The Man in Black

Good Monday morning to you. Today we’re starting a week focused on the word “different.” After all we are all different in some way from the others around us. I have picked several songs that I wanted to use to showcase how we are all different and come from different backgrounds. They also show how we grow up and are influenced by things that interest us, making us that one great individual that we all become.

Being this is the day after what would have been the 80^th birthday of Johnny Cash, I wanted our first song this week to be the one that tells how he became the Man in Black. Johnny tells in this song why he wears black and how the things in the world he wanted to see changed burdened his heart enough that he chose for the rest of his life to be seen only in the color black.

Last year when Steve Jobs died, everyone talked about how he always wore his black turtleneck and jeans. I’m not sure he would have written a song about why he did that like Johnny cash did. It was just what he found comfortable. So many people get caught up in fashion and what the stars are wearing. It seems even more prevalent over the past few weeks with who wore what to the Grammys, and last night who wore what to the Oscars. The truth is those stars all work to make sure that what they are wearing is different than what others are wearing. They pay stylists a lot of money to help them find certain clothes to make them stand out and to make sure no one else has duplicated their look.

Johnny Cash was a legend in the music industry; he has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. It is hard to believe it has been nine years since he left us but his music will live on as a reminder of his life. He also is a perfect illustration of the idea I have introduced that we are all different, unique.

He sang music in all different genres. He was a devout Christian man, and, like him, the idea of combining Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Christian faith is a big part of my business, Rockerlifecoach.com. I want people to understand that it’s time for a different way of doing things. If you have been stuck trying to fit into a box or a mold, maybe it’s time for you, like Johnny Cash, to set yourself apart from others in your field and build a world where you stand out.

This week we will use a few more Johnny Cash songs to show how we are different and to remember a man who showed us during his 71 years of life that it is OK to be different. We need to realize we are different. We are not perfect and we need to make the best of the world we have been given. I know it’s been almost nine years since we lost the Man in Black, but through the great songs and great lessons, Johnny lives on.

I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach; it’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Stand out and be different no matter what color you decide to wear to be the RockStar in your world.