Sunday, November 4, 2012
Halloween
Legendary
Legendary
What does it take to be legendary? The
mystic that surrounds legendary people, regardless of the venue they became a
legend in, is vast. Many people in this modern state have taken to
studying those that are extremely successful, and many hypotheses have thus occurred.
There are three factors: the person, the society they are in, and their
nourishing that dictate success. One of the most interesting people to
study these three factors in relation to success is Bob Dylan. To be specific
we will discuss the three evolutions Dylan personally went through. Every successful person goes through
these personal evolutions. The
trick is to balance these evolutions in a way that leads to success, not
getting stuck in ruts of mediocrity.
To begin with, Bob Dylan wasn’t born Bob
Dylan, he was born Robert Allen Zimmerman to a Jewish couple in Duluth,
Minnesota. They moved to Hibbing Minnesota where Bob’s father worked at
his family’s electronic store. Bob wanted to be anything but
normal. That’s our first cue that Bob could become legendary. There
are three major evolutions a person goes through to become legendary.
First, they need to want to be different, to stand out in something, and not
fit the norm. Second, they must surround themselves with highly talented
individuals. Individuals they admire, and want to learn from. While
surrounded by these individuals they must copy from them. They must take
in all their strengths, absorb the strengths, and be able to mimic.
Finally they must evolve and go further in a slightly different direction then
anyone else has ever gone.
Most people spend their entire childhood
trying to fit in. They want to be the norm. Being an outlier is
hard. Bob wanted to be different from those surrounding him, but like
everyone wanted to find a niche where he belonged. That, as well as the
music, led him into the folk community. The folk community seemed to Bob
to be a community of outliers. A place where he could be vastly different
from the everyday people he saw growing up, but where that kind of different
was accepted and relished.
During his time in the folk community Bob
became Bob Dylan, and excelled. He saw and absorbed everything that was
going on around him. Everything became a part of him, and a part of the
music, his music. He idolized a man named Woody Guithere. He wanted
to be like Woody more then anything else. So, he learned. He
learned to mimic everything Woody did, from the music, to the complete
lifestyle. He submerged himself completely into being like Woody.
He did this successfully and people started to take notice. What Woody
did was great, so Dylan copied it, and those who liked Woody’s style, became a
fan of Dylan as well.
Dylan even moved to New York, where Woody was sick in the
hospital, to live like Woody. While there, he met Woody, and sang for
him. After meeting his idol, he got Woody’s approval and his idol became
somewhat of a friend. At that point there is little to learn from
Woody. Dylan falls in love with this educated 17 year old, and is exposed
to new styles of music.
Dylan evolves, and decides to move beyond what
Woody had done. All the folk knowledge, all the Woody knowledge,
everything he had absorbed up to that point was an integral part of him.
So, when he slightly switched styles, he came out with something that was
different. Something people liked because it had all the good he had
absorbed, and something that fit the times so well it became
legendary.
This story of the evolution of Bob Dylan is actually more common
then you might think. Take an art form a little different then
music. Something I am very aware of: freeskiing. Many people
compare freeskiing as an art form, because there is no right or wrong way to
enjoy it. It is similar to music where there is an inherent good factor
to it, but beyond that it is interpreted to the whim of the observer.
If you take a look into the path of one of the
most legendary skiers of all time: Tanner Hall, you will see how his path to
legend follows that of Bob Dylan. Tanner grew up a skier. Right from
the get go he wanted to stand out, he wanted to be different, and he wanted to
be remembered. Whether wanting that is arrogance or confidence, is hard
to tell, but only with that surge inside of you, can you embark on the path
toward difference.
As a child Tanner was a mogul skier. He
learned and excelled skiing moguls. He threw himself into learning the
technique to perfection. He ripped it. He copied the best mogul
skiers to the t. After he had mastered moguls he became bored. He
could mimic his idols, and was winning, but there was no creative outlet
left. He looked around and saw a group of skiers called the Canadian Air
Force. They were doing tricks Tanner had never seen before. Again,
Tanner threw himself into learning those tricks. He learned everything
those skiers had to offer. This time, the venue was open for
creativity. So, Tanner took everything he had learned, all his skills,
and started combining them in a way no one had ever done before. You
could tell it was good. He kept with him styles and techniques he had
learned before which were obviously good, and morphed into something legendary.
No matter what the venue, you can observe
these steps are taken from every single person who becomes legendary. The
trickiness is to balance copying someone enough to learn all they have to
offer, but not become stuck in the rut of believing what is already being done
is the only truth and all there is, but expanding beyond the horizons of
possibility. To reach the level where you are excellent at something, and being
brave enough to go beyond being an excellent learner, and become an
innovator. If you have the skills, nurturing, and a society that is
receptive to the new possible you have created, then you become a legend.
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