By Lindsay Bell-Wheeler
Welcome to the 40th edition of The Three Things, the weekly update of three links, podcasts, videos, or books you can’t miss from Michael Schechter (Honora, A Better Mess), Howie Goldfarb (Blue Star Strategic Marketing), and yours truly, Lindsay Bell.
For those of you new to this series, The Three Things arrives in your inbox on Sunday mornings (unless you don’t suscribe, but that can easily be fixed if you hurry over and enter your email address or add to your RSS feed) so you have some extra time to spend perusing the obscure content we’ve curated for you (and one another) before your week begins and deadlines, meetings, and work takes over.
This week we have thoughts on celebrity adoration, how to embrace rejection, and how NOT achieving his dreams as a young musician dramatically altered one man’s life.
Michael on Rejection. This post on embracing rejection and moving past envy from Harry C. Marks needs no context other than to tell you that you should really, really read it. This is especially true if you’re frustrated your work is yet to get the attention you’d like, or you think it deserves.
On Royal Baby Watch, Waiting is the Hardest Part
Howie on Bizarre Pop Culture. Britney Spears. Justin Bieber. The Kardashians. The Jonas Bros. The Royal Family. I am always entranced with and repulsed by how a huge segment of the population idolize, and go nuts for, people who really aren’t very impressive as artists or people. I know we like to see them fall to earth – not sure why. I know that just like we enjoy prepackaged microwave dinners filled with chemicals and fake ingredients, we seem to find a way to idolize people the same way. People who don’t write their own music. People who barely can act (see Olsen twins). People who really don’t bring value to the world.
And now, the Royal Baby Watch. All I can think of is ‘this poor baby. This most unlucky baby. Probably was a mass murderer in a previous life because of all the families on earth to be born into – the British Royal Family…….this isn’t 1550 when it was still cool to be a King or Prince. This is 2013 – when a Royal’s biggest feat will be cutting a ribbon at a newly built shopping mall while thousands of people watch in awe….hoping desperately that you spaz out and trip…..just so they have something new to talk about.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Casualty who Became a War Hero
Lindsay on Music and the Military. This article grabbed me initially due to the subject matter: Imagine living every teen aged, garage band playing kid’s dream – not once, but TWICE – and blowing it both times. Imagine having to sit and reflect (wallow?) upon what could have been, as you watched two of the most seminal bands in rock history achieve super stardom (and yes, tragedy), knowing you’d been a member of both. And been kicked out of both, due to your attitude and oddities. I suspect many people would find that pretty difficult. I suspect a lot of people would drown their sorrows in booze and drugs. But not Jason Everman. He became a rock star in another arena. He joined the military/Special Forces. Trust me, this story isn’t simple, it’s deep and rich: Troubled kid, always searching, always screwing up, fighting personal demons. And it’s also deeply inspiring. I think every kid whose dreams have been dashed should read it. Every soul-searching teenager should read it. Cause the reality is, life often sucks, and sometimes you never find what you’re looking for – Everman hasn’t, even yet. But he’s still alive. And he never looks backwards.
Now it’s your turn. Is there a podcast, video, book, or article you think we need to see?