Ever lose your keys?

The Setup

Being that it's the New Year, I resolved to start going to the gym again, just like several million other Americans. Actually I already go pretty consistently so that's not true. Either way, I was at the gym and had borrowed my dad's padlock for a locker. The key was clearly in the lock and it worked perfectly.

I had a decent workout; I lifted for about a half hour and ran two miles, and I had taken the last week or 2 off for the holidays so I was fairly spent afterwards. I returned to my locker just as I had left it just an hour before; there it was with lock and all, good old Locker 90. Nothing visible had changed, but all of a sudden the key no longer fit the lock. I looked at the key- I hadn't bent it, and it was definitely working before I locked up.

I sat there for another 15 minutes and eventually surrendered, utterly shocked at what had somehow happened. I was going to have to give up and go home (luckily I had left my keys in my car and I have a keypad so I can get in without them). It was about 15 degrees F outside and very windy, and I was now soaking wet from my workout, but already cooled down since I had been fiddling with this lock for so long. All my dry clothes and jacket were in this locker.

The Punchline

I got to my car, called my dad and told him he'd have to meet me after he got out of work because there must be some secret trick to this lock that I could not figure out. An hour or so passed, I met Dad at the gym and we went into the locker room. Now that peak hour had passed, most locks were off lockers. I went to Locker 90, and was shocked. The lock was gone as were all my belongings.

A fraction of a second later I looked on in disbelief as my father effortlessly turned the key in Locker 91, opened the door and handed me my jacket, with a smile of course.

"Let's go home."

The Moral

Sometimes you have to take a step back from a problem because maybe you're working on the wrong lock. Don't get so caught up in a situation that you forget to ask if you're taking the right approach, let alone working on the right problem. Also, don't be afraid to ask for advice; a fresh perspective can be just what you need to get you out of a rut.

I could have sat there for 10 years and never would have gotten into Locker 90 (although the guy whose stuff it was probably would have eventually either tipped me off it was his locker or beaten me up for trying to steal his stuff). If I had taken the time to say "I'm human, and in fact I'm pretty tired- maybe I forgot my locker number. I'll just try the next one" then I could have saved myself a very cold trip to the car, as well as my pride.

Think about this the next time you're in a bind, and remember to take a step back.

The Analogy

Record labels are in a similar situation to mine- they're clearly working on the wrong lock. They are sitting at Locker 90 with a key that obviously does not fit, and they're just plain making fools of themselves; they're suing their own customers, attacking them ruthlessly and even saying transferring music from a legally purchased CD to a computer is a crime. And they're doing it all while losing money and slowly going out of business.

Meanwhile, we're about to open Locker 91 with a smile.