In the spring of 1988, I went to a Pink Floyd concert at the Citrus Bowl with my older brother and four others. Specifically, it was the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. The last song of the main set was Run Like Hell. Let’s just say they nailed it. They had the typical Pink Floyd lasers and peripherals all over the stadium. There was a chorus of a million women singing beautifully in tune with the music. The instrumental leading up to the chorus lasted about six minutes – six minutes of escalating anticipation as we knew what was about to happen, but we didn’t know when. They absolutely killed it.
So, the song ends, the lights turn on, and everyone starts leaving the stadium. Now, I was somewhat of a rookie – this was my third or fourth real concert. I turned to my brother and asked: “Where is everyone going? What about the encore?” He laughed and said: “Are you kidding? Nothing can follow that.” He was right. Run Like Hell was such an amazing 12 minutes, nothing could top it. We were satisfied … all 50,000 of us.
Last night, my wife and I made the trip drive down to Miami to see Adele. I bought her tickets for Valentine’s Day. These tickets were for her. However, I was blown away. Adele had an equal or better performance than Run Like Hell at least 10 times. Here’s the weird thing: all she does is sing. She stands there and sings. No lasers, no canons, no fire, no giant psychedelic pigs flying through the air… she just sings, and I don’t know if I’ve been more entertained in a two hour period in my life.
If fact, I had originally planned a different post for this morning, but here I am in the Conrad in downtown Miami while my wife and many others are sleeping, trying to capture the essence of my experience last night. Why was I so entertained? Why was I so inspired? All she did was stand there and sing? Here is what I’ve concluded…
About 25 years ago, a mentor of mine named John Whetsel (the man who influenced me to enter the world of sales) told me that he’d watch two ants fight over a crumb … if the ants were talented. About 15 years ago, a good friend named Mike Kauffman made a comment that he loves watching people do what they do best – whatever that is. In Dead Poet Society, Mr. Keating (Robin Williams’ character) made a comment that I can only paraphrase: “Medicine, law, and banking is how we live; but poetry, song, and the arts are why we live.”
I believe we gain an innate benefit from experiencing others’ talent - the arts, literature, film, sport, etc. I believe they take us deeper into ourselves than everyday life. I’ve been impacted by others’ talent throughout my life. Here are a few examples that I bet many of you share…
My parents bought a card for me upon graduating from UF that had Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” written on the inside. I still have that card in my office, and I’ve read it at least 10,000 times.
I think of scenes in movies like William Wallace’s despair, played by Mel Gibson, when he learns that Robert the Bruce has betrayed him in Braveheart; racist police officer John Ryan’s, played by Matt Dillon, desperate attempt at trying to save a black woman from a burning car – the same woman he harassed and groped earlier in the film; and Mini Driver’s Skylar capturing the “gasping for air” that happens when someone you love decides to leave. These weren’t performances – these actors lived their characters in these scenes and captured every reality of deep emotion that we experience only a few times in our lives, but we can go there any time we wish (as long as we have Netflix of course).
There was a painting I saw at an auction about 10 years of an exhausted business man after a long day, all of his weight completely released on a chair, his tie undone a little, and a glass of red wine resting between his index and middle finger. I couldn’t afford that painting, but I enjoy it in my mind all the time. That was a painting of me. The satisfaction, fatigue, anxiety, and anticipation that his body and eyes illustrated were so familiar to me that I feel like I know the artist and the subject of the piece. Looking at that painting made me feel real, something I shoot for every day but rarely achieve.
I can’t leave out sports. I love sports. I think of Kirk Gibson one-handed swing to lead the Dodgers to winning game 1 of the 1988 World Series and ultimately the championship; I think of Joe Montana marching his team down the field with a minute left in the Super Bowl and spotting John Candy on the sideline (If you don’t know this story, Google it … it’s a great story); and everything LeBron James did in the final three games of the NBA Finals last year. Watching these masters do what they do on the world’s biggest stages puts me in awe and inspires me to be bigger than I am.
I think enjoying others’ talent escalates our experience in life. It probably offers different benefits to you than it does to me, but both of our experiences are elevated. For me, I escape my day-to-day, reflect on the past, and enter a deeper state of my inner self. Unfortunately, I don’t do it enough. I read books on business and self-improvement when I should be reading the classics. I skip opportunities to see concerts and shows because I’ve got other “more important” things to do. I watch the news instead of great movies. I seem to take the easy or responsible path way too often.
I think I need to redefine “responsible”. We’ve got one life, and I’m pretty good at the “how”, but as Mr. Keating told his students (sort of): “… going to see Adele perform is why we live.” I’m going to start working more on the “why”, and I bet the “how” will become a lot easier!
