It's hard to picture country music superstar Tim McGraw doing anything except creating and singing great music. But there was a time earlier in his life when he seriously considered another path. When McGraw was a guest recently on The Tim Ferriss Show, he opened up about the tough choice he had to make years ago. His fans are glad he picked music!
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Music Beckoned to McGraw in College
He was a student way back at Northeast Louisiana University. Besides hitting the books and going to class, Tim McGraw had a clear flair for music. His buddies enjoyed his performances, as did enthusiastic local audiences at clubs. He seemed to have a future in the business. But something else intrigued McGraw, too.
He shared with Tim Ferriss, "I took a military science class, and I got to know the instructor. Captain Whitehead was his name. He was an army guy and head of the ROTC there. All of the guys in the class were ROTC. We took the class and it was tactics and out in the field tracking and repelling, all kinds of stuff."
Should He Be a Marine?
The "Don't Take the Girl" singer, 58, added, "At the end of the course, everyone was asked to vote (for) who was our platoon leader. Well I got voted by all of the ROTC guys at the platoon leader of the class for the year. I was the top student in the class. So Captain Whitehead took a big interest in me, but he thought I should be a Marine."
People in the know thought Tim McGraw had the grit, smarts, and leadership to succeed in the military. He was on the verge of choosing that as a career. What do you do when you have a real knack for two professions but you can only pick one?
He Had To Choose
McGraw sounds like he agonized over this. Anyone would. "I visited the Marine recruiting office quite a bit, filled out all of my paper work, and one night I decided... I had everything packed, I sold everything that I had. Sold my car, water skis, shotguns, sold everything I had...I had my guitar, one suitcase and my Marine paper work sitting on my dresser. I said 'When I wake up in the morning, I'll decide whether I'm going to move to Nashville or join the Marines.'"
Whether it came from McGraw's gut or his heart, he nevertheless made the decision. It was definitely the right one. As he candidly said to Tim Ferriss, "I woke up the next morning, got up, picked up the Marine paper, tore it up, threw it in the garbage and went and bought a greyhound bus ticket. I ended up in Nashville."
