Bob Lefsetz penned a great piece in praise of Howard Stern recently. I recommend you check it out.
It’s great not simply because he hits all the right notes about Howard, although he does.
It’s great because Bob deciphers the real secret to Howard’s success, a secret available to anyone who considers themselves “talent.”
Says Lefsetz:
Unless you have the confidence to woodshed in the wilderness until you’re appealing to the masses you’ll never become a legend.
And this:
When everybody went BuzzFeed, boiling it down to the nugget for the supposedly short attention span public, Howard went deep, because the truth is people have endless time for something great, and Howard is great.
And this:
[Everybody adjusts]. The stars get boob jobs. The comedians tone it down. But Howard has remained himself. [He’s still] the guy who still wants to see boobies, who can still geek out on a superhero movie. [He’s] the antidote, the complete opposite of our phony culture. And yes, Howard is working in that antiquated medium [called radio]. Proving once again, to paraphrase that old sage, it’s not about the medium but the MESSAGE!
At its root, Howard’s secret is this: Be yourself without sacrifice. Be prepared to suffer. Be loved by somebody or ignored by everybody. Be the imperfect hero of your own compelling story. Go deep when Buzzfeed goes shallow. Be the message, not the medium.
You may not end up the zillion dollar man of SiriusXM or the star of America’s Got Talent.
But maybe you’ll be happy just as you are.
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