The second half of this article is about the story the author’s fifth grade classmate wrote. His story was that of a tiger trying to escape a cage by jumping out, but every time he does, he lands in another cage. The author of the article finds this tale to be representative of the process of finding true freedom. We cannot take the quick way out; we must deal with our cage instead of trying to escape from us. We cannot escape the cage, because it will never leave us, but we can destroy it instead.
“When you’re haunted by the demons that’ll never let you rest
Not shy in front of crowds but shy in front of just one guest
Not dumb enough to win at the game
But not smart enough to dumb it down and take it away
It’s black and white
Like space at night
If you wanna be like us you better work every night”
-Julian Casablancas, My Drive Thru
These lyrics speak to me in a big way because they discuss the way I see the journey to success and freedom as an artist. Much like Jonathon Flaum discusses in Finding Your Howl, I have come to the conclusion in my life that the only where that I will reach a place I want to be is through a large amount of pain and hard work. In a short amount of words, Julian Casablancas says a lot about this process. The way I see it, Casablancas elaborates on the problem and the infinite hassles revolving around it, but then turns around and comments on how obvious the solution is.
The problem is the difficulty in reaching success. No matter what someone aims to do in life, there will always be obstacles. The greater the goal is, the more terrifying the obstacles are. In relation to the lyrics, these obstacles are the “demons that will never let you rest.” These demons are what pester most people into quitting, for one must deal with them in order to get where they want to go, and they are always a force to be reckoned with. These demons can be anything from people trying to bring the dream down to one’s own lack of confidence. Confidence is what I feel the next line is talking about. Often people appear to know exactly what they are doing in front of others or a ‘crowd,’ but really when they look at the mirror, they are “in front of just one guest,” and they feel terrified. I would be lying if I said that I have not often pretended to be in control while on the inside feel completely lost. But one must deal with their issues inside to get results outside. If someone does not think they cannot do something, they are right. Before an action can be done, or a goal can be reached, or a dream can be achieved, one must truly believe that he or she has the ability to do so. In my opinion, self-confidence is the most important factor in any action, no matter how large or small, but the larger the action, the more self-confidence it takes.
Next, Casablancas discusses an issue that I personally struggle with very much with many goals I take on, doing the dirty work. What I mean by that is, in order to do something great, one has to do an incredible amount of work that he or she will not consider ‘great.’ Everyone has to start from the bottom, and many people might look at work they consider ‘beneath them,’ and either abandon the task altogether or try to skip ahead, both of which lead to failure. People see the ‘game’ but don’t consider themselves dumb enough to stoop that low, but by refusing to play, they take away their opportunity to win. As Casablancas explains, if they were smarter, they would “dumb it down and take it away.” Stop being pretentious, grit your teeth, and grind through the difficult work. I have found myself many times wasting time trying to find a shortcut to a desired goal instead of buckling down and doing what I know must be done.
After all of this talk about the difficulty of reaching a goal, Casablancas is very concise when he explains solution. In his words, the solution is “black and white.” In order to be like him or other successful artists, “you gotta work every night.” All of the discussion on obstacles and goals boils down to this simple fact: if you want something, you have to be relentless. The only way to be the best at something is to do it all the time every day without ever letting up. For me, a true understanding of this concept is the most powerful tool I have as an artist. Now is the time to work towards my goals tirelessly. I’ll have time for a break when I’m dead.
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