… once again out in the garden, disaster struck. I was listening to a great program about the 100th anniversary of Tony Bennett’s birthday that is today… I leaned over, and my left earbud fell out. No problem: I knew it was straight down from where I was weeding. Nope. Not there. The more frustrated I got, the more the rocks hid it. Trying to step away, I thought “Google It”… and of course there is a “Find My Earbuds” built into my system…
… don’t you wish your life had that button: Find my life, my career, my calling… just a sense of where things should actually be going? On a Sunday night in January 1971, a 44-year-old Tony Bennett stood on the Ed Sullivan stage and sang a song about a man deciding to start his whole life over. The song was “I’ll Begin Again,” Ebenezer Scrooge’s number from the film Scrooge. A man who spent decades busy, productive, successful… and asleep.
Here is the part that stays with me. Scrooge did not lack ability. He was DOING plenty. And… he was not ACCOMPLISHING anything that really mattered to him. Sound like anyone you know? And don’t answer too fast. As the quiet senior leader, quietly building your team, delivering the miracles the business needs, successful but never seen…. How do you engage your “Find My Life” button? Not the to-do list. The life. The work that is actually yours…
… when I activated the button for my earbuds, it wasn’t even where I was looking. It landed directly behind me… the last place I would have looked. I put it back in… to hear Tony continue today’s track… and remind me why I love using music to help leaders find their real path forward. The one they know… the one they keep pushing off until the next deliverable is completed…
I took a pause with this newsletter about a year ago… I pressed my own “Find My Life” button, and this came back as where I want to spend more time. More focused, but the same sentiment. How can my experience help you become the leader you know you are? And on Tony Bennett’s 100th birthday, it will not be perfect, but it will be a new beginning… with a timeless soundtrack. Tony began again at 44, and kept beginning for another 50 years.
Save this if it is you. Send it to the 1 leader who needs to read it. And your 1 move today. Open tomorrow’s calendar and find the 1 block where you’re re-engaging with something that matters, not just clearing the queue. If it is not there, put it there. Press the button. And, along with me, say… I’ll Begin Again.
