Try to put yourself in their shoes.You’re not a leader seated atop a thrown in a high castle somewhere in a distant land, looking down upon your gentry, and telling them what’s needed.Or maybe you are?If you’re building something for someone else:Walk a mile in their shoes.Understand what keeps them awake at night.Know the things that make them come alive.Have a vision for what they’re trying to achieve.  See the world through their eyes.Develop an impression of how they came to be where they are today - what was their journey?Know who they are for! Who are they trying to help?What is their “something better”?You can’t speak to someone until you learn to see them.That requires empathy.It’s simple.

As sung in the hit musical, “Hairspray,” - “You can’t stop the beat!” But you can control it! Another lesson from a lifetime as a musician - time and the management of time. Time, in the music world, means “the speed at which music should be played.” For us, to manage time means to control the “speed” at which a song is performed. In a band, every member is responsible for the correct execution of time. Though, the drummer seems to exert (or would like to say they do) the most influence over it. Life is no different. You can not make others work harder. You can not make time speed up. And, no amount of huffing and puffing will make it better. You can quickly shift focus. You can help others focus with you. You can help people set aside the time to do the work that matters. You can help manage expectations. You can hold healthy expectations. Sometimes what is needed is the right form of control. Take it from someone that’s tried to control too much. As the song says, and as I’ve learned, “I can’t stop the beat.”

It doesn’t matter whether you’re wrong or right. Did you remember learning about how to create a hypothesis in school? A hypothesis is not a declaration of fact, it’s a suggestion. “The readers of this blog are more interested in doing things for themselves better than having things done for them.” This is my hypothesis, and I suspect I’m right. I make that guess because no one (yet) has unsubscribed, and the ones that do subscribe read the content. But, what if we make suggestions that don’t work out? “People will unsubscribe from the blog if the content was exclusively for musicians.” If I changed the content of the blog, I imagine some will unsubscribe. Why? Because not everyone who reads is a musician. The power of a hypothesis is the power of testing a belief. It’s the willingness to be wrong. It’s the excitement of being right. It is the ability to do things that matter and discover who cares. You might have an idea before you, something you’ve always wanted to do, and perhaps this isn’t the right time. Or, it might be a perfect time, and you just don’t know. But, one thing is for sure, you’ll never know unless you test. That’s the power of the hypothesis.

Time doesn’t just stop. It moves with or without you. If you try to stop it, you’ll fail. If you try to get out ahead of it, you’ll fail. The best option is to move with time. You’ve got 24 hours in the day. You’ve spent 10 seconds readings this blog. Now, what’s next?

If you want to change the minds of others, you need to create tension. If you want to change a habit, you need to create tension. If you want to do anything that matters - tension! Tension is unease. It’s the feeling of, “perhaps we weren’t right about this.” It’s the questioning of our status quo. Tension requires relief. The goal is to be the relief. To be able to solve the problem. To help people that need help. To do the hard work of making something better. If you want to grow muscles, you must break a few fibers first. If you want to ride a bike, you’re going to have to fall off. If you want to be a relief, find success, and fulfillment - You’ll need to create and embrace…

You are not like everyone else - you are like you! As much as the world would like to make you like everyone else, it’s not possible - you are you. As much as people would like you to follow “the way it’s always been done,” that’s not you! When you try to be like everyone else, You’re doing denying our culture the thing that we need the most - YOU!

The beautiful thing about a plan is that it creates certainty - makes something real.  I used to have a boss that would insist on plans being printed out, nicely drafted, complete with dates, objectives, metrics - you name it!I’ve also traveled with people that like to plan out every stop along a trip - where we go, what we see, where we eat, when we sleep, when we wake… ugh! I say we stop planning what we’ll do in the future!  Do away with the whole concept, all together, goodbye!Instead, let’s plan for HOW we’ll act in the future.Instead of planning for what we’ll do 30 days from now, let’s plan on what we’ll hope to learn 30 days from now, and how we’ll figure out whether or not we’ve learned.Instead of planning for each vacation activity, let’s plan how we’ll make decisions about what we’ll do and when.  Instead of planning for what steps we’ll take to execute recruitment, let’s plan for how we’ll decide what steps to take at different milestones.  Why is this better?Because life changes! #hellocovid19Because life changes! Maybe our customers don’t want that product anymore?Because life changes! Because Disney no longer has “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!” (biggest disappointment ever…)Because life changes! When you have the wrong expectations, you risk frustration.Because healthy expectations lead to productive work!Because to do work that matters requires your ability to change and adapt.Because you will learn, grow, and come alive during the course of work.And, because that growth is only meaningful if you can lean into it! Next time you’re ready to sit down and list out your next steps, make sure you’re planning for the right thing ;-)

Quite honestly, there are many.  If you have musicians in your life, you’ll learn more about life, emotions, neuroticism, and spirituality than you probably ever wanted.But, of all the lessons you could learn, there’s one lesson that I believe we can take now.  The gigging musician who makes their money from bar owners, brides, fans, and tips. They live in a constant state of finding new ways to create value for the people they serve. In their attempt to create value, they also hurt themselves.Already, some musicians are beginning to look forward to returning to their gigs. Already, some of this group are hoping the bars pay a decent wage.  My question to these people is, what are you doing to create more value? Who are the people you are really selling your art to? Why should they pay?  The ones we seek to serve aren’t the bar owners. The ones we serve are our fans!  In the same way, in life, we don’t seek to make our managers happy. We serve our customers.  The lesson is not to look at what others can give you. But who are you for? And what are you doing to serve them better?  Right now, I am for you - the “Artisan Doer.” I am for the person who is looking to perfect the craft of coming alive - of doing the work that matters.  I am, each day, reading and reflecting on ways I can do things better and translating those learnings to you, here, right now.  Who are you for?

Are you uneasy about taking risks? Maybe you’re a thrill-seeker, but some things feel too risky - being vulnerable, entering into relationships, facing your problems? Maybe it’s the opposite? Perhaps it’s trying out a new idea? The fear of being wrong getting to you? To be bold is to come alive. It is the enrollment, the commitment, of doing the hard work of creating something better for your tribe. It is making yourself vulnerable to ask for feedback. It is also being generous enough to say, “this is why it’s not you.” Being bold is being able to say, “this might destabilize your life a bit, but it might also make things better.” To be bold is to be a gift for another person. Even if that other person is you.

At least that’s what happened the other day.

My sister and I tried to fix it ourselves to no avail.

Quite honestly, it was a tough day all around. Not just the faucet, but other areas of my life didn’t leave me much in the way of self-effective.

It was easy to spiral into a depression with the setbacks, but I didn’t. And, with many thanks to a gloomy day.