Who you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.
Have you ever witnessed a performance that brought every hair on your body standing straight up? Watching Dave Klob, the choir director at Bethany Bible College in Sussex, New Brunswick, perform with his team of young musicians this morning was a definite hair raiser and a true joy to behold indeed. When Dave is leading, it’s not a “performance” it’s an experience; the joy on his face, the lift of his spirit and the release of his inner power captured both the hearts & minds of the audience, and we just sat back in awe and felt the experience as much as we heard it. That’s what I really love about him, he doesn’t care about the fact that there are 400 people watching and listening to him and the choir, he pours himself into his task heart and soul. His job is to direct the choir and to share the music with us, but for him, he is determined to do his very best to bring out the best of his choir each and every time that they perform. He doesn’t see it as a “job”, but as a life passion.
I don’t even know if he sees himself as a strong leader, but he demonstrates what can truly happen when a leader has a clear picture of what’s expected, can get people enthusiastic about it, then gives them the tools and the freedom to perform and then congratulates and applauds them along the way. His goal as a leader is not to be the one that everyone sees and applauds, but to make his team look good so that they get the applause. But one thing is certain, when you step on the stage to perform for him or with him; you’d better come to play at your best… anything less that than that simply won’t do.
There have been a few times, over the years, when I have had a certain job to do that I didn’t really give it what I should have, and the results, or should I say lack of results really showed. Sloppy workmanship and poor results are not good fodder for an impressive resume or work reference either for that matter. One thing is certain though, when you truly love what you do, one thing that you never have to worry about is poor workmanship or poor results, because you’ll always do your best and you’ll always expect the best from everyone else.
It’s impossible to coast through life, doing a good job once or twice when it suits us and expect to succeed. It just doesn’t work like that. Life has no “Frequent Flyer” bonus points that are collected along the way as we randomly do one good thing at a time whenever we feel like it, expecting to cash them in at a later date. The way I see it is that life is more of a “live in the moment and do the best that you can right now” mindset, because unless we are operating at our best, we may never get another chance: Every time we step on the stage of life, we’d better be ready to play, or be prepared to, as they say in basketball or hockey, “ride the pine”. (Sit on the bench)
I’ve often wondered what it would take for people to always give their best at whatever they did. Is that really too much to imagine? I don’t think so. I know many people who fit that bill completely, but they do seem to be in a minority.
A few years ago my daughter Shannan took the test for her Royal Conservatory piano program. To prepare for it, she started practicing months in advance. Almost daily, Judy and I would have to ask her to stop playing to get ready for school or to come eat a meal with us. It seemed that all she focused on was becoming the best that she could be. The day that she took her tests, I remember listening from out in the foyer, and being blown away by the confidence and power with which she played. She passed with ease. She proved that to be your best, you have to first think that you are the best, then practice like being the best is the most important thing in the world to you, and then you will be the best that you can be. It doesn’t matter if someone else is better than you at something, what matters is that you do your best. Those who do seem to be better than you at something are there to teach us that we have much to learn. As a matter of fact, if we are truly trying to become better at what we do or are, we must seek out those who are better than us and learn from them.
I see it this way: Life is a performance, so we must sing for the joy of singing, not because we have to, we must sing as if our very lives depended on it. We must play for the joy of playing and play as if it was up to us to score the winning goal: Play to win, not just to play. We must live for the joy of living: Live as if today was our last, to do less is cheating ourselves of our possibilities. We must love for the joy of loving: Make sure that we make a positive difference in someone else’s life every day. We must work for the joy of working: insist that whatever we set our hands to do gets marked with our own best brand of approval, to do less is cheating ourselves of our future.
This week, insist on and be your best. Know that you are always on stage, and people are always watching. Don’t settle for a third rate performance: Throw yourself into whatever it is that you do heart and soul, and when you do, you’ll never have to worry about your future, people will be knocking down your doors to get you to “perform” for them.
Make this your best week ever!