Activate helps you execute..
So long as we are taking a brief tour of my Father’s gifts to me, there was this jem – “Engage Brain before putting Mouth in Gear“. And with as many voices going on in there, that is harder than it sounds. 😉 “Still the mind” was Bruce Lee’s famous statement – and my only comment was “that is amazing Kung Fu stuff right there… to say nothing of the actual movements”. I knew the brain was an incredible instrument, but check this out: the body sends about 11 Million bytes of information to the brain – every second. That is about the equivalent of the text of the Bible… every second. And this tidbit started to connect me to the problem… the CONSCIOUS mind can process about 50 bytes/second. That is slightly more than a single sentence… which is a clever double entendre…
… by putting your brain back in YOUR control…
… we are sentenced to have this amazing 1000 horsepower device above our shoulders… and use it like a bicycle. In my case, with all of these different voices all clamoring for my attention, it is no WONDER I am tired. And simply saying “meditate” has never worked for me… and actually seems like such a waste. How about using all the capacity for something: that is the first step towards the Sage voice of Activate… the ability to hone all of that power and direct it like a laser beam on something. Instead of working to fight it, harness it, and point it at the hardest problem – those NEGATIVE Saboteurs that are sitting right there next to it… Visualize how those voices may get in the way, and then point your brain at thinking of different, more positive outcomes. Like writing a new screenplay and soundtrack for future events, your brain loves the fun while growing the power of your Sage.
Most of us think these musicians just book an hour in the studio, walk in and record 6 songs, and walk out. I remember Glenn Frey talking about the advice that Bob Seger gave him about becoming a songwriter (right after DON’T) “…it will become easier… after about 250 or 300 really bad songs.” Today’s song was almost one of those 250. Gordon Kennedy, Tommy Sims, and Wayne Kirkpatrick were songwriters in Nashville… like everyone in Nashville. They had bounced around for years, and this song came together over… years. Eventually, it was picked up by Wynonna and recorded… where it sat unreleased for 2 more years… and then promised as a single that… never came out.
It moves those great ideas hidden by the Saboteurs…
Somehow the demo tape got to Clapton who loved it immediately – and hit on “if I don’t record this, McCartney will…” He had been listening to Babyface who was doing an acoustic guitar-based R&B jam as both a producer and singer… and “… knows how to make this minimal thing and make small sound really wonderful:”. And – his laser focus shows up in his execution – “The first two lines I play on that song on the acoustic guitar are lines I quote wherever I can, and they come from the beginning of “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters. On every record I make where I think, this has got a chance of doing well, I make sure I pay my dues on this.” It won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, along with being on the charts for most of 1997. This version has Billy Preston on the organ… which doesn’t hurt. 😉
… out to help the world change.
Like all great songs, it sounds like it has always been around… and also, that it has the meaning you want it to… for you. Tom Petty talks about great songs being 3 dimensional… and this one is. Started as a call for action, it twisted into a love song, and found it’s calling in the blues. Overnight successes aren’t… they require diligence and Activating your Sage to quiet the voices of “give up”, “you’re not good enough”, “that is stupid”. And then they require execution – getting out into the arena with Teddy (or Brene if you are younger). Get your nose bloodied, and get up and do it again. And the good news is, with visualization, you can do all that without leaving your mind. With practice, focus, and turning up the volume on your own hit song… developed over many years… you CAN in fact … Change the World.
