Chris Jericho – “No Is A Four-Letter Word” | Book Review

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The fourth literary release from Chris Jericho travels a different path than Jericho’s previous three. Rather than recount stories from the years that have passed since his last autobiography (like he had done in October 2014’s release, The Best in the World: At What I Have No Idea), No Is a Four-Letter Word centers around how to apply twenty principals in your life to get to the top of any field, just like he has, using his personal adventures as a guide. The departure from his usual format may deter readers from giving this book a try. However, you’ll be laughing out loud just the same and find yourself thinking differently in many ways thanks to the advice given by the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla! Let’s dig in… "Don’t listen to people who say you can’t make it happen… because I’m living proof that YOU CAN." – Chris Jericho Book Review: No Is A Four-Letter Word by Chris Jericho "No" is not in the arsenal of words used by Chris Jericho. As one of the hardest working men in entertainment, he juggles the roles of world champion professional wrestler, lead singer of heavy metal band Fozzy, actor, three-time New York Times bestselling author, host of the weekly Talk Is Jericho podcast, businessman, master drinker, and most importantly, husband and father to three kids. An Instagram post shared by Jericho in 2016 laid out his workhorse ethic best: "4 countries and 3 continents in 9 days, plus I’ve got a fourth book to finish, song lyrics to write, and at least 4 podcasts to record." There’s no stopping this machine, maaaaan!  So how does he keep himself going on such little rest while continually finding success in each of the avenues that he pursues? Twenty Principles of Chris Jericho Chris Jericho’s prose, coupled with his honest and humorous approach to storytelling, makes it hard to put this book down. While reading No Is A Four Letter Word, I found myself folding the corners of pages that included anecdotes I wanted to remember later. In the spirit of not wanting to give too much away, I won’t be sharing those twenty-seven corner-folded anecdotes, but I will share one story from one of my favorite chapters entitled, "The Keith Richards Principle." In this chapter, shared with permission from his publisher, Chris Jericho recounts how he was allowed to meet one of his musical heroes, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, through an assist from Jimmy Fallon. "The Keith Richards Principle" From the Chris Jericho Book, No Is a Four-Letter Word As we grow older, life’s responsibilities and excuses get in the way of enticing opportunities that come our way. "I’d love to go to [insert fun opportunity here] with you, but I have [to work/no money/family to look after/have to get up early, etc.]…" You get the picture. We have all been there. We have played the role of the friend having to say no, despite wanting to go. We have also been that friend asking someone to do something with us but hearing "no" in response. Jericho doesn’t like our types! "If you don’t WANT to go, that’s fine," Jericho writes, "but if it’s something you really want to do, then don’t give me any excuses. Have to work in the morning? Then drink an extra cup of coffee if you’re tired. Don’t have somebody to go with? Go solo and make friends." In his book, Jericho continues. "It’s easy to think of a hundred reasons why something won’t work, but I’d rather find a way to MAKE it work. If you want your dreams to come true, stop thinking of excuses, and start making realities." It’s these anecdotes of advice that stick with you after reading No Is A Four-Letter Word. So, about this story of Jericho meeting Keith Richards? It almost didn’t happen. Chris was a guest on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. While backstage, he saw a wall calendar showing that Keith Richards would be a guest the following Monday. Jericho was told by Fallon, "If you’re going to be in town, you should come by!" Unfortunately for Chris, WWE’s Monday Night Raw was on that Monday night, and as such, he wouldn’t be able to make it. Or so he thought. In this excerpt from No Is a Four-Letter Word, which was sent to us as a courtesy of Da Capo Press, Chris Jericho tells his story: "Meeting Keith Richards had been a dream of mine for years, as I’d been a marginal Stones fan since I was a kid. But ironically enough, it wasn’t until I saw their reunion concert in December of 2012 on PPV—promoted by Vincent K. McMahon himself—that I got REALLY into them. Now that the Stones were one of my all-time favorites, I started thinking about the logistics of whether I might actually be able to make this meeting happen. Raw was nine miles away at the Izod Center in New Jersey, and under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t have presented a problem. But Jimmy Fallon taped his show at 5:30 p.m., which meant the show wouldn’t be over till around 6:30 p.m., which meant I wouldn’t get over there until around 7 p.m. That would still give me an hour to get to Raw before it started at 8 p.m., but nine miles in New York City at rush hour could take nine hours. However, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I decided I needed to find a way to make it work. This was a chance I had to take … after all, how many chances was I going to get to meet Keith fuckin’ Richards, right? When Jimmy came into my dressing room before the show, I mentioned what his producer had told me about Keef. "Dude, he’s like the nicest guy ever. If you come down here, I promise I’ll introduce you to him. He’ll be happy to meet you!" It sounded too good to be true, so I was very direct with my retort. "Jimmy, are you just stroking me? Is this like a Hollywood thing where you’re saying it but not meaning it? Because if you’re serious, I’m telling you right now I’ll be here on Monday." "Be here Monday at 5 p.m. sharp, and I’ll introduce you to him. No bullshit. I’ll make it happen." Well, once he said that, there was no way that I wasn’t going to take him up on it. But how was it going to work? There were still a dozen things that could go wrong to cause me to be late for Raw or even miss it completely. It would have been a lot easier to thank him for the offer and try to catch Keith the next time he was in town. But I knew there might not be a next time, so I had to find a way to make it happen now."