Chris Jericho currently has a No. 1 album in the Australian rock charts with his metal band Fozzy but that’s just one of his achievements – he’s a huge WWE superstar; he hosts a world No. 1 podcast; he’s a New York Times best-selling author; he’s an actor and TV host; he owns a sporting goods chain in the US; and, on top of all that, he has the world’s toughest job being a good father and husband.
You would be hard pressed to find anyone with a bio like that even spread out over a lifetime, but remarkably Chris Jericho has each of these ‘jobs’ going all year round. When writing about such an entrepreneur, one finds it a challenge to choose a fitting adjective which would make such a person adequate justice. Descriptive synonyms such as: extraordinary, remarkable, exceptional, legendary or even phenomenal could be used, but do any of these semantic terms really describe such a person? Can a bunch of letters used in a particular order to form a word really depict the essence of a truly successful man or woman?
What makes such a person so adjectival? Why is it some people are flat out keeping an average job, or others only prefer to work nine-to-five in one to two careers in a lifetime, and why is there only very few phenomenal characters who seem to glow things right and succeed at almost everything they do? What separates the average Joe from people akin to the Chris Jerichos of the world?
It’s a question that has always been at the forefront of my mind and is probably why I interview world-famous international artists. For me it’s my way of understanding life and the inspirational people who create it. Recently I was fortunate enough to interview Chris and get a profound insight into his formula of living. I found it quite inspirational.
“What I do is pick things that interest me and from that things just start to develop and I build it from there. When you are doing something that you love, you are not making time for it your just doing what you want to do. That’s the reason why I do so many things because they are always things which I personally find interesting. For me, it’s all about show business and being creative. Anytime I’m in front of a live audience, I get a thrill because I get instant gratification and feedback. There is nothing that can replace that. Nothing.
“People often ask if I had to pick between Fozzy and wrestling which would I choose. But, when I was a kid, I wanted to do both so to me they are both one and the same. I don’t have to pick. I put a lot of hard work and a lot of passion in each of them. The main priority for the last four or five years has been Fozzy.
“When you go out on a limb and do new things your met with a lot of adversity. People think ‘you just can’t do that’. I ask, ‘well, why not? They say, ‘Because it’s never been done before.’ Well, that’s the reason why I try it and that’s why I wrote the song, ‘So You Want to Start a War?’
“I got the idea for the song from a Green Day record where Billie Joe yells out, ‘So you want to start a war?’ and I thought what an interesting song title. It’s not about starting a world war or trying to get into a fight. It’s starting a war with adversity or something that is bothering you or pissing you off. If your teacher is an ass or your parents are annoying or your girlfriend is always on your case or your car broke down or whatever it maybe you have to fight it. Start a war with it and beat it. I wrote it to be a self empowerment type of song. If you can do that then you can conquer anything. It’s about overcoming the odds.”
“I’ve always had a lot of self-confidence and a real belief in myself and, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten this far with Fozzy and wrestling. I believe in my abilities; I believe in myself; I think that is the most important thing you can do.”
Well, I’m not sure about you, dear readers, but this sounds like a workable formula to me: Do what you enjoy doing, be confident and believe in your own abilities, fight adversity and work hard at it.
Onwards and upwards!
