What entrepreneurs can learn from "The History of the Eagles"

The Eagles are, sort of surprisingly, the highest-selling American band in US history. I finally got around to watching "The History of the Eagles" this weekend and it's well worth the 3+ hours it takes to watch.

My two favorite stories came from Glenn Frey about how he learned to be a songwriter.

First, there's this exchange between him and Bob Seger:

Bob Seger: "If you want to make it you’re gonna have to write your own songs.”

Glenn Frey: “What if they’re bad?”

Bob Seger: “Well they’re gonna be bad. You just keep writin’ and keep writin’, and eventually you’ll write a good song.”

Second, there's Glenn Frey's story about how he learned how to write a song by listening to Jackson Browne, who lived below him:

“I didn’t really know how to write songs. I knew I wanted to write songs, but I didn’t know exactly - do you just wait around for inspiration, you know, what was the deal?

He goes on to describe how Jackson Browne would wake up every morning with the same routine and play sections of songs over and over and over until he perfected them. He then describes the "secret:"

So, that’s how you do it - elbow grease - you know - time, thought, persistence.

The video of Glenn Frey telling the story is much better. Watch it here.