Get On the Stage
The boys had their second rock concert yesterday. It was a fantastic experience, and I couldn't have been prouder of them. They played at a new venue in our town in front of hundreds of supportive fans. One kid had five songs, and the other four (with one overlapping song where they both performed together). As the event kicked off, the owner of their band organization addressed the audience. He explained their teaching philosophies are upside-down compared to the prevailing strategies. Instead of practicing to perform, they perform to practice.
In the traditional model, you would practice, practice, and practice, hoping to eventually be good enough to perform on stage. Conversely, in this model, the stage performance is the practice. The act of performing in front of hundreds of people builds resiliency, experience, and a love for the craft. It's not perfect. Heck, it's messy. After all, these are seven and eight-year-olds, and most have less than one year of experience. Finn and Pax had three months of total music experience when they did their first show, and six months now. Yet, they are on stage performing in front of hundreds of people. I love this backward model. The performance is the practice.
When this backward practice-as-performance concept was communicated yesterday, it reminded me of how so many of us live life in the conventional model. We tend to live in a world of theoreticals, what-ifs, and when-I'm-good-enoughs. We practice, dwell, and practice some more, hoping to one day be good enough to put our ideas into motion.
What if we followed this alternative model? What if instead of obsessing about trying to get it right or figuring out the perfect way of doing it, we simply did it? What if we just started investing?.....performing as practice. What if we just started budgeting?.....performing as practice. What if we just started paying off our debt?.....performing as practice. What if we just started applying for jobs or making phone calls?.....performing as practice.
We can practice, practice, practice all we want, but it won't move the needle nearly as much as getting up on that stage. Similar to my kids and their band, it's not perfect. It's messy. You're going to fail. But that's the gateway to greatness. Gain that experience, build resilience, and fall in love with the craft.
Pax and I had some interesting conversations yesterday. He was beyond excited about the performance, but equally terrified. He talked of having butterflies in his stomach. He said he thought he was going to throw up. I watched him anxiously pacing back and forth for 20 minutes before he walked up on stage. Then, when it was his turn, he confidently sat behind his drum kit, beat the daylights out of them, grooved with the music, and played up for the crowd. It was everything to him. As he walked off the stage, I caught him side-eyeing me; he gave me a little nod, then a smirk. That performance was exactly what he needed!
Get on the stage.
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