Inevitably, when you’re a woman coming up in the boss babe world, everyone tells you that you have to read the book by Sophia Amoruso. You know the one I’m talking about. Girl Boss? I read it and there’s no denying that I vibe with it extremely heavy. It’s a motivational read but for me, it just wasn’t enough. See.. I come from a world of gritty, cruel and unfortunate proportions. My career has brought me to some places that most would be ashamed of. I’ve got some pretty cringe worthy stories. Of course table top books like Girl Boss do touch on these sort of things but I’m not a “put your high heel shoes on and keep your head up” type of gal. I’m a ‘Lace those combat boots up and trudge through the bullshit” type. I honestly thought I’d never find a book out there that was written for me. I was wrong. Along came Duff McKagan and Its so Easy. Guys, my prayers were answered. This Fan Friday is all about Duff McKagan’s novel “It’s So Easy and Other Lies.”
Duff McKagan from…?
What Does that have to do with Success?
What did I learn?
- Keep your friends close and your connections closer. Duff played in a bunch of bands as he was growing up before he found Guns. It’s like having a lot of small jobs. He kept in communication with a lot of his past band members both over the phone and even having some of them visit his various places. He later utilized a lot of these people to help the band start its first small tour and had a huge welcome home party thrown for him.
- Being broke doesn’t exactly mean you have nothing. His story of working as a cook in Black Angus is powerful. He tells us briefly that he often couldn’t afford food and was only given one employee meal a day. Oddly enough, he made that shit work and gives us two recipes I have bookmarked to try.
- Cockroaches don’t bite. Though he meant it literally, this stood out as a metaphor for me. He was just satisfied to have his own place, and the cockroaches that surrounded his apartment won the war. Eventually, he focused his energies elsewhere. To me it means, sure you’re gonna have some ugly moments but that shouldn’t take your mind off the prize.
- Not everyone is down to ride but those who do are ones worth keeping. When Guns went on their first small tour, they had to hitchhike from Los Angeles all the way to Seattle. Duff who was used to traveling in those conditions was psyched! It was the moment he realized that his bandmates were as devoted to the art has he was. That’s how he knew that was the company he wanted to keep. At one point, the band was sitting on the road waiting for a truck driver that they had hitched a ride from. They seemed silent and out of hope but Duff was proud nonetheless.. Those were his brothers.
- Finally, life is precious. Duff talks about everything from fighting because that’s how he learned to cope to drinking ten bottles of wine a day until he was begging the nurse to kill him. He thought he was gonna die. He lived on a block that was more dangerous than half the south side of Chicago, but he’s still here. In the turning point of the novel, Duff begins to rediscover the man he lost when he started drinking heavily. He talks about how invigorating it was having his life on track. It’s motivating. He’s still here.
Fan Friday: The Good Soldier