Try Twelve Things… Fail At Nine
4 A’s worth sharing this week: Rainn Wilson on embracing failure, Noname’s brief but spectacular take on building community, new music, and more…
Here are four things (A’s) we thought were worth sharing this week:
A1. Rainn Wilson on embracing failure (especially) in your twenties… via the Rich Roll podcast.
Your twenties are a waste of time. Like, don’t even worry about it.
While still appreciating how hard it can be, Rainn Wilson (of Office fame, etc.) gently suggests that young people view their twenties as a workshop stage. He says, “try twelve things… fail at nine of them.”
This reframing of expectations is critically important for so many folks to hear—that right out of the gate, the goal includes failure. A word with so many feelings attached for different people, failure can be fear-invoking, among other things, but Wilson’s objective, blunt tone helps relieve some of the embarrassment and anxiety of not having it all figured out. Wherever this pressure comes from (and it can feel like it comes from all over), workshopping or processing through these big life decisions without such heavy, unrealistic expectations could literally save lives.
Watch the whole conversation here.
A2. Bouncing back from failure using a FLEX plan from Trish Berg and Harvard ED.
Sticking on the topic of failure for a second (hey, it happens), here’s a method from those crazy kids over at Harvard on how to “stretch resilience capabilities to become more adaptable to change and persevere when faced with a failure, a plateau, or even a success.”
The FLEX plan:
Failure happens,
Lean in,
Elect a positive response, &
X-ray (be transparent).
The first step is to realize that failure is a part of life and happens to everyone. It is important to help your students define what failure is and why it is a natural part of our lives. We all tend to fear failure instead of embracing what we can learn from it. Failing is inevitable, and those who seek to learn from their failures are more likely to grow toward success at a faster rate.
A fun way to remember this is through the term “shivot.” One executive I know stated that she only hired people who could “shivot” well. Shivot means “Oh shoot, I better pivot.” We all need to practice shivoting in our daily work and lives—we’ll then be able to grow stronger from those failures and be better prepared for bigger ones.
Having the ability to approach failure with a positive attitude is linked with better life satisfaction, stronger career growth, and even better health. But reading a few thoughtful bullet points isn’t really going to do the trick—like most things, practicing this mindset is the key to getting any of the benefits mentioned above. Luckily there are ample opportunities for failure in the practice of making music; and thus, ample opportunity for positive failure-vibes. Of course in school and lesson settings we need teachers to be on the same page here for this process to play out as desired, you dig?
A3. Noname Book Club—from the PBS series, “Brief But Spectacular Take.”
Chicago based rapper/poet/activist Noname started a book club in 2019 “dedicated to uplifting POC voices.” In addition to highlighting two books each month written by authors of color and supporting local bookstores, chapters across the country are committed to “building community with folks across the country,” which includes sending their monthly book picks to “incarcerated comrades through our Prison Program.”
Partly in response to pushback she received from a 2019 tweet saying, “capitalism isn’t evil,” Noname dove headfirst into learning about the structures and systems that “keep people poor, isolated, and marginalized.” Now she’s sharing the books and resources that have helped her understand these issues with her local and online communities-–and the communities are showing up in big ways and, book by book, meeting by meeting, making a tangible difference.
Noname is an extraordinary example of an artist using their platform for meaningful, sustainable philanthropy (it doesn’t hurt that she’s also one of our all-time favorite artists; 2018’s Room 25 is a masterpiece). To learn more about the Noname Book Club check out the video and their website.
A4. New music this week from Roc Marciano & The Alchemist and Szun Waves
Rapper-producers Roc Marciano and The Alchemist’s new album, The Elephant Man’s Bones dropped this week to rave reviews. Pitchfork called the record, “toned down but no less penitent, nostalgic but ready to stake a claim to a new future,” saying that the much anticipated album is “one of the most indulgently sinister rap records of the year.”
I really made an album with my favorite rapper and it drops tonight at midnight. I’m tripping. — The Alchemist
If you’re into something a bit more out-there, check out Earth Patterns from avant-garde jazz trio, Szun Waves. The group, which includes producer Luke Abbott, saxophonist Jack Wyllie, and drummer Laurence Pike, recorded together for three days near the end of a 2019 European tour, combining ideas from their live shows with spontaneously generated ones. Of the resulting music All Music said, “The pieces tend to simmer until they bloom, radiating with energy rather than heading straight for a hard, forceful climax;” and that the album “rewards patience with some positively searing moments.”
I remember when I was really young, watching people make music, I had no idea that things were written beforehand. I just thought people were always making up songs in the moment. I've always wanted music to be that—something that happens in the moment, just a way of expressing yourself. For me, Szun Waves is a way of trying to do that. — Luke Abbott
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We think you’re super,
Amy & Charlie
Extra credit: those musical tweets.
Herbie posted the most haunted pic of Wayne Shorter on his 89th bday:
Karen Carpenter slaying on the drum kit:
