Frank Sinatra Serious Reinvention
Known as the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra almost didn’t make it into this world. He was a whopping 13.5 lb baby boy and it was a hard birth. The doctor struggled to remove him with forceps which scarred him and punctured one of his eardrums. Imagine that – damaged from the start. After he was finally born, his grandmother noticed he wasn’t breathing and held him under cold running water until he finally started to breathe.
I have NO idea how she knew to do that!
But because of her quick action she saved her grandchild. As it was, he was an only child. Much later he would get a pass on joining the war effort in World War II due to his injuries sustained at birth.
If he were alive today, he would be turning 102 this year on December 11. But plenty of people still cheer for him, to this day. There’s even a Sirius radio show that’s all about his music.
Frank Sinatra was mostly self taught. He loved to sing. And his voice had a rich range that gave him lots to sing about. He was in fact the very FIRST modern teenage IDOL! But he wasn’t a teenager himself when it happened. In December, 1942 he was booked for a series of shows at the Paramount Theater in New York City. He was 27 years old at the time. He was just starting a solo career after leaving the Tommy Dorsey band. He was a bit unsure of himself because he didn’t know if he’d make it on his own.
Watch the video:
It’s interesting isn’t it when someone takes a risk – to do something new – it always takes some courage to just go and do it.
What have you got to lose? You have to ask yourself that question. Too many people live with regret – and later die with regret – because they never tried out the ideas in their head. Life is about experimenting. And of course, you have to live with yourself the rest of your life. You have to let yourself loose. Of course, it’s also important to be doing things that are good for you and for others, and maybe even the world. In the long run, doing bad things isn’t sustainable.
As for Sinatra, he was shocked by a small army of teenage girls who swarmed the theater at his first performance. They went crazy when he appeared on the stage. Later he would recall how, “The sound that greeted me was absolutely deafening. I was scared stiff. I couldn’t move a muscle.”
These young fans were called “Bobby soxers” because they were forced to dance at clubs in their bobby socks so their shoes wouldn’t damage the floor. This mania around Sinatra occurred more than 20 years before Beatlemania, and it was America’s first glimpse of how teenage culture would evolve in the second half of the twentieth century. It would become a huge influence especially when they had money to spend on whatever they chose.
Frank Sinatra started making movies in the 1940s, in particular his movie with Gene Kelly as two sailors traveling through New York while on leave.
But by the late 40s and early 50s Frank Sinatra found his career in a slump. He experimented with different music styles which didn’t appeal to his teenage fans. There were rumours about his failing marriage and romance with other women, notably with Ava Gardner whom he later married, about why he didn’t go fight in World War II – paying a bribe of $40,000. There were rumours about his connections with the mafia. That may have been because he grew up in the same neighbourhood as some high profile gangsters when they were boys. His best friend, song writer and publicist, George Evans died during this time. It hit him really hard. A lot was happening and a lot of it he couldn’t control.
George Evans once noted that whenever Frank Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which “absolutely destroyed him”. You see the connection between the psychological and the physical? When it comes to your brain, all that stress would’ve caused havoc. We know today that stress shrinks the brain, but the opposite – optimism – will help grow and produce new brain cells. This is what the mind-body connection is all about.
Eventually Frank Sinatra heard about a new movie being planned called, From Here to Eternity. He fought hard to get a part in that film and he was nominated and later won the award for Best Supporting Actor for that film. That kicked started a huge revival as people no longer saw him as just a musician. He was taken seriously now. He poured himself into his music, into his acting, into his art. Renewed. And resolved.
My work is all about possibility and possibility thinking. It changes the brain. It heals the brain. Neuroplasticity works both ways. You’re either shrinking the brain which is therefore a sick brain or you’re growing it. As you expand your life by WHAT you are THINKING, you are encouraging the birth and growth of new healthy brain cells and creating new healthy neural networks.
Because you’ve chosen to think constructively and positively and then taken those thoughts and put them into action to produce the results you want!
So, what about you?
Are you pouring your heart and soul into something that has a lot of meaning for you?
Are you ready to make tough decisions and go after what you want?
Success is not easy, not matter how you cut it. But the results are mighty fine. Stop living small. Dream big. Do big. Take a leap of faith. And be your own person all the way!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng, International #1 Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.
P.S. Watch Nathan’s Successful Recovery from Post Concussion Syndrome:
If you or someone you care about has a concussion or post concussion syndrome then pick up Dr. Joanny’s best seller: Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game
