Gangster or Goat?
After F on the report card, comes (G).
It's 12:52 on a Monday – I'm at my kitchen table, which is covered in butcher's paper, and I've got Tracy Chapman playing live at Wembley 1988, loud.
Tracy is a straight (G). In my opinion, she's a (G)angster. She's one of the (G)oats.
Standing up before Wembley, (G)uitar in hand, silencing a full Wembley stadium – secretly, that's what my dreams are made of. If I could play guitar and sing, Fast Car - by Tracy Chapman or Free Fallin' by John Mayer would be my (G)o to song to perform in front of 100,000 people.
In particular, I love these lyrics:
"I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can (G)et somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero (G)ot nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me, myself, I (G)ot nothing to prove."
In conversations over olives, bread, and butter on the weekend, I discussed the essence of these lyrics. We didn't talk about Tracy, but my friend and I talked about making something. We spoke of the 'maybes' and about 'making deals.'
As a previous blogger and travel writer, I've broken bread in a lot of different countries. From chapati in Pakistan to Borodinsky bread in Russia, I've taken tickets everywhere and anywhere. As my vision refines, it's become clear that I don't want a ticket to anywhere and 'any place is better' isn't the case.
So here I am on Monday afternoon, and I find myself in a beautiful place. I'm slinging books to Bali and cutting deals with running stores across Canada. I'm building a brand and working with some of the best creatives in Australia. As Tracy said, I've '(G)ot nothing to lose' and "(G)ot nothing to prove."
And this entire time... you're probably wondering what's up with the (G)?
Well, here are a few definitions:
(G)angster: Someone who does what they want, when they want – from a place of love.
(G)OAT: Greatest Of All Time.
(G): The letter after F on a report card.
If you want to be a (G), you're gonna have to work your way up the report card. First hurdle? Failure. F
If you want to be (G)OAT, you're going to fail infinite times.
If you want to be a (G)angster. You had better go and do what you love, how you want to, and when you want to.
If you (G)ot lost, I'll recap:
- The olives aren't better in the next restaurant; they're better with the right company.
- I work with (G)angsters and (G)oats. (Click the link to apply.)
- On the other side of failure, you'll find something (G).
Big Love,
JL
If you’re based in Melbourne, come to my next runnin(g) workshop.
March 15th - 9am.
Join here.