins. You make me a little introspective, but you also inspire me to be more tenacious and outwork the next guy. And I don’t care what my students got out of it because they’re still young. It was enough for them just to hear it, process it, and file it away. Perhaps someday Rollins and I will resonate with them.
Enjoy the video and feel free to check out the lesson my wife created. For the petty and uncomfortable folks, try not to steal it and call it your own. http://ed.ted.com/on/GoVABVv7