Have A Laugh Fridays – Awesome Family Car Sing-A-Long
My “Passion vs. Raw Talent” post (featuring my Van Halen concert review) early this week was very well received. So I thought, what the heck, let’s keep the momentum going with another music themed post.
I hope you enjoy this family road trip moment as much as I did. Have a great weekend!
Raw Talent vs. Passion – And The Winner Is…
I went to a Van Halen concert a couple of weeks ago, and have wanted to write a post about it ever since. It was a huge letdown after waiting 28 years to see the first incarnation of the band, and I won’t be seeing them again, EVER! If you are not a Van Halen fan that is ok, this is a broader message than just about their music.
I have wanted to see The Van Halen brothers with David Lee Roth since I first heard of them as an eleven year old in 1984. I am still not sure how I was able to convince my parents to buy me a cassette tape with a baby smoking on the cover!
The show did not come close to meeting my expectations. Would they have been incredible if I had seen them in late 1984 or early 1985 before they broke up? I have a hunch it would have been amazing. But this is 2012, and it seemed like a job to them, and they “had to be there”. There was no chemistry between David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen, and they seemed to be going through the motions.
The hastily introduced “Jump” as the last song and did not even come out for an encore! News broke a week later that they had cancelled their summer tour. “Allegedly” there is serious infighting within the band. Other reports are now saying that fatigue has been an issue for band members, and the tour will take up to two years. They are taking precautions not to burn out.
Rewind to 2004 when Van Halen was touring with Sammy Hagar once again, and Michael Anthony was still playing bass. It was my birthday, and I had an incredible time. The band was in synch, they were having a great time, and Sammy was signing autographs for the fans in the front row. There were already rumours surfacing that Sammy and Ed were not getting along, but I did not get that sense that fall evening in Edmonton, Canada.
Eddie Van Halen is one of the greatest guitarists ever, but I have never gotten a warm and fuzzy off him – ever.
Sammy is not a guitar playing or singing virtuoso, but is an above average musician and vocalist. What he lacks in raw talent, he more than makes up for with passion and love for his “career”, and the fans that have supported him for over 40 years.
Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony have formed a new band named Chickenfoot with Joe Satriani and Chad Smith (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and their shows are electric. They are having the time of their lives, and care deeply for those they are performing for. I had a chance to see the band in Vancouver when my friend was working for them, and I did not go. I am still kicking myself. I hope to see them again in the future.
If I had a choice to see Sammy Hagar/Michael Anthony or Eddie Van Halen/David Lee Roth perform one more time in my life, hands down it would be Sammy and Mike. Eddie may play the guitar like no other, but raw talent is not the only criteria where I will spend my hard-earned dollars.
It is on my bucket list to go see Sammy Hagar play in Cabo in Mexico at his birthday bash one year. And that WILL happen. I can’t wait!
How does this all relate to business?
You don’t need an “off-the-charts” IQ, or raw talent to achieve massive success. You need to show up regularly though. You have to care about those paying for your products and/or services, and be willing to go “that extra mile” when they need you the most.
The passion that you exude for your audience/customers, the depth that you are willing to go to help them get to where they want, will pay dividends in the long run.
I needed Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth to “knock it out of the park”, and they let me down.
- What band’s concert have you attended, or company have you “dealt with” that just blew you away?
- On the flip side, what band let you down at their live show, or company disappointed you, and you will never “deal” with them again?
Unexpectedly Providing Value At Age 19
When you are a teenager, working for the first time, it is truly all about the money. Finally, you have some independence from your parents, and can start to buy things for yourself! As you make a little more money and get different jobs through high school, earning money gets even more exciting. The thought of providing any value to others as a teenager does not even register for most. I was part of that group. Then there was a real shift for me when I was 19 years old, thanks to my dad.
I was making $5.25 per hour working at a buffet restaurant in the summer of 1992. I was working a lot because I was off from university for a few months, and the “money was rolling in” (or so I thought). My dad was teaching an adult education class in the evenings, and connected with a man who needed some math upgrading. He was involved in an accident, and had to pursue a new career due to his injuries. The kicker was he needed his high school diploma to qualify for most jobs.
My dad could not commit to doing all the tutoring himself, so he asked if I would help at a rate of $30 per hour.
“$30 PER HOUR?” I said.
“You bet”, said my dad back.
“WHEN DO I START?” I hastily replied.
I was excited because I was going to make more money working with him in two hours a day, then I would make in eight hours per day at the restaurant!
As I started to work with the man, it soon became very clear that it would not be as easy as I thought. Just because I understood math very well, did not mean that my knowledge was going to “rub off on him” as quickly. There were some difficult days at the beginning of the process, but by the end, we were working well together. We gained a mutual respect for each other as time passed. I often caught myself thinking that this guy must have thought that I was a “know-it-all young punk”, but realistically that was not the case. He was in a jam, and I was there to help.
This was a life changing experience for a 19-year-old kid, to realize the value that I provided was much more important than the money I was receiving. It did take a while to get to that place, because all I could think about was the $60 that I made each time I saw him!
