Keeping track of my progress, discoveries, and inspiration.

What Opportunity?

In 2018 I returned to Berklee College of Music after Christmas break. A few days later, I dropped out. That week I had a conversation with my songwriting professor Melissa Ferrick. I told her how uncomfortable I was. I didn’t want to be there, but I didn’t want to pass up on the “opportunity.” “What opportunity?” she replied. “There’s no opportunity here. You create the opportunity.”

The 50th Law

Just before his debut album was released, 50 Cent was shot 9 times in the backseat of a car. He almost died, Columbia Records dropped him for being too dangerous, and he moved back in with his grandma. Instead of quitting, he channeled his energy into new music. Started gaining momentum by releasing mixtapes, creating parodies of popular songs, and encouraging people to pirate his music. Eventually Dr. Dre and Eminem heard it and decided he was the future of hip-hop. Robert Greene calls this reversal of circumstances “The 50th Law.”​

“Those who follow the 50th Law are not afraid of change or chaos; they embrace it by being as fluid as possible. They move with the flow of events and then gently channel them in the direction of their choice, exploiting the moment. Through their mind-set, they convert a negative (unexpected events) into a positive (an opportunity).”

It’s all dependent on your mindset. Will you give up hope because everything isn’t how you expected it to be? Will you stop trying because your path seems unconventional? Or can you perform the alchemy of turning the obstacle that seems insurmountable into the very reason why it works?

There Must Be Nothing Else In The World More Important

You have to keep trying without the promise of anything in return. You can’t be sure that the project you pour your energy into will ever get noticed. But you still gotta commit. Art, like love, demands all of you. Social psychologist Eric Fromm wrote that:

“The mastery of any art must be a matter of ultimate concern; there must be nothing else in the world more important than the art. This holds true for music, medicine, for carpentry—and for love.”

The opportunity lies, not in a college degree or record deal, but in your commitment.

Talk to you next week,

Dawson