You set a goal, and with a lot of hard work, you hit it.  You’ve achieved success.   Now what?

That’s the critical question in sustaining a long and fruitful career, or keeping a business at the heights of profitability.

Answering that question really boils down to this: Do you choose to go forward, or backward?

You may have noticed that “status quo” isn’t an option here.  That’s because there’s no such thing in this context.  Standing still is akin to going backwards.

And that puts you in the position of being a victim of your own success.

Coming to that realization is very important, because there are natural forces at work that put the status quo option in play.   Even the term “success” has a sense of finality to it that works against you.

For example, say you finally got that big promotion that you coveted for years.  It’s a logical feeling to put yourself on the very top of a mountain that you’ve painstakingly climbed, and want to stay there, enjoying the view with great contentment and satisfaction.

I can vividly remember my own first experience with the big title, and the big desk, and the personal assistant.    It came way too early for me, and the gravitational pull towards inertia was very strong.  I thought, “how could I do any better than this?”  So while I certainly was learning some valuable lessons in that position, I really wasn’t trying to propel my career forward.

I failed to do one simple thing – move the mountain higher, and start climbing again.   I finally did come to that realization years later, but not before some self-inflicted (and terribly unsatisfactory) stagnation.

Let’s look at a business example, like hitting an important business metric that has eluded a company for years.     Once again, because of the effort necessary to achieve the milestone, there’s a strong temptation to ease off the accelerator (especially from the rank and file, who have toiled the most), at least for a short period.

Leaders must resist that temptation.  I have learned that once milestones are hit, the mountain must be raised, as soon as possible.  The company must keep climbing.   In my personal experience, I’ve raised targets 3 and even 4 times during the course of a year, because of my hard-learned resistance to inertia.

The real trick here is to not diminish the significance of our (and our business) achievements – of course the efforts should be acknowledged and celebrated.   We just need to convince ourselves, and then our teammates, that the climbs are ultimately more enjoyable than the summits.

Sir Winston Churchill said it best: “Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb”

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It’s not the “doing”.

It’s not how fast,  or how well.

Nope, it’s none of these.

The secret to a lifetime of productivity is simply this:  Making the best selection of WHAT to do at any given moment.

(Although it certainly doesn’t hurt to do things fast and well – as long as they’re the RIGHT things)

In any day there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of actions you can take.   Which ones you choose are critical to living a productive life, or being the most productive person at the office.

It’s the art of constant prioritization – a mental “to do” list that goes through a special kind of algorithm, a kind that only a properly focused  human brain can pull off.

And that’s the rub: a focused brain.  If we all had the time to sit down and write out all of the things we needed to do, and then painstakingly arrange them in order of priority, the world would certainly be a much more productive place.

But we can’t do that.

So we must develop an intuitive process to make these split-second assessments on the fly.  How can we help our brains with this task?

I’ve found that there are 5 things we can consciously do to pave the way:

• Turn off the yes reflex. Your brain doesn’t have a chance to react and process  if  “yes I can” is the first thing out of your mouth.  Over committing is the cardinal sin of productivity.   Try  “Let me think about it” or “I’ll get back to you“  – or just “no” (once you get better at the intuitive stuff)
• Reduce the multitasking - severely.  Think about how hard it is to have a meaningful phone conversation while you are answering e-mail or Tweeting at the same time.  Now add the critical task of prioritization on top of that. Tilt!! Our minds are a marvel of nature, but there not that good!
• Come up with a daily “Top 5″. While writing down everything is impossible,  you can certainly sit down and focus for 5 minutes every morning and at least put to paper the 5 most important things you need to do that day.  That’s it, just 5.  Your brain will thank you for the assistance  (I do this as often as I can, and it works very well).
• Learn how to take the  “Big Picture”.  Don’t get lost in the weeds – take that step back before moving forward.  Taking a “big picture” perspective can only be enabled by your ability to pause, breathe, rise up a few thousand allegorical feet, and “see” the situation from a better place before making a decision.
• Cut your losses on bad decisions. Don’t waste time carrying through on something that is clearly failing or not working. We humans are proud lot, and sometimes our “refuse to lose” attitudes can put us down dead-end roads that keep us away from more fruitful pursuits.  That pride needs to be swallowed every now and then.

Do these 5 things consistently, and you’ll get the focus you need to make better and better decisions.

And productivity will certainly follow.

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(This is a true story. Mostly.)

I started out in Wisconsin wanting to be a Piano Man. Don’t Ask Me Why, but I just thought that it would be a pretty glamorous life. Before long I was Movin’ Out to Texas and those dreams faded in favor of being a Big Shot in the business world.  I graduated from college with an accounting degree and a desire for a long-term window into the River of Dreams.

But for The Longest Time, I couldn’t figure it out.  There was a girlfriend, an Uptown Girl of sorts. I tried to Tell Her About It. She’d say in reply, “You’re Only Human, you’ll just have to see what happens”. Eventually I moved to LA in hot pursuit of a big management opportunity, filled with much Pressure.  I was a fish out of water, and I got some valuable experience, so a couple of years later it was time to Say Goodbye to Hollywood and move east.

