Tim Minchin explains why you don’t have to have a dream

Virgin Radio

5 Sep 2024, 11:11

Actor, comedian and composer Tim Minchin had an inspirational conversation with Chris Evans relating to his most beloved university commencement speeches.

The Aussie musician joined The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ahead of the release of his new book, ‘You Don’t Have To Have A Dream - Advice For The Incrementally Ambitious’, which lands on Thursday 19th September. 

The three speeches featured in the book have amassed over 100 million views online. “It's a beautiful book, and I'm very proud of it,” Tim told Chris.

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The award-winning Matilda and Groundhog Day musical writer continued: “My boy, who's 15 and has absolutely no interest in anything I do - he's lovely, but he doesn't care about my work - he loves this.

“It's the first time he's ever been interested in me. And then I've talked to people who are, like, 40 or so, and have read it and like it as well. So that's the bit that surprised me. I thought it was just sort of aimed at graduates, but people seem to like it at different ages.” 

Regarding one of the speeches, Tim explained: “In the speech I make mostly to musicians, I sort of say, ‘It's just hours and hours and hours of getting good at whatever it is you want to do.’ But I also make the point that you might want to get good at something really obtuse. It doesn't mean you have to follow a pre-worn path of what that means. I never practised. I never in my life, after I quit piano at grade three, sat down and put some scales in front of me and learnt them. I guess to the extent that I got good, I got good by just mucking around, but it was still 10,000 hours of mucking around.”

He added: “I think identifying something that you don't find hard, but then working hard at it, is the highest chance you're going to have to be sort of top of the field at something.”

Explaining why he called the book You Don't Have To Have A Dream, the author said: “Not everyone has one. So even though we've all got inclinations and predispositions, in fact, a minority of people will find something that they can be amazing at. 

“And what I want to do is disabuse young people of the belief that, ‘You should know that your aim is to be the best aerodynamicist in the world, and you're gonna, you're gonna seek it out whatever it takes.’ 

“Even though I later on say, ‘Get good,’ I also want to say the main things are being diligent and trying to do a good job of whatever's in front of you. And you don't have to think you're gonna smash the world. You don't have to think you're going to be a champion at anything. And I don't think people who are champions at things are better people. 

“In fact, the world needs all the types of people, and some people their best thing is working three days a week at a job they don't love, but being an amazing member of their community, and the person who notices when the lady down the street is struggling with their bags, and the person who makes all the calls to make sure the family are good. That's just as valid, right?”

He added: “So I don't want to promote the idea that everyone has to be a Chris Evans or even be lucky enough to have a career like mine. That's not the only value system.”

Once again speaking about his son, Tim said: “I never dumb anything down. I don't believe in talking down to audiences. If I know a word that my young audience don't know, they can look it up. But I think what he likes is, it is counter to the pop cultural messages these kids get battered with every day. ‘You need a dream. You deserve to have your name in lights. You can be the President of the United States if you just work hard enough.’ There's all this sort of propaganda that is really not statistically likely. 

“Not everyone is going to be a superhero. And I think probably it's a relief for him, even though he's got me as a parent, so I've never put that pressure on him. But culture influences your teens more than you do, and so him sitting with this book and hearing my ideas articulated without me being dad, like just yapping at him, I think he's enjoyed that.”

You Don’t Have to Have a Dream - Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious is out on Thursday 19th September.

For more great interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.