50 years ago, Bruce Springsteen was terrified Columbia Records were going to drop him.  He spent six months writing one of the best rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time.

Born To Run.

He wrote it in New Jersey when he was 25.

I was in Geneva, Switzerland, starting a new job at Procter & Gamble when I heard this album.  It was all about hunger, ambition, romance and making something of yourself.  It changed my life as I know it did to many others.

I identified completely with the spirit of the album.

I felt like I was born to run away from Lancaster and reach for the stars in Switzerland, with one of the world‘s biggest, most successful, most competitive companies.  (Without the benefit of a degree, resources or connections – but I did have faith and belief that I was Born to Run.)

Like Bruce, I’m now living in New Jersey and I’m in the middle of an epic snowstorm.  We have over 24 inches so far on The Farm and it’s all hands on deck trying to clear the doors and driveway.  This reminded me of living in Geneva and took me back to 1975.

I was thrilled to see, when I climbed on my Peloton, that my favourite instructor OG Jenn Sherman had just completed a 45 minute, full-on, live ride celebrating 50 years of the Born To Run album, by picking the best live versions of the nine songs on the album and mixing them in the sequence Bruce selected.   

Jenn is a mad, keen Bruce Springsteen fan and I’m a mad keen Jenn Sherman fan.  What a great 45 minutes.

It was exactly as if I was in a live Bruce concert in Switzerland in 1976.  Singing along and riding along to one of my top three favourite albums (alongside Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds) – in the snow in New Jersey, made me realise I hadn’t changed that much.

I still believe in Bruce.

And I still believe that kids like us, baby we were Born To Run.