Last weekend, I saw the improvisational rock band Phish perform three shows at the United Center. I’ve been to over 100 shows. I have done a dozen multi-night runs. It’s a skill to conserve your energy for all of the shows. The process is similar to others. You do the next thing and then the next thing and then the next thing in order to make it to the start of the show with the appropriate amount of energy for your intended experience. The “things” are: hydrating enough, eating enough at the right times to make sure you have sustenance without a stomach ache, sleeping enough to at least reset your body (there is not much hope to recharge daily), and building bonds with your friends and strangers before and after to cement participating in the shared creation such that it has a positive effect on your psyche. And the payoff for all of that is to be surprised and delighted by the music and that shared creation between your comrades and the band. Some shows have many of those moments where the particular arrangement of notes at a given point induces goosebumps or laughing fits or uncontrollable muscle spasms some might call dancing.
I find that when I am in the groove each show is better than the last. The key is in the work though. The key to finding the groove is to do the mundane tasks of preparation so you are able to be in tune with the band and the rest of the fans.
One of the moments of sparked joy was during Split Open and Melt (seen here shot on a smartphone). I could not stop smiling.
I am solo parenting this week while my wife is working at a trade show for her company. She’s blessed with a good job. We are blessed with happy and cooperative children, but they are still children. 3 years and 6 months. I have found the key to solo parenting is to do the next thing and then the next thing and then the next thing. Play → feed → cleanup → bathe → play → read → sing → tuck-in. You have to do the work as a parent. You have no choice. That said, there is a similar magic that no one tells you about before you are a parent and that is to see your child create and discover in front of your eyes. And if you have done the work of preparation you will be present for it and delight in it just as one delights in a new arrangement of notes live at a Phish show.
This weekend, my 6 month old started mimicking a person waving. Just remarkable to see her process that action and hold out her little hand and leave it there as a gesture of greeting. And my son was playing with his foam letters and came up with this sort of sleight of hand move where he would pass one back and forth and then sort of smoothly toss it aside and open up his palms to me. We laughed and laughed and laughed and delighted in his creation.
I find the most exciting days at Be Realty and with my clients materialize from creating interesting deals and taking them across the finish line. This satisfaction can even come from holding together and closing difficult transactions.
Those moments are earned. Can you guess how? That’s right, by doing the next thing, then the next thing, then the next thing, and finally doing the next thing. In residential real estate, those things are defined by you as a broker and by the type of book you are hoping to grow. For me, that is a referral based book of business stemming from my sphere and past clients supplemented with clients I attract through my social media efforts and my podcast.
All of the “things” from prep for a Phish show to raising children to demonstrating expertise and securing clients are mundane and elemental.
The scenario where it is most difficult to do the work is not coincidentally called work. We all find ourselves from time to time in a rut where the monotony of our day to day overwhelms the ability to delight in creativity. If we can find a way to remember that the most special moments with our family or our friends or at a concert or a play or a sporting event also took sustained effort for us to enjoy them with the right frame of mind, perhaps we can take solace in the challenge of staying focused on the work for our jobs knowing there will be a creative payoff around the corner.
