Elton John, Billy Joel, Phil Collins and Freddie Mercury all have something in common, aside of a smidge of talent and fact they all became pop-stars. Watch Elton John perform I’m Still Standing or Billy Joel play My Life at their pianos, or witness Freddie Mercury winding up for We are Champions or Phil Collins on drums during In The Air Tonight, and you’ll witness something magical happening, something that sends shivers down your spine. But what is it that they do?
We’ll it’s same ‘something’ that caused Bob Geldoff to pull all his music industry pals together and raise millions for charity back in eighties with hit Do they Know its Christmas and subsequent Band Aid appeal. It got Churchill to move nation with powerful speeches and it is all that stands between you and our true greatness.
But what is that ‘something’? And is it simple enough to bring into our everyday lives?
The answer is yes.
It’s to do with first principle of Life Purpose, that we all have a unique gift and a distinctive way to express it. The best way for me to explain this to you is to tell you a short story.
A year ago I suggested that my son took up music lessons with his grandfather. His Pappy is a professional musician, and if you’re child is going to become prodigy that all parents’ hope they will be, you want them to learn from a pro, don’t you, especially if that pro is a family member. He took suggestion up and here is what unfolded.
Nine months later he’d had enough. It seemed like hard work. Sure he mastered scales – nothing wrong with his fingers – could read notes – nothing wrong with his memory – but he couldn’t sit still during lessons and in week in between each session we only ever heard him doing minimal practicing.
(Does this sound like you when you are at work? Going through motions, doing what needs to be done and not managing more?)
After school he never took himself off to his room, plugged in keyboard and shocked himself with something new he’d learned to do. He never hit heaven, blissed out, totally astounded himself or got excited over a new discovery. He never came to me, shook me from my book and said, “Listen to this, Dad. It’ll blow your mind!”
We concluded it wasn’t his thing – each to his own – and he admitted he only took it up because he thought I’d be happy!