The Show Must Go On

A little-known fact from someone that works with actors, musicians, dancers and other performers is that they mess up ALL THE TIME. But, as an audience, we barely notice because they have trained the mental ability to keep going. They know that it isn't about being perfect. It's about the audience having a powerful experience.

The legendary UK band Queen said it best. Being able to stay in the moment and quickly bounce back from mistakes and unforeseen challenges doesn't magically happen. It's something the best performers have rehearsed over and over again... and by rehearse, we're not talking about the actual performance, but the art of mastering?taking the next right step?in a way that it becomes an automatic way of responding.

A few years back, I was working with a Mexican pop group. These were experienced musicians that had just gotten back together after a few years of being away from the stage. Drums have always been my favorite instrument, so I tended to gear my attention toward the drummer each time his speed suddenly changed. He would do like a special, quick rim and get back to the beat ??... Of course, whenever that happened, the little groupie in me would get so excited and clap.

One day he asked why I seemed to enjoy watching him mess up. In total honesty, I wasn't aware he had made a mistake; I told him I simply appreciated listening to the variations he made to the songs.?

Talking further about it, he realized this could be a fun way of connecting to the music from a different perspective, which allowed him to re-enjoy songs he had played a million times before. So now, instead of focusing on not-making mistakes, he's created a challenge to see how creative he can be to get back on track quickly. And this, mi gente, is what taking the next right step looks like ?? letting our purpose, passion and commitment lead our attention and dictate our actions.

One way of thinking about taking the next right step is simply making the best out of a bad situation: adapting, learning something new, bouncing back and becoming stronger & better for it and mastering the art to keep going.