I wanted to talk about a story that made the news recently. It’s about a ship that sank over 100 years ago in the Icey waters of the Antarctic Sea, called the Endurance. What – you ask – has this got to do with me or with my music?
The story of Endurance. Well, first you need to know the story of Endurance and why its name was so well suited to the events that occurred. It’s a story about one of the most famous explorers in history, Ernest Shackleton, and his crew. It relates a tale of resilience and survival in the most hostile conditions – a tale that has lessons for all of us.
Shackleton’s ship became trapped in ice in Antarctica early in 1915 and was held captive there for 10 months before it sank. As it was sinking the crew salvaged provisions, their small boats and other essentials – everything else slipped below the ice.
They tried everything to escape with failed missions to cross the ice, rowing for days, hiking to uninhabited islands. They survived extreme conditions, illness and disease, massive waves and exhaustion from their efforts. They set out in boats and reached an uninhabited island, their first solid ground for 500 hundred days, but were still marooned there. Eventually a small crew ventured out to get help, rowing one of the small boats over 800 miles across mountainous seas, leaving the others on the island. They found help, rescued those still stranded and amazingly the whole crew survived. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6qz387qjgo
The lessons of the story. What I found fascinating is their determination. Their mission was a failure, they endured setback after setback, they had no idea if any of their attempts would prove successful. They had crew members stuck in different places, but, they kept going and eventually all the crew members were rescued.
In many ways I can relate this story to the music industry I work in and, I’m sure whatever industry you work within, while you may not be attacked by a giant Seal, you will have trials and setbacks. We all face bumps in the road – even large potholes – resulting in setbacks and failures.
It is all too easy to give up in the face of failure, but, if you love doing something and stay focused, you will come through to fight another day. Shackleton and his crew may not have got to the destination they had hoped for, but their courage and endurance made them world famous explorers. Just trying your best to get there earns you respect and a following. You would not only learn new skills which will help you navigate the next problem more easily, but also you will learn things about yourself that you would not have otherwise discovered, giving you an inner confidence. Who knows, you may find something you enjoy more than if you had simply achieved your goals.
Music at Lamp. In music at Lamp we are exploring how broad the world of the music industry can be. We have visits from industry professionals and podcasts. Gigs comes in to visit us to demonstrate guitar lutherie and he is also coming in soon to do a podcast discussing managing a tour. We have covered live music, record companies, recording and, in the future, we will talk about royalties, promotion, and events management. All of these aren’t looked on as glamorous, but they are vital cogs in the music industry wheel.
We encourage you to always strive to achieve your goals – who knows where it will take you. One thing is certain, you will learn while trying. You may even find something you love that you never expected and the resilience to succeed. - Matt.
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