Month: July 2016

In 1946, Tote’m Stores changed their store hours to 7:00 am to 11:00 pm. It was bold, remarkable, and unprecedented at the time; so much so that the franchise changed their name to 7-Eleven.

In 1969, 7-Eleven expanded their services to the current 24 hour schedule.

That was then. This is now.

Do you know what makes the 58,000 7-Eleven stores remarkable today? Not much at all.

When you have an emergency bread shortage at home, it doesn’t matter anymore what convenient store we choose: 7-Eleven, Circle K, 76, Quik Trip, Mobil, Citgo, Speedway, Valero…because they are all the same, convenient and cheap. None of these places are remarkable.

7-eleven might have won the race to the bottom with cheap prices at convenient hours and location. You are not going to beat 7-Eleven to the bottom, so don’t even try. Instead race for the top – the game is wide open.

It is very difficult for an Artist to gain trust and attention. It is even more difficult to re-gain trust and attention when an Artist betrays his audience (selling out). You may never get it back when you become a cog in the machine. Some of us may find it in our hearts to forgive but most of us, now more than ever, shift to the critic (their old stuff is better than their new stuff)

As an Artist, the silver lining is: we need to give more trust and attention than we gain. When an Artist generously gives something to her audience, the audience turns around and gives us something back. Because all of us want to be noticed. And when we are noticing each other and give someone an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves, the circle grows.

Too many Artists become hardened when everyone in the audience doesn’t love their work. It is hard to loosen your grip when the instinct is to tighten up. A second chance needs to be given (the goal is not for everyone to love it, just someone). With the new rules of the new game, the only choice is to leap first and trust that your audience is paying attention to catch you when you fall.

Some of us are compelled to be humble while others humble themselves.

When you are compelled to be humble, it usually means you have painted yourself into a corner. You have no way out without help. You may need to seek forgiveness (sometimes in ourselves). Restitution will have to be made – which I suspect is why we wait so long to begin with.

However, when we learn to humble ourselves from the beginning we create open space. We have options, direction, and guidance available.

The difference is that the person compelled into humility has usually exhausted all options before doing the hard thing (restitution, forgiveness, recompense). Those who humble themselves are willing to do the hard thing first.

So why not just try the hard thing first?

There are a plethora of reasons, the primary being our self-image. We don’t believe we can pay the price of doing the hard thing while at the same time don’t feel worthy for the peace that follows. In other words, the shame is too great to bear.

And you may be right when you think all the gifts you have come from you. But when you realize that your gifts don’t come from you but come from a higher place (in ancient Greece they were called Muses, Christians call them Angels, some call it inspiration) maybe you can draw strength from a deeper well.

Choices and circumstance might have compelled you to be humble at some point but humility comes when you realize the gifts you have are just borrowed – you don’t have the strength to do this on your own.

Have you ever drove down the road and see someone dancing in their car?

It looks quite silly when you can’t hear the music.

Artists are similar. They are dancing but no one else can hear the music.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said “The biggest tragedy in America is not the great waste of natural resources – though this is tragic; the biggest tragedy is the waste of human resources.” He continues, “the average person goes to the grave with the music still in him.”

Listen to the music.

You can reach down and pull others up.

Or eventually others will begin to pull you down.

Losing your keys (inconvenience) is damaging when a thief finds them. Contrary to what the media wants you to believe, thieves make up a very small percentage of the neighborhood.

When someone from the community finds your keys and goes out of their way to get them back to you, your faith in humanity is instantly restored. There are more community members (contributors) than there are thieves.

However, there are more bystanders than thieves and community members combined. The most damaging part of inconvenience is that bystanders sit back and say, “This isn’t my job, that is someone else’s responsibility to take care of this.” To justify this, bystanders will quickly point out, “Maybe they shouldn’t have lost their keys in the first place.”

The problem with mediocre leadership is that those making the decisions don’t feel like they are in control and those who are in control don’t particularly care to know about the details. However, those making a ruckus know that in key moments of decision, none of it matters.

When you have to keep something, such as a promise or a commitment, it is easier to do so when you can remember why you are doing it in the first place.

If want someone to remember, it’s better to tell a story that is universal rather than something specific.

Because not all of us were there when the U.S. invaded Normandy, or when JFK was assassinated, or when the Berlin Wall fell (specific).

However, we can all relate to “I have a dream” (universal).

Universal messages help us relate to one another and cross the boundaries of geography and time. The more universal the message, the faster your ideas spread and the easier they stick – we remember to keep.

And none of us are getting out of this alive.

If you can read this you are more powerful than you think.

Act accordingly.