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As we've said before, entertainment is definitely the province of Street Smart . . . not only the most talented, but also the most Street Smart entertainers make it. There are plenty of talented entertainers. The Cowsills were always quite talented but needed a quick read of Street Smart to survive and thrive. Founded by their father, a Navy veteran who was tough but fair, the Cowsills delivered talent as their father wanted them to. And Street Smart was a critical factor in delivery, as you will read from their advice to you.
The Cowsills are a family pop band. Back in the day before bands were hand mixed to demographics and marketed like household products, the "garage band" was king, meaning people played out of their garages. Their pop music biography starts simply enough: four brothers wanted to emulate the Beatles back in the 1960s: Bob Cowsill was a guitarist and organist. They had regular gigs in Newport, Rhode Island. Adding everyone else to the band over time, the Cowsills sold a lot of records. They also used a lot of Street Smarts, as Bob explains here.
"Growing up in my family I had to learn early on how to handle situations quickly and at a very young age. I realized I was living in fear within my own family because of my father, and that lead to what I believe was an early development of common sense and awareness of my surroundings. I developed Street Smarts, but the streets were within my very own 'hood' - my family.
"The trick to me with being Street Smart was to move forward and keep safe – and I learned. I kept safe by blending in within my own family. You had to learn how to minimize risks on the 'streets' and avoid the negative, and that was no different for me while growing up. Bad report card, get smacked around? Solution: good report card.
"Have Christmas taken away from you as a child because your father caught you smoking a cigarette and gave all your gifts to your siblings so you get nothing? Solution: don't.
. . . deal with success now, and that's paved with different types of streets.
At the top, the most important risk is losing your common sense. Common sense is a Street Smart quality you need at the top more than any of the others, because if you lose your common sense - which governs a lot of decisions with Street Smart people - then you can jeopardize everything and lose it all."
Bob Cowsill used his Street Smart to morph into different incarnations. Not a band suggestion and one shared by many of the Street Smart people we interviewed for the book. Reinventing oneself is one solution to present troubles, just easier said than done.
Bob's younger brother Paul weighs in accordingly.
Paul Cowsill: "No one ever spits on you, and no one ever says anything bad about your mom. That's what I learned growing up. And that's what I taught my kids. When they were going into first grade, I told them just that. My youngest, when hearing that, asked me if someone was going to spit on him. And I said, 'no, but it will feel like someone did. And if that was to happen you will need to roll. You will need to engage.' That's Street Smarts.
"I taught them to avoid physical confrontation if possible, but always be ready to roll if necessary. Me and my brothers were in a coffee shop one morning, and the table across from us had some guys and their gals having coffee. The girls started flirting with our table and the guys were getting pissed. I could feel it, and I was ready to go. Those guys got up and started coming our way, and my big brother said, 'Hey, before you kick our asses, what's your name?'
"Well, that confused the guy and totally defused the whole situation. I learned on that day, be able to talk your way out of trouble. That's Street Smarts.
"Be ready to help those in trouble. I've been in many fights. But the only fights I was ever in were fights to protect my friends or someone getting bullied. That's Street Smarts.
"[There were times] in my life I needed a job and there were none to be given and none to be found. Being a carpenter my whole life, I would just show up on a construction site, tool bags in hand. Find the construction boss. And tell him, 'I'm willing to work all day for free. And at the end of the day either say no job or hire me.'
"It always worked. No one ever said no. That's Street Smarts
"After just getting out of the military, I had lost my way. I had no money. With a wife, two kids and a sister to feed, I got a job at a tennis racquet factory (where I almost lost both thumbs). That paid for shelter. Now I needed food. So I got a long trench coat, went to the local Ralph's grocery store, and packed that coat to the brim. I would have gladly paid if I had the money. I was just doing what had to be done to keep my family afloat.
"That's Street Smarts," says Paul Cowsill.
All told, the Cowsills navigated, successfully, the world of entertainment where luck, more than mere talent, rules above all. They were supremely talented, but also Street Smart.
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