I like proving people wrong – probably too much. I revel in making people eat their words. I love it. In fact, I would say the only thing I love more than making people eat their words is making them eat their actions.
There is nothing – absolutely nothing – in this world I take more pleasure from watching than observing someone make a decision regarding my future – a bad decision mind you, one that was completely avoidable – only to realize that not only was their decision-making questionable, but now they are suffering the sour-tasting consequences of said decision.
It. Is. Glorious.
Let me give you an example where I got to do both.
I’ve wanted to host a sports talk show since I was 10-years old. And back in 2003, I stepped into the doors of KBVR, the college station at Oregon State, and the station manager and program director looked at me and said, “no one does a talk show here.. we are a music station.”
They also said my show would ultimately fail because “no one is going to want to listen to that…”
Basically, they said: “No.”
It was a music station and all of the prime spots were for music only. They decided to compromise with me and allowed me to run a “talk” show as long as I played 12-to-16 songs every show. And they put me on at two o’clock in the morning.
Do you know who is listening to the radio at 2am? High schoolers, the unemployed and drunks. Do you know who is listening to college radio at 2am? Nobody. Less than nobody. I could barely get my roommate to tune in.
Rightfully, I took this as a slap in the face. And right then, I made a solemn oath that I would not rest, I would not waver and I would not stop until I had the most popular show on KBVR. Why? Because I wanted to be the best? Well, sure. But mainly to rub it in the faces of the people who doubted my abilities.
I wanted to stick it to the people who said I couldn’t.
And I did. By 2004, I was gaining steam. By 2005, I was contacting other radio stations around the country to syndicate my show. By 2006, I was hosting a syndicated talk show that featured a staff of five and was more popular than the kid who brought cupcakes.
The pinnacle of ‘stickage’: January 9, 2007. It was the first show after my two-week hiatus during Christmas and New Years. For a few hours leading into the show, I was getting phone calls, texts, e-mails and instant messages from listeners making sure the show was going to be on and not a “best-of” show. The show that week featured Jason Webber of KOMO radio, rapper Xile, Oregon State football player Brandon Hughes and Oregon State basketball player Angelo Tsagarakis. It also featured the famous, “New Year’s Eve Story” to boot.
Oh, and it was the first show since it moved times. It was now broadcasting in the prime-est of prime spots on the station – Tuesday night from 8pm to 10pm.
That night, I wore a smile a mile wide. Not only because I had accomplished something that no one said I could do but because I did it and now the higher-ups, the same ones who told me “no” and the same ones who said I would fail, had to sit there and watch me eat my fat piece of cake.
That was the greatest day of my life.
Well, maybe.
Six months earlier, I met Lindsay Schnell for the first time. And she hired me as a columnist for the student newspaper, The Daily Barometer.
Now, she may not have believed I was the greatest writer, or even a decent writer, and she may not have even thought I was capable of putting together words in such a way that it resembled a sentence – but she made a decision that wasn’t ignorant.
She was smart enough to steer clear of telling me, “no.”
So I started to write, and in all honesty, I was bad. Well, I wasn’t bad, but I also wasn’t good. And I was okay with being okay until I made a mistake. The best mistake I have ever made in my life.
Have you ever made a mistake so bad that it was good?
I have a friend that drove home drunk one time. One time. He was so drunk that he doesn’t even remember the drive. All he remembers was shot of vodka and bed. He was blacked-out drunk squared. But, to this day he is the first person to recommend that we get a cab. Or at the very least, designate a driver.
Was it a bad decision? Yes. Was it one that has made him a smarter person? Yes.
I made a similar mistake. I wrote a column similar to drunk driving. Not only could I have killed myself but I could have side-swiped the entire Barometer staff in the process. And I am still ashamed of that column.
But I do not regret that column. Because that was when people started telling me I shouldn’t and I couldn’t. That was the time when people, even certain fellow employees, started saying, in essence, “no” to me.
Now, before you read further, I promise that this is trending a certain direction. My stories rarely bounce all of the place. Often times there is a theme.
People who read the paper flocked to message boards and filled our inbox with “Nick can’t write.”
But, that only made me want to write more. I was worse than a seven year old boy with a nerf football.. in the house. Every time someone else said no, I cocked back and rifled another one right across the room.
My first step was understanding what it is I was trying to accomplish. So I started reading. And reading. And reading. I bought books by Jim Murray, Shirley Povich and Rick Reilly. I bought books by Tony Kornheiser and Ralph Wiley. I read like the cure for my writing cancer was in the letters.
I wrote columns about people. I wrote with sarcasm. I wrote with emotion. I wrote with so much drive and competitiveness I started trying to out-do myself on a weekly basis. It wasn’t about making deadline anymore, I was trying to see how many people would recognize me and say “good job” during the day – just to stick it to everyone.
I finally got to stick it to everyone. It was two years later that I won an award. I was the “Best Columnist” in the state of Oregon. I beat out everyone at University or Oregon’s Journalism school. I beat out writers whose sole purpose and entire education was setting them up to be an award-winning columnist.
And I won an award that even a certain co-worker – who strived diligently to accomplish that feat – never received.
Now fast forward to, say, 2010. August to be more specific.
In the past two weeks I have been shlubbed off and pushed aside by nearly every media entity I have approached. I have counted over a dozen people who have told me “no” recently.
So, I invite you to enjoy the coming months here on The [Five]… I have a lot of people to prove wrong. And I hope you enjoy this ride.
Leave a Reply