In retrospect I would have done it for free, because I changed a life. As I look back now, that is what I remember the most. The memory of the money is only for story telling purposes. I helped him get back on his feet when something terrible had happened. As a 19 years old kid, $30 per hour to me then was like $200 per hour today!
In the end, my “compensation” was that he got to start over again, and I played a small part in that.
You are not going to get paid for everything that you do in your life, that is a fact. When you realize that helping others, providing value and not always expecting something in return is a great way to live your life, it will be a real game changer. It was for me!
- When have you provided value for someone, and not even realized it at the time?
- Do you have the mindset of “what is in it for me?” before deciding if you should help somebody?
- Is it time to start giving unconditionally?
Fantastic Video – Michael Gerber “The Mountain”
Special thanks to Michael Kroll over at The Sales Effect for bringing this video to my attention last week. I followed Michael Gerber’s work a couple of years ago, but not as much recently.
After hearing him speak on this video, I am going to look him up again!
Sometimes, it's the little things that matter.
Caught in the rat race, we often forget that little gestures can leave lasting impressions. We lose track of the little things we do and can do, to add meaning to those that we interact with. Whether you realize it or not, sometimes, it’s the little things that can have a lasting impact and shape the future.
I was served up a big dose of reality on this very topic yesterday afternoon.
The 5 Star Five – Quotes Submitted By Readers
As promised earlier in the week, here are the best quotes submitted by my readers. This is a follow-up post to “My Favourite Sales Quotes”. Have a great Saturday!
“I ain’t never learned nothin’ while talkin” – President Lyndon Johnson (submitted by Jack Pyle)
“If you can’t then you must” – Tony Robbins (submitted by Murray Osborne)
“Prepare to win, or lose to somebody else who is” – Jeffrey Gitomer (submitted by Michael S. Rickert)
“‘Be and act as if it is inevitable to succeed” – unknown (submitted by Norm Tashe)
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky (my favourite)
Have A Laugh Fridays – Corporate Conference Calls
I have enjoyed Dave Fleming’s videos all week, and wanted to share one more for Have A Laugh Fridays. This is a classic scenario, and many of us have had this experience at work. Enjoy your weekend!
New Video – We All Default To The Couch
Couches are a comfortable place to hang out. Most of us spend too much time relaxing on them. Check out my latest video to see why less couch time leads to a more fulfilling life!
Be Opportunistic – A Little Bit Every Day!
Life is busy, chaotic at times. One of the biggest challenges we face daily to get everything done is time. If we can barely get the things done that we NEED to, how can we possibly find time to get everything else done that we WANT to?
For me, the things that I want to do are:
- Working on my blog
- Connecting and growing my network via social media
- Working out / staying active
- Playing the piano
Jeb Blount from SalesGravy.com discussed a concept on his podcast Quick and Dirty Tips last year and I still think about it .
“A LITTLE BIT EVERY DAY”
Would I love to block off large chunks of time every day to get everything done that I WANT to do? Of course. I do it when I can. But on days when things go sideways, and I cannot stay on track, every little bit helps.
Take a moment and think about fitness and health. I have never purchased a gym membership, nor wanted one. The industry thrives on people committing early on, and most never following through long-term. There is a preconceived notion that “If I don’t work out for at least an hour, there will be no value”.
Before our son was born, my wife and I had a personal trainer come to our home. She taught us to use the equipment we already owned, and we could work out in the basement at our convenience.
As life got busier with a new-born, it became more difficult to do full workouts. But with the reminder of A Little Bit Everyday in my head, I still get down there as often as I can to work out. I have a pact with myself to do at least 15 minutes of push ups and sit-ups every morning. Anything in addition is a bonus.
I power walk in to meetings, take my dog for short brisk walks, and run after my son as he gets comfortable on his new bike.
AND NO DRIVE THRU coffee shop windows! (unless you have one or more screaming kids in the car). Get out and walk! And please take the stairs to meetings instead of just hopping on an elevator.
With respect to my blogging and social media work, the short 15-30 minute segments of activity are still very valuable, and inch me closer to my goals. A few of those sessions and I have still put in your two hours of work that I was hoping for. It becomes a mindset, and the theory of “anything is better than nothing” helps inch me closer to my goals than doing nothing at all.
I love to get up early in the morning to work, or stay up late at night. I sacrifice watching some of my favourite TV shows, but it will be worth it in the end.
Google “Gary Vaynerchuk Stop Watching Lost” and see what comes up in the search if you don’t mind an in your face take on this, with a few “bad” words. His philosophy on the phenomenon of wasting time is a powerful wake up call for the couch potatoes.
- Do you feel overwhelmed and just cannot get everything done during the day?
- What can you change now to subscribe to the “Little Bit Every Day” theory?
If this post has inspired you to take action, please leave me an update in the comments section over the next few weeks discussing how you are now getting more done that you WANT to.
A Little Bit Every Day… A Little Bit Every Day… A Little Bit Every Day…
(I hope it is in your subconscious now too.)
Keep Smiling!
