Last Friday a friend of mine invited me to see a concert at a favorite local venue, the Southgate House. She was coming in from out of town to see a band she loves, that I had never heard of. (J-Roddy Walsten & the Business). I love to see live music, and I love to connect with friends, so it was a “no-brainer” decision. As I was watching the show I had a couple of reflections. “Lessons,” if you will. Enjoy!
1. WHEN YOU’RE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE COMMITTED TO, DECISIONS ARE EASY!
There was a time in my life where I might have analyzed the opportunity of going out and seeing my friend vs. the cost of the ticket and the fact that I didn’t know the music. I had not taken time to distill my priorities in life, and so every decision started fresh with a rational analysis of the pros and cons. I didn’t know what I was committed to, and I was always weighing my options with an overall sense of being overwhelmed. Can you relate?
Today, I’m so grateful to be clear on my commitments. I am committed to fun and inspiring friendships with positive, like-minded people, of whom this friend is one. I am also committed to getting out and doing something different and fun weekly. And, I’m committed to finding and listening to great music, without having to work at it. It may seem like a strange commitment, but I love music, but it doesn’t make my list of things to go research. Rather than beat myself up about that, I trust my network and get recos. This opportunity was in perfect alignment with 3 commitments – there was no thinking to be done. In truth, commitment one was enough… if my friend was in town I’d have been there, even if it was for basketweaving!
2. SELF-EXPRESSION, EVEN ‘WILD ABANDON’ IS HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE!
So about J-Roddy. My friend was not the only person to roadtrip to get a front row seat at this show. (The band is from Boston). The house wasn’t packed, but it was a good turnout. But these people were what I would call “raving fans.” I was one of the few people who didn’t know the words to the songs, and the crowd was seriously going wild! And while I wouldn’t call myself a groupie just yet, I could certainly see why. It was clear that these people LOVED WHAT THEY DID, and they were FULLY IN THE MOMENT doing what they loved. And they are creating a following because of it.
OK, so the lead singer is a bit good-looking, feature wise, but it was truly the fun he was having and confidence he conveyed that had the groupies flock. The other interesting thing? Many of the groupies were men. Not just the ones who stand in the back and tap their feet and nod thier heads. Grown men in the front row going wild. Again, it wasn’t just the music, though it was good. I think that people in our culture LONG to be in the presence of UNINHIBITED GENIUS. We all want to be “that guy” deep down, doing what we love and not giving a damn what others think about it. We flock because we want THE IMPRESSION OF INCREASE. Increased freedom. Increased self expression. Wild abandon.
In what ways are you giving the impression of increase in your work? What are you doing to allow people in to your unique personality and uninhibited genius? If your movement in your business stems from here, you will move people.
3. GET OUT AND EXPOSE YOURSELF!
I know I can be guilty of having so much to do that I lose sight of the value of being out in the “real world,” the one I’m wanting to impact with my work. I challenge you to also get out and have new experiences weekly. This is where the real work happens. I execute a lot of work from my little home office, but I have to leave the house for the big inspiration to strike. How about you? At the least, you’ll get a blog article out of it. 🙂