Jan 06

The Problem with Wolves & Sheep

ummm?

Grassrootsy was one of 17 blogs picked by Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby) to check out a new book by Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity.  I should first mention that this is not a book review and I was not asked to “sell” the book. I should also mention that there is alot of great stuff in this book for any aspiring entrepreneur. Clarification: if you are trying to make a living off of your music (or any type of art), you are in fact an entrepreneur.  I’m sure I will be referencing the book for months to come.

The price of being a sheep is BOREDOM. The price of being a wolf is LONELINESS. Choose one or the other with great care.
~MacLeod

Are You a Wolf?
Reading this book brought back many memories from 2 years ago.  I was months away from quitting my job. I knew it.  But at the same time I was making more than any young professional should probably make at a 9-5 and actually felt pretty stupid for thinking about leaving my job…b/c it went against all common sense.  But I also remember being extremely bored and realizing that pursing my dreams would be more fulfilling.

One month into my freedom, after quitting my job, I suddenly realized that, not only did i not have a boss, but I also had NO ONE to help me get started. Go figure. I’d been playing out for 3 1/2 years but the pressure of  really making this full-time venture successful was all on me. It also took a full 18 months for my parents to honestly acknowledge that my “career move” was actually a career and not a hobby.

Or Are You a Sheep?
Sheep are bored. They follow. They don’t lead. Sheep copy ideas and follow in the shadow of others.  MacLeod talks, in his book, about the problem with followers.  They might not like your idea, but if you’re successful, they’ll “like it” because they want to be on the winning team. It’s the human condition of wanting to be part of the something big…even if it doesn’t make sense.  I’d personally like to think that this is also the definition of pop culture.

Choose One or the Other
First of all, There is NO condemnation here.  This blog may come off as a bit biased, but one is not better than the other…unless you strongly feel you are on the wrong side.  Maybe “bored” is a strong word to use, but its assumed that, if you’re reading this blog, you’re trying to make moves with your music. You can’t be a sheep and make moves with your music. You can’t sit back and be timid.

At the same time, you won’t always be liked as a wolf. Wolves are kind of mean. They eat the people in their way and they don’t wait for someone else to do what they can do on their own. And this, my friends, is why wolves are lonely.  They make moves even when no one support them.  This is the primary reason no one likes Hugh Laurie of the Fox TV series, House. But he gets the job done! And he’s good.


…all this from a man who became famous by doodling comics on the back of business cards.  I think he’s worth listening to.

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grassrootsy   |  Helping Yourself   |  01 6th, 2010    | 

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  • http://www.muspace.com/valkyria Diana Wolf

    ………..awesome!! ;)

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  • http://www.atlumschema.com Andy Mort

    I love Macleod’s book. Simple but great inspiring snippets to send you on your way in the morning.

    There is definitely an element of the sheep in everyone, and that’s the part of me that likes to spend a lot of time reading rather than doing. I like reading blogs like Grassrootsy because it is reasurring and inspiring, but equally because I want to follow what is being said/done.

    It’s a funny analogy, the wolf vs sheep thing because really they are kind of separate. The wolf goes in and scatters/scares the sheep but essentially the only reason he does this is so he can eat one, and possibly set the way so he can eat another one at a later date when he’s hungry again. I prefer to think of there being the odd sheep who is wise and just gets a bit fed up with the other sheep just wandering into trouble, and it is this sheep who will lead the others to safety. They all want to be safe but they don’t know where to go. The lead sheep is intuitive and knows the sort of place they could get to, but has never been there before, so he has to get everyone on board. Even he is a sheep but he has made a choice to lead them, because he wants to keep them safe. It is not a choice between him staying a sheep and becoming a wolf – he can’t do that.

    Likewise, Dr. House is still a human – he is still a part of the system and the world he somewhat despises but he is not disliked because he runs into the hospital and kills people (like a wolf), he is disliked because of his attitude. It is not the difference between sheep and wolf, it is the difference between sheep and sheep. Just take a look at humans from an airplane window, or at rush hour through the city streets – we look like sheep/ants moving together. We are all sheep, but some lead, and some follow – leading isn’t automatically positive either – some lead into more danger. This is why the most important thing we can do is to equip ALL sheep with the ability to think and discern the applicability of what those we give our mandate to lead us are saying.

  • http://twitter.com/gapingvoid Hugh MacLeod

    Thanks for the mention :)

    The “Wolf vs Sheep” decision, the one we all have to make eventually, sounds easy (Wolves being far more sexy than sheep etc), but it’s not.

    Striking out one one’s own only sounds like the obvious path AFTER one has become successful, but it never is.

    Life’s a bitch…. Heh.