2.26.20 — Love You Big Time

Morning bean!

Coming to you from work. I just got in a little while ago and I’m cruising through emails trying to figure out what I need to tackle today.

It was so nice to get home to you last night but you basically ended up sleeping the entire time! lol. I did get to wake up and spend some time with you at 3:30 this morning and after a nice feeding and a poop you were giving me some smiles.

I was listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast this morning on the way in with Dave Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters and famed drummer from Nirvana. He was talking about a few things that I thought were really interesting. His mom wrote a book where she interviewed the moms of famous musicians from all different genres and they all had a similar starting point. Between the ages of about 10-13 they all started really getting into music and identifying with different artists. Picking up instruments, starting to create, etc. That pivotal time of starting to figure out your identity aligned with the beginning of their artistic expression - all powered by supportive parents.

He also spoke of a documentary he’s working on where he focuses on the ubiquity of vans for every artist starting out early in their career. Touring and sleeping in the van and eating shitty food. An experience shared by almost every great rock musician (and I’m sure musicians of most genres). The part that interested me was the reflection that the van represented an all-out dedication required to be great. It made me think about my musical experience. We had some fun and played some shows but we never committed. Now, I’m not saying we would have been successful if we had, but I do regret never giving it a shot. So I promise that no matter what you do, musician or otherwise, mom and I will support you. We won’t let you become a 30 year old sleeping in a van playing gigs for 12 people but we will be there for you. And I want to impress upon you the dedication it takes to be great. it’s something I keep hearing as I read and listen to people who have been successful in their respective fields. Leadership can take many different styles - nurturing, ruthless, communicative, driving but one thing successful leaders ALWAYS do is put the work in. So if you want to chase a dream and be great, put the work in and dedicate yourself to it.

Here’s an interesting read about leadership from Kobe: https://www.facebook.com/Kobe/posts/leadership-is-responsibilitythere-comes-a-point-when-one-must-make-a-decision-ar/10151211862620419/

Here are a couple of shots of you and me.