Moving forward as a professional metalhead

I first met Angelo in fall 1998. We were transfer students to Georgetown Law, lost in a sea of strange faces. In law school, you typically forge your deep friendships in the first year. You survive the trenches together, form study groups, get into high school-like drama, explore your new neighborhood, laugh, sometimes even cry over everything from breakups to getting a B on your final exam. That’s the law school bonding experience or surviving your first year. Both Angelo and I had this but at different schools. Being a transfer is, to use a trite cliché, like “being a fish out of water.” You’re in a new school, a new environment, surrounded by people you don’t know. It’s like being a first-year student all over again, only with the responsibilities and workload of a seasoned 2L.

Angelo and I first met at a library tour for transfer students (yes, we’re nerds). There were only three of us. Like me, Angelo was newly arrived, just trying to figure things out.

This would become a recurring theme throughout our law school lives and beyond.

Flash forward several years and we’re waiting for the results of the bar exam. He’s working for the federal government and I’m working at a mid-sized law firm in DC. We meet up for lunch and we’re both miserable; so much so that we make a pact that if we fail, we’re going to enroll in a trucking school. At that time, any job other than the one I had seemed like a better path to happiness.

A few more years later, I’m working for a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, Angelo has done everything from working in a small law firm to guitar sales. I recruit him into the company and we reconnect. It’s during this time that I learn about Angelo’s passion for metal music.

In today’s conversation, we talk about how metal has influenced his career and life decisions. All of this is detailed in his new book?I am a Professional Metalhead. Angelo credits last year’s?book writing mini-series?as the catalyst for writing it. But the truth is, he did all the work; writing a fantastic book in just 6 months.

Being a non-metalhead, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would be an interesting story. What I didn’t anticipate was being swept up into Angelo’s past life, from his early days in high school to college. I also got insights into those years that our paths crossed in law school and beyond; all from the point of view of someone who has been a lifelong metalhead.

In today’s episode, we talk a lot about what motivated him to write this book, and share some lessons, including one of my favorite concepts:

"MCZ” or metal comfort zone.

This is a very unique framework that looks at how you can evolve in your musical tastes. It's also a great lens that helped Angelo make some major life decisions.

In this conversation, we also talk about his life, his many careers, which are as varied and twisty as mine, and of course, our favorite series,?Cobra Kai.

Check it out and even if you’re not a metalhead, take it from me, this is a book that will send some great inspirational notes into your mind and heart as you take the next steps to move forward.

John

[Note: links to books and other products are Amazon affiliate links for which I receive a small commission from sales.]

I am a Professional Metalhead is available for sale on Amazon for both Kindle and in paperback.

John's coloring book,?Corporate Cliches,?is available for sale on?Amazon?and?Barnes & Noble online.

Moving Forward?273?is available on all major podcast outlets.

John Lim (Twitter:?@bemovingforward) is a?TEDx speaker, author, and Poshmark ambassador. His articles on Cobra Kai:?How Cobra Kai is kicking butt at storytelling, marketing, and business?(2018) and?Why 'Cobra Kai's' move to Netflix is the perfect sequel?(2020) are his most read on LinkedIn to date. John has been featured in?Cracked.com,?Authority Magazine, and Inc. John currently hosts the?Moving Forward?podcast. He is the creator of the?Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book, available now on Amazon.