CRIS COHEN: Going through your autobiography, one of the definite through lines was tenacity. This guy does not stop. You were just constantly pushing and looking for opportunities and trying new things. What other ingredients do you attribute to A) your success, B) overcoming the rough patches that you document, and C) having endurance in a cutthroat industry?
RICHARD BLADE (legendary DJ): Be willing to set a goal. Because if you don’t have a dream, you can’t make your dream come true. No one’s going to come knocking on your door unless you’re Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. You’ve got to be extra, extra, extra special for them to come looking for you.
So you have to say, “This is what I want to do in my life,” and be willing to go for it. It’s a lot easier when you’re younger, because you’ve got less to lose. You don’t have the house, you don’t have the mortgage payment, you don’t have a wife, you don’t have the kids, the two dogs you’ve got to look after. So you can travel.
But whatever goal it is, whether it’s being a great brain surgeon for an incredible clinic, or whether it’s being a DJ or being a drummer in a band, set that goal and set it as high as you can. I didn’t set mine high enough. I’ve had to reset. My goal was to do Morning Drive on Los Angeles radio. It should have been a lot bigger than that. Don’t be frightened to dream.
In whatever career it is, set yourself a great goal and be willing to say, “That’s what I’m going for.”
Can’t do that in England. If you do that in England, they go, “God, you’re so full of yourself. You think you’re so great.” It’s like, “Well, I would like to be, and I’m going to work for it.” And when you get it, they don’t say congratulations. They go, “Oh, you’re lucky.”
Well, you know, I’ve worked hard for it. Luck is preparation and experience meeting opportunity.