Chris Jericho had plenty of people telling him what he could not do before he became one of the biggest names in wrestling and music.
While speaking to Dan Marston, Jericho was asked whether he always thought he would become bigger than just wrestling. Jericho explained that music was part of his life long before he ever became a wrestling star.
Jericho said he started playing music when he was 14 years old. He played bass and later became a singer, but he also loved wrestling. That left him trying to figure out how to chase both dreams at the same time.
“Well, I was playing in bands long before I wrestled, right? Like I didn’t just wake up one day and go, I’m going to form a band and start Fozzy. I started playing when I was 14. I was a bass player and then a singer. But I always loved wrestling as well. So I kind of really made this decision when I was in high school like I’m going to, like what am I going to do? I want to be a wrestler and I want to be in a band. So I’ll try and see if I can do both.”
Jericho said there was no easy roadmap at the time. There was no internet to guide him, and plenty of people doubted whether he could make either dream happen.
“How can you do that? I don’t know. There’s no internet at the time. You know, you just had to kind of really hunker down and figure it out. And I also learned too, a lot of people didn’t think that that was going to happen. Oh, you’ll never be a wrestler, you’re too small. How can you be in a rock band? You really live in Winnipeg.”
That doubt did not stop him. Jericho said he learned early that listening to people who tell you what you cannot do is a waste of time.
“And it’s like I realized you can’t listen to people that tell you you can’t do something. And why the hell do you care what I’m doing anyways? This is my life. This is my decision. This is what I’m going to do.”
Jericho said that attitude still drives him today. He wants people to enjoy his work, but he does not let critics control what he decides to create.
“And so very early on, to this day I still have that. I don’t care what people think of what I’m doing. I want them to like it, but if they don’t, that’s nothing I can do about. I try my best to make people like the things that I’m doing. The majority of them do, but some people will hate everything that you do. And that’s fine. You can’t worry about the people that hate what you do cuz they’re never going to like you ever. Cuz that’s admitting to themselves that they were wrong. You can appeal to the people that do like you and then making new fans. And that’s what I’m always focused on.”
Jericho’s story shows why he was able to build two very different careers at once. He did not wait for everyone else to approve the plan. He made the decision himself and kept pushing until both wrestling and music became part of his legacy.
What do you think about Chris Jericho’s mindset when it comes to ignoring critics? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
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