Henry Rollins: The One Decision that Changed My Life Forever | Big Think
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Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://bigthink.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_desc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian,publisher, actor, and radio DJ. After performing for the short-lived Washington D.C.-based band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore punk band Black Flag from August 1981 until mid-1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 until 2003, and during 2006. Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as Harmony in My Head on Indie 103, and television shows such as The Henry Rollins Show, MTV's 120 Minutes, and Jackass. He had a recurring dramatic role in the second season of Sons of Anarchy and has also had roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for various political causes in the United States, including promoting LGBT rights, World Hunger Relief, and an end to war in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OVERVIEW:
More or less anybody who has ever done anything newsworthy can cite, as Henry Rollins can, some turning point at which they made a risky decision that paid off, and a lifelong sense of mission not easily derailed by minor failures. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT BIG THINK:
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Henry Rollins argues that success comes not from talent but from relentless discipline, focus, and saying yes to every opportunity while maintaining awareness of your starting position and what you could fall back to.
- Talent is less important than tenacity, discipline, and focus
- Economic awareness in the 1980s drove the creation of multiple income streams as survival strategy
- Continuous work and repetition compound advantages over time
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Minimum wage work appeared to be a life of 'a lot of standing on my feet a lot of work taking it from other people and having very little to show for it by Friday'—suggesting that low-wage labor produces exhaustion and minimal material accumulation
“this is gonna be a very tough life it's gonna be a life of a lot of standing on my feet a lot of work taking it from other people and having very little to show for it by Friday you know Friday evening”
In the 1980s, speaker observed money was 'shifting very quickly' and 'the middle class go away' as a 23-year-old, which led him to realize he needed 'plan b c d e f and g otherwise you're gonna starve to death in the America'
“in the 80s I saw what was happening with money I was watching it shift very quickly I was watching the middle class go away and I was a 23 year old maniac but I got it and that's when I realized you better get plan b c d e f and g otherwise you're gonna starve to death in the America”
America is not 'a place you live in' but 'a video game that you survive' and speaker, as an American, 'esteem[s] America in spite of what it wants to do to people like me'
“the America is not a place you live in it's a video game that you survive you know I'm not only an American I'm an American esteem Erica in spite of what it wants to do to people like me”
Speaker achieved his current vastly different position through 'a lot of luck but taking advantage of opportunity working really damn hard' with the understanding 'there was no choice for me but to work really hard'
“through saying yes to everything realizing people like me have to write it three times and other people have to write it once that I have to show up early I'll probably get lost on the way to the location and that I should probably watch shut up and learn rather than shoot my mouth off I am where I am right now which is a vastly different position than I was 30 years ago 20 years ago in ten years ago so it is basically a story of a lot of luck but taking advantage of opportunity working really damn hard knowing there was no choice for me but to work really hard”
Speaker explicitly states 'I don't have talent I have tenacity you know I've discipline I have focus' as the explanation for his success compared to more naturally talented peers
“people much more talented than Oliver be I don't have talent I have tenacity you know I've discipline I have focus and I know without any illusion where I come from and what I can go back to”
The worst realistic outcome of auditioning for Black Flag was losing a single day of work worth $21 and experiencing humiliation in front of his favorite band, which seemed like acceptable losses for a young person to take
“what's the worst that's gonna happen to me I miss a day of work ooh there goes 21 bucks and I get humiliated in front of my favorite band yeah humiliation and young people kind of go together I was used to it”
Speaker said 'yes to every acting job' and 'yes to every audition' in the 1980s while maintaining awareness that he could always 'go back to $8 you know haagen-dazs' if opportunities dried up
“I'm like yeah I'm starving can you pay I mean I'm looking for work and never forgetting what I have to go back to $8 you know haagen-dazs so I said yes to every acting job yes to every audition”
Had Black Flag not recruited speaker, he would probably have worked for his friend's record store, which would have eventually folded, leading to an uncertain future where 'maybe gotten some female pregnant and been a young dad I don't know... the America would have happened to me'
