I was implanted with the idea of Bob Dylan at a very young age. As I grew up, I was nurtured by his music and knew about him only by words and sounds; he was an entity to me. When I learned he was a Minnesotan boy like myself, he became extremely important as I started to learn how to play guitar. His old recordings had the power to preserve his lessons and status as a revolutionary figure in my mind. That image was not to be tarnished no matter how other music around me was about to change and it keeps me going as a musician to this day.
Bob Dylan recently received the Nobel Prize in Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. For over 100 years this award has gone out annually to individuals who have produced outstanding life work in literature. Standing among great names such as Faulkner, Hemingway, Camus and Steinbeck for high literary praise is an incredible achievement—especially for a songwriter. I’m aware that there are many who are not aware of his work and that there are even some who dislike him entirely. To those people as well as everyone else, something we should all agree on is how impressive it is for anyone to reach this achievement.
Long before receiving this award, Dylan inspired me to make music. Now he currently takes on an entirely new status of reputation that I believe is inspiring to all young people who desire to become musicians.
Being a musician means constant failure. I remember reading about the untouchable Bob Dylan when he started out, he said himself that he would howl out old folk songs on stage and nobody would pay him any attention. On multiple occasions he would go to parties with his guitar and play for anyone that would listen and annoyingly for those who didn’t want to. Persistence is a fundamental aspect of being a musician and if Dylan ever let himself be held back then he wouldn’t have gotten very far.
Dylan considered himself a poet before musician, in a lot of his writings he weaves tales so far from his own personal experiences but with such accuracy that his creativity conjures images that very nearly exist on their own. It’s every writers' as well as musicians' desire to bring to life the things inside their head they want to share with the world, to connect with others on an spiritual level and leave behind something that will outlast them. Music is the engine of this creation and we can use it to shape ours and others understanding of the world we live in.
When seeking inspiration we look to those whose great accomplishments are due to positive traits we can apply in our own lives. Creativity, persistence and desire shine through the work of Bob Dylan and though he has received high praise, merit alone is not an indication of who he is--it's those characteristics. What should be most important to a musician isn't that they achieve success, its that they never stop reaching for it. Failure itself is not a conclusion, it is a lesson in a long line of lessons that test our willpower.
Everything there is to gain as musicians, writers, teachers or leaders can be looked at with clarity when the methods of persistence are applied. The second someone starts thinking they don't have the same power to succeed as every other successful individual, they shake hands with failure. But remember being a musician means constant failure...don't hide from it, greet it like an old friend.
Every obstacle you face will try to keep you motionless in the depths of possibility. Every triumph will build you up to the person you want to be. We need to look up to those whose success is built on principles of virtue and learn from their lessons.
