I guarantee you didn't have today's topic on your bingo card.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to share a story with you about a band from the 90s. No, I'm not going to write about Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Green Day. The band I'm about to write about didn't even have a top ten song on the charts. In fact, their only mainstream song didn't even crack the top twenty on the Billboard List.
The band I'm about to write about is so mighty that they put the word mighty in their name twice.
We're about to talk about The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. That chart-topping song they had was titled "The Impression That I Get," and if you play it after you read this article, it will be stuck in your head all day, I promise.
So why am I choosing to write about a fairly irrelevant band from over 25+ years ago?
Because they had a member of their band named Ben Carr, who did not play an instrument and was not a vocalist.
Ben Carr's sole job was to dance on stage.
And he became the identity of the band, just by dancing.
This guy was paid to be in a band, and he never produced a single note of music.
The story goes that he used to show up to their concerts and dance like nobody was watching. Apparently, he used to hype up the people around him, creating an environment for everyone to enjoy the music. Eventually, they asked him to come on stage, create the energy and the rhythm, and be the dancing hype man for their shows.
And a legend was born.
I mean, how big of a stud do you have to be to become a credited band member just for being a dancing hype man?
After you read this article, go to YouTube and watch one of their performances from 1997 or so, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
So what does this all have to do with your career journey? Oh, I don't know, probably the fact that you're sitting there complaining about your current role, the money you make, the opportunities you think you don't have, and more. Meanwhile, Ben Carr created a role for himself just by dancing.
Sometimes, you just gotta show up and figure it all out. The problem is, if you don't find a way to show up, be vulnerable, test the waters, and try new things, then you'll never get there.
I can't tell you the number of times I've heard someone shut down an idea before it even had a minute to marinate. People are so fast to shut down new ideas because they're new, and they're so afraid to try something new because they may fail.
Ben Carr was literally dancing around the front row, unafraid of how he might look or what people might think, and you're telling me you can't network, do some cold outreach, post online, create a brand for yourself, or just change the way you currently show up?
The opportunity rarely shows up first. The movement does. The willingness to look a little ridiculous does. The reps, the experimenting, the willingness to show up without a guaranteed outcome — that's usually what gets noticed.
Ben Carr didn't sit at home waiting for the Bosstones to post an opening for "Professional Ska Dancer."
He showed up, he danced like an idiot in the crowd, and eventually the band looked over and said, "You know what, that actually works."
Sometimes the career path you're waiting for doesn't exist until you create it yourself.