Way worse than Alaskan crab fishing
These gents (Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorak) never made it past their “ninth”
Gustav Mahler had everything: fame, fortune, an adoring wife. He had written eight successful symphonies and was gearing up to write a ninth. But Mahler was a superstitious man. And all of Mahler’s composer heroes had died not long after writing their ninth symphonies. Well, the math is a little fuzzy in Schubert’s case, but Mahler was convinced that the ninth was cursed. So he wrote his “ninth” symphony, but called it “Songs of the Earth”, because uh, it had singing in it I guess? This latest not-symphony was another huge success. And Gustav was still alive. Would he gamble his life on his ninth symphony?
Does this look like a man afraid of a little curse? Yes. Yes, it does.
So Mahler let his guard down
He wrote his ninth symphony. He even gave death the middle finger in the form of odd, disjunct rhythms that were eerily reminiscent of his own irregular heartbeat. Another success. Another survival. Mahler had beaten the curse. So, of course, he started work on his tenth symphony. And died before he could complete it.
The curse was real.
Or was it? Mahler was obsessed with the “curse of the ninth.” But there are plenty examples of finished 10th symphonies and beyond. The curse was in his head. Some of your limitations might just be in your head too. In your line of work, there’s probably some conventional wisdom, even superstitions along the lines of “you never do X” or “you can’t do things X way.” They could have a point. Maybe. But a lot of times people are afraid of whatever “X” is because nobody’s found how to do it right.
The list of what can hold you back is endless
“That’s not how we do business.”
“It’s been tried before.”
And on. Don’t let the things people say stop you from making that dream a reality in your business. And if you need any help making the impossible happen, give us a call.