All tagged U2
Today's episode recounts a decision I made many years ago that, in the grand scheme of things, was relatively minor. It was my decision to get - and then remove - my earring before I went to Business School.
Not a huge decision in most contexts, but it was definitely one that taught me about why we make the choices we make - and WHY we should make the choices we make.
Today's episode is a reflection on Bono, U2's legendary frontman. It's based on a post I wrote shortly after watching them perform The Joshua Tree live in Chicago.
Bono represents the ideal when it comes to achievement. He does what he loves, has achieved tremendous success and uses this fame and success to do more for others. It's an ideal worth us pursuing in our own ways.
Today's episode focuses on a story from Live Aid back in the mid-Eighties and a moment that set the band U2 on the path to global stardom.
But on the day, it didn't seem like it to the band - and represents a lesson about risk-taking that we can all learn from.
I was doing an Interval workout on the treadmill recently, following along with an online trainer (i.e. where you alternate bursts of high intensity effort with periods of lower effort).
At one point, having just completed a particularly intense interval, the trainer announced, “Well, that was a tough one. And we get to do that two more times!”
It was a curious choice of words. We get to do that two more times. Not we have to, or we need to. We get to.
In 1969, Led Zeppelin released their sophomore album titled Led Zeppelin 2, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. A year later, they followed up that album with Led Zeppelin 3, which diverged from the path that their first two albums took. Where as the first two albums were driving rock albums, this one, while it didn’t lack for driving rock songs, dove pretty heavily into the acoustic realm. The album was panned at first but is now regarded among their best.
“It was a great day, but I thought I had fucked it up.”
“We felt like we’d blown an opportunity to be great.”
“I really thought we were crap.”
On July 13th, 1985, U2 took to the stage at Wembley stadium for their designated slot at Live Aid, the global concert for African famine relief. This was pre-Joshua Tree, so while they were popular, they were nowhere near the household name that they are now.