“had they not plucked me out of Washington DC a great town what would have happened to me I probably would have gone to work for my friend's record store which would have eventually folded which it went away and then what I would have done I don't know maybe gotten some female pregnant and been a young dad I don't know you know the America would have happened to me”
Working on publishing company, doing poetry readings and speaking dates in the 1990s, and accepting voiceover work—speaker 'said yes to everything worked like a crazy man' realizing that people like him were rarely able to break through compared to more talented people
“worked on my little publishing company started doing poetry readings and speaking dates in the 90s want to do a voiceover yeah and so I said yes to everything worked like a crazy man realizing guys like me fais at the time so I was around a lot of great bands and rarely did they get over the wall people much more talented than Oliver be”
Speaker's life story is 'not a unique story'—the combination of luck and hard work is common—but what was unique was 'I got to be in my favorite band like they came to me and said hey we're auditioning people'
“and that's not a unique story what was unique is I got to be in my favorite band like they came to me and said hey we're auditioning people”
'I got a lucky break but at least I did something with it' states the principle that initial luck must be followed by action and effort to produce outcomes
“I got a lucky break but at least I did something with it”
The 'repeating factors' of speaker's life have been 'application discipline focus repetition' where he thinks about what he's doing 'tomorrow 8 o'clock on stage' and then 'the night after' and 'still on that same tour' because he self-manages and knows 'where I'm going'
“The repeating factors of my life have been application discipline focus repetition you know a gig a gig again what are you doing tomorrow 8 o'clock on stage we're doing the night after I'll be on stage what about 2 months from now I'll be still on that same tour because I manage myself I know where I'm going”
After successfully auditioning for Black Flag and being hired as their vocalist in late July 1981, speaker quit his Haagen-Dazs job and joined the touring band on their tour itinerary
“they came back like 10 minutes later said okay your end I said what do you mean they said you're the singer in Black Flag I said so what do I do they go he'll quit your job you pack your gear you meet us on the road here's here's the tour itinerary here's the lyrics we'll see you soon so fairly numb I went back down to Washington with this passel of lyrics in my hand went to my boss and said I'm not exactly quitting but here's this thing that happened and he said it's your shot I said yeah he said take it and that was late July 1981”
Black Flag, a famous punk band, called speaker 'a few days later' after he jumped on stage and sang with them at a New York show to offer him an audition for their vacant vocalist position because the rhythm guitar player wanted to move to lead vocals
“Black Flag the famous band whose friends of mine they played in New York I was in Washington I took a ride up to go see him because they weren't coming down in my town I jumped on stage and sang with him that night... they called me a few days later at the ice cream store and said you know we're looking for a singer because the rhythm guitar player wants to... the vocalist wants to move down to rhythm guitar”
Born in 1961, attended American University in Washington DC for one semester before leaving because he couldn't afford four years of student loans and disliked the party culture dominated by beer and marijuana consumption
“born in 1961 went to high school never went to one University for a semester American University in Washington DC didn't like it knew I couldn't afford four years of student loan didn't want to hang out with people who were enraptured by Stroh's beer and marijuana”
Working at Haagen-Dazs in Georgetown, Washington DC on Wisconsin Avenue in 1981 as a head manager at $3.75-$4.00 per hour while working 40-60 hours per week with a small apartment shared with a friend, a small record collection, and an ailing VW automobile represented what seemed like the permanently limited future of a minimum wage worker
“The last straight job I had was 1981 head manager of a haagen-dazs in Georgetown in Washington DC on Wisconsin Avenue at the intersection of Wisconsin and o'the Street making three seventy five an hour four dollars an hour or something like that working 40 to 60 hours a week I had a small apartment which I shared with an old pal of mine I had a small record collection an ailing VW automobile and a little tiny life with my minimum wage job”
Speaker was in Black Flag for years, made many records, played many shows, learned extensively, started a publishing company in that period, and in the 1980s began getting contacted by Hollywood directors for acting work because they saw him as 'crazy' and 'can you act'
“I won the lottery and I was in this band Black Flag for years made a lot of Records played a lot of shows learned a lot started writing sort of publishing company in that time and in the 80s Hollywood directors started coming to me like you're crazy you can you act”
Upon reflection on his minimum wage job, speaker realized this was 'probably as bad as good as it's gonna get' for him and considered quitting to work at a friend's record store as an alternative, suggesting he was evaluating different low-wage career paths as equally constrained futures
“I looked at my life and realized this is probably as bad as good as it's gonna get for me I might quit this place and go work at my friends record store because I like to being around records”