Charlie has launched a YouTube channel called Rails Across New England, charting his new obsession with rail fanning:
Watching and recording trains as they pass by stations and crossings.
Also learning about the intricacies of America’s railway system. Buying and building model train sets. Deep diving into different types of engines, cars, stations., etc.
His YouTube channel currently has 66 followers.
“It’s not a lot,” he told me. “But it’s better than none.”
He’s recently started doing YouTube Lives on his channel. After his most recent live broadcast, he said, “I had exactly zero people watching tonight, but that’s okay. I’m doing it. I’m making stuff, even if no one is watching.”
I love that kid.
He understands that things almost always suck at first, and they will likely suck for a long time.
So many people — almost everyone — quit when success does not come easily to them. In the face of overwhelming odds and daily disappointments, they surrender their dreams and resign themselves to a lifetime of regret.
Molly Shannon’s first pitch tape to SNL was watched and passed over. While reflecting on that time, she said her thoughts were this:
“That’s okay. I’ll keep honing my craft, and maybe in five years, SNL will give me another chance.”
For five years, Shannon hosted a show in New York City, cultivating a list of people she would constantly call, email, and beg to attend. She paid for the band and theater out of pocket and made almost no money in the process.
Five years later, SNL gave her a second look. They asked for her to submit another video. Instead, she insisted the producer attend one of her shows, which — after five years of grinding, suffering, and honing her craft — was extraordinary.
The producer reluctantly agreed.
The rest is history.
FIVE YEARS.
She worked like hell for five years before making her dream come true.
How many other people would work for five years in obscurity and poverty while waiting for their next break?
It saddens me to say not many.
Hopefully, it won’t take Charlie five years for someone to watch him perform live.
If it does, I hope he has the wisdom and tenacity of a Molly Shannon to make it happen.
