Stepping Out Of Others' Shadows
At
some point though, you will wish to stand
on your own merit. You must respect what
your mentors have accomplished, but do you
think they are investing in you because
they like sheep? Of course not – they
are getting something out of it. This is
applicable not just to teachers but family
as well. Many of you will be stepping into
business school knowing that parents or
older siblings have set the bar high for
you. How do you carve out your own niche
to step out of their shadows and live up
to the expectations?
Stinkin' Feet
Musicians
often have influences that they have never
met. Ozzy Osbourne was the original front
man in one of the most influential bands
in rock music: Black Sabbath. Together they
released Heavy Metal classics such as We
Sold Our Soul for Rock & Roll and Paranoid.
Circumstances led to his departure from
the band in the late 1970s. A couple of
years later he recruited Randy Rhoads who
was viewed as one of the most gifted and
original rock guitarists of all time. Rhoads
was a classically trained guitarist from
the University of California in Los Angeles
(UCLA). Rhoads was seen by many as an equal
to Eddie Van Halen. Tragically, Rhoads was
killed in a plane crash on March 19, 1982.
However, before ''the day the music died,''
Rhoads left his mark on two stellar hard
rock albums: Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and
Diary of a Madman (1981). Osbourne went
on to release over a dozen albums afterwards
but it was those two that taught legions
of guitarists afterwards.
After
a couple of replacements for Rhoads (including
Brad Gillis and Jake E. Lee), Osbourne recruited
Southerner Zakk Wylde. Wylde was talented
beyond belief but anyone in his position
would have been intimidated. What was Wylde
to do? Play his own style or imitate Rhoads,
Gillis and Lee?
Wylde's
first release with Osbourne was No Rest
for the Wicked. The album was typical Ozzy
quality but one could not help but feel
that Wylde was playing under a microscope.
His next release was No More Tears on which
Wylde was increasingly at ease. He was blossoming
into his potential as a guitarist. But it
was not until the double live album Live
and Loud, that Wylde established himself
beyond the shadow of his predecessors by
shredding through the Ozzy and Black Sabbath
track repertoire.
Wylde
needed several albums before feeling comfortable
in his own skin in order to step out of
his predecessors' shadows. You will have
your own pace. Make sure that you are comfortable
with your development and you too will shred
through life.
Some
of you will not only have shadows to step
out of, but you may even have legendary
parents or siblings. Take the case of two
racecar drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and
Ralf Schumacher.
Part
II: Find out how Jacques Villeneuve stepped
out of his father's
shadow.
Part
III: Find out how Ralf Schumacher stepped
out of his brother's
shadow.
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