Paul McCartney Ain’t All That. Let Me Explain…

Fifty-seven years ago today (September 13, 1965), The Beatles released “Yesterday.”

Paul McCartney wrote it, and he says the song came to him in a dream.

Here’s the story from McCartney’s biography Many Years from Now by Barry Miles: 

“I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, ‘That’s great, I wonder what that is?’ There was an upright piano next to me, to the right of the bed by the window. I got out of bed, sat at the piano, found G, found F sharp minor 7th – and that leads you through then to B to E minor, and finally back to E. It all leads forward logically. I liked the melody a lot but because I’d dreamed it I couldn’t believe I’d written it.”

I hate that story. 

Here’s why…

It makes McCartney seem like a magical being – a creative unicorn who conjured #1 hits from out of nowhere. 

He isn’t, and he didn’t. 

Yes, Paul McCartney is talented. Yes, he dreamed the melody. Yes, you can call McCartney a genius. 

Just don’t call him a born-genius. 

McCartney achieved music greatness because he chose to live and breathe music. He chose to put in the work. He chose to develop his talent. 

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell rejects the notion of born-geniuses and “prodigies.” 

Those at the top in sports, the arts, and business achieve greatness not because they’re prodigies. They achieve greatness because they put in 10,000+ hours to master their craft.

He cites the Beatles as an example. 

Before all the hit records and fame, the Beatles performed regularly in Hamburg. They played more than 1,200 gigs – sometimes 5+ hours a night in Hamburg from 1960 to 1964. 

By the time they released their first album, they had 10,000+ hours under their belt. 

I love that story. 

Here’s why…

You don’t have to be a creative unicorn or storytelling prodigy to craft and deliver creative, captivating, client-attracting content.

You can learn how to do it, nurture your talent, and master the craft. You can be a storytelling standout. 

And here’s the great news. 

It won’t take you 10,000+ hours to get there. 

Because, to stand out, you just need to stand above others in your market. And most in your market continue to dish out the same old boring, blah-blah-blah content. 

VIP members of the Content Transformation Academy are becoming storytelling standouts. 

You can join them.

Shoot me an email if you’d like to learn how it works and if it’s for you. 

I’ll reply with a link to schedule a Zoom call with me.