Chords of Success

If you’re not into music, comedy, or random Youtube clips, you probably aren’t aware of this astounding fact: many, many pop songs are constructed from the same chord progression. Don’t believe me? A load of rot, you say? Well I say this: shame on you. I have an honest face. And if you still don’t believe me, feast your earholes on this incontrovertible musical evidence.

In your face. Axis of Awesome’s revelation has led to many, many Suva Guitar Heroes jam sessions (oh did I not mention? I’m in a band. We have T shirts and everything) where we sit and play the same chord progressions over and over again and discover as many new songs as we can. These sessions have occurred on beaches, by bonfires, and in various volunteer houses (details can be found on the back of our T shirts). It’s actually quite scary just how many songs feature the same chord progression. You have to wonder about musical plagiarism sometimes.

Suva Guitar Hero band shirts - for sale. Contact me directly if you want to become a groupie.

Tapping into my inner genius and teleconferencing with my creative juice (on sabbatical in Paris), I recently came to the conclusion that this magical chord progression can not only be used in music, but within the very fabric of life itself. I KNOW! For the purposes of this exercise, the chord progression being used is C-G-Am-F.

Crisis Alert – Life needs crises. Floating along in normalcy is not only dull, it’s dangerous. A boring life leads to more napping. Napping is great, but only in moderation. According to studies conducted by Dr Spaceman, an increase in sleep patterns is almost as dangerous as eating bread. Excitement, stress, and adventure all help to make life more worthwhile. Examples of Crisis Alerts include not being able to do the job you were hired to do; getting a coffee-flavoured choc top instead of vanilla when going to the movies; or experiencing a wet weekend at a beachside environment. In all cases, these crises have led to higher stress levels but also higher levels of appreciation for the good times.

Goals – What’s the point of living if you have nothing to live for? A question many people ask (a lot of them are Greeks at the moment) whilst standing on a literal precipice. A key to success in life is having a goal – or goals, if you’re able to multi-task (which in and of itself is a noble goal to have) – to work towards. Goals may include anything from naturally sun bleaching your hair, to getting a totally awesome thong (North Americans: read flip-flop) tan, to riding the inflatable whale Wayni Lailai for 30 seconds or more, to achieving the work plan set out for you by your organisation.

Amnesty – This really only applies to those living overseas on a diplomatic passport, but the fact remains that forgiveness for things such as small slipups in judgement and rather larger issues of gross misconduct (I really hope no one called PETA over our use of Wayni Lailai) and thievery of pub property (I’m looking at you, Veronica TheLovely) is critical to the wellbeing of an individual. Without the knowledge that mistakes can be made but you can always try again, who has the drive to go forth and make a name for themselves? Risk is all well and good in some scenarios, but a safe, warm and encouraging environment is a real requirement for living life.

It's most definitely not what it may or may not look like.

Friends – Mushy as it may be, friendships, and relationships of any kind, are the glue that holds life together. Without friendships, who would be there to help with Crisis Alerts? Without friends, there is no one to celebrate with you when you achieve that truly kick-ass thong tan. Without friends, you can’t smuggle a beer tower out of a pub without being detected. Friends, above all, make life what it should be: a truly wonderful experience, where the highs are celebrated, and the lows are commiserated. Of course, like the F chord itself, there are different friend combinations. Here in the Feej, friends come and go with depressing regularity. But that’s a tale for my next post. For now, let’s just go with the fact that friends rock, and make life interesting.

And there you have it. The chord progression for life and success*

*Success is a completely subjective term and I in no way guarantee real world success (where success = higher than average income and large doses of other forms of material and emotional contentment) by following this simple progression. But eating cheese probably helps.