Road diary.
Robert Solomon
Consultant, coach, and workshop leader, author of the widely read and respected book, "The Art of Client Service," expert in achieving behavior change with advertising/marketing/PR agencies, clients, and individuals.
Many years ago, my girlfriend at the time, Susan Fasano, returned home from a concert.? It was an arena show; I don’t do arena shows – never have, never will – so I took a pass.
“How was it,” I asked when she returned home.
“Awesome!” she replied, “they played for like three hours nonstop.? It was amazing!”
“Tell me again who you went to see?”
“Bruce Springsteen.”
I took note, then promptly forgot for more than 40 years, until the other day when I watched a documentary, Road Diary, about Bruce Springsteen and the
“the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, Viagra-taking, love-making, testifying, death defying legendary” E ?Street Band” he leads.? (Springsteen’s description of the band, not mine.)
I watched it once, liked it so much I watched it again, then again, five times in all, the most recent of which taking place a few days ago, on a Sunday afternoon.??
In this most recent viewing I paid close attention to the set piece that brings the movie to an end.? Like the adjective-laden description of the band he leads, Springsteen’s rumination runs a bit on the long side – my handwritten filled five pages of my notebook – but here is what stays with me:
Springsteen:? “Playing music as you get older is an interesting and tricky business.? Now I plan on continuing until the wheels come off…. There’s one thing I know, after 50 years on the road, it’s too late to stop now…. It’s my job.”
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Compared with the titan of music Springsteen deservedly is, I am a dismissible afterthought, but even so, if I make a couple of substitutions, what he says easily could describe a sentiment I share:
“Writing as you get older is an interesting and tricky business.? Now I plan on continuing until the wheels come off…. There’s one thing I know, after 40-plus years in advertising, it’s too late to stop now…. It’s my job.”
Why does this matter, and why does it matter now?
Last Sunday marked Adventures’ fourteenth anniversary.? When I began in 2010, I had no idea it would endure this long, or I would keep at it, week after week, with posts approaching 800 in number, on subjects ranging far and wide, but most with an eye towards you and other readers who take an interest in all aspects of serving clients and colleagues as best you can.
Springsteen is 75. ?Come January, I will be 74.? We are contemporaries, both subject to the realities, and vagaries, of the time that passes ever too quickly with each passing year.
By any measure, it is well past time for Springsteen to get off the road, calling it a day on performing, while easing gracefully into retirement.? But the person they call “The Boss” will not go gentle into the good night, and he most assuredly will not quit.? Instead, he will continue to write songs, lead his band, and perform wherever crowds welcome him.? As he put it, succinctly, with uncompromising certainty:? “It’s my job.”
Point taken.
Coaching, consulting, workshop leading, writing, and thinking about client service is my job.? Like Springsteen, I won’t quit, won’t retire, and won’t stop trying to help people whenever they ask for it.? Instead, I plan on continuing for as long as my spirit’s willing, and my body allows.
Thank you for being part of this.