I landed in DC, and lived a sporting life, and worked for Captain Jack – or should I say, King Jack.  Unfortunately, things turned sour, and I felt like The Stranger in my own office.  I needed to do something different – something more like me.   I asked my friends for advice, and they’d say that new employers should “take you Just The Way You Are”.

King Jack eventually took the decision out of my hands – my release was surreal, like Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, with sotto voce voices over wine and white tablecloths.  “Now This Is The Time I need to make the right change”, I thought.

Meantime I launched a singing career. I was The Entertainer, singing show tunes at coffeehouses while I tried to figure out what to do.  I was 34, it was My Life, and I had to make the most of it.  Soon I was in a New York State Of Mind and found a job there in the suburbs (I figured it was better than a steel mill in Allentown).

This job was much better – in fact, it was exactly what I wanted.  I later spoke to that girlfriend from years back. “You May Be Right about that advice”, I said to her. “I did have to wait to see what happened” (Yes, She’s Always A Woman to me, even if it was a bad breakup).

And So It Goes……in that great job I cultivated all those qualities that make a good leader, like Honesty and integrity.  After all, it’s A Matter of Trust.   It’s all about Keeping the Faith.  It’s  All About Soul.  While I know they say Only The Good Die Young – they’re wrong.  Good hearted leaders can lead for a long, long time (as this man of 50 can attest).

Keep in mind that We Didn’t Start The Fire – other great leaders have paved the way before all of us, teaching us lessons that keep the flame of excellence burning bright.

I know, sometimes I Go To Extremes with all this, and yes, some of it is downright Shameless, but oh yes, through all this, the learning, the disappointments, the victories, the accomplishments– everything, there’s one thing that still holds true.  Something  more powerful than even a simple Lullabye.

It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me!

(with grateful thanks to Billy Joel for guiding me through the track list of life)

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Sometimes the smallest, most seemingly insignificant things can end up being the most important.

And more often than not, those “things” are basic common courtesies.

Returning a phone call.  Sending a thank you note (extra credit for a hand written one).  Remembering a name, or better still, their wife or husband’s name (or their dog’s).   Saying “please” and “excuse me“.  Not criticizing someone in public. Offering praise when praise is due.  Treating everyone with respect, no matter who they are or what they do.  Smiling a lot, and always putting people at ease.  Or just being there when you are needed.

All of these actions can create a lasting positive impression – call it karma, or just plain old good vibes (as a fledgling yogi, I’m partial to karma, so we’ll call it that).

And oh yes, these impressions come back to you – most times when you least expect them.  That’s why John Lennon was right when he said karma could “knock you off your feet“.

You just never know when someone you extended a courtesy to remembers that 6 years later, looks you up, and offers you an opportunity.

Fantasy? Nope. It happened to me.

I’ve seen people that I know (and respect greatly) get back riches beyond their wildest dreams primarily because they were overflowing with good karma.

Even on a smaller scale,  karma can still surprise you, like in those simple day to day interactions you have as a leader.   I visit my company’s field operations quite often, and I like to talk  personally with as many folks as I can.    The karma comes back to me when I get e-mails or letters about how just showing up, and taking the time to chat, made a difference in how they felt about their jobs.

It’s funny – most “karma creators” I know often chalk up their resulting successes to luck – but these folks are out there creating their own luck, by their kind, generous, noble, courteous, respectful, and thoughtful actions.

The more of those actions you take, the greater your chances for those  “knock you off your feet“  moments that can change your life, lead to greater success, or just make you feel good all over.

And as a leader (and as a person for that matter), who wouldn’t want to “make” that kind of  luck?

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TerryStarbucker.com turns 4 on 12/25; Today, in marking this anniversary, I tell the story of how my philosophy of "Half-Fullism" was born.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go”.

Boom.   Just like that, the train derailed.  All that promise, all that possibility, was now gone.

After  12 years of a relatively charmed professional  life, reality set in with a vengeance.

How I dealt with this reality formed the basis of an entirely new approach to my career, and to my life.

I now call it Half-Fullism, or “looking at reality in a favorable way”, but back then, it was more like survival.

My life’s journey to that fateful moment had been a relatively effortless one, at least professionally.   My education afforded me a seamless transition into a public accounting job, a position that played to one of my strengths as a number cruncher.  It was a compromise decision at the time, because my desire to be a wage earner exceeded my dreams of any higher education and a more prestigious profession.

I quickly rose through the ranks in my accounting role, and in 5 years I was in a prime position to make it to partner and “lock in” the rest of my career.  But fate intervened in a very strange way.  Out of the blue, I got a call from an executive recruiter who was looking for a particular kind of accountant to “run” a service company with over 425,000 customers.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – didn’t he know I was only 27 years old? Apparently he didn’t care and the next thing you know I was indeed running the operations of that company.   The owner had a thing about hiring young financial minds and throwing them headfirst into the pool, and I was his next project.

Problem was, while the experience was invaluable and the learning priceless, from the standpoint of my psyche it was too much, too soon.   When the company was sold 3 years later I was openly wondering what I would do for an encore.  Would anyone else take the same chance on me, or would I fall out of this dream-come-true, back at a cubicle cranking out spreadsheets?

Nothing had gone wrong so far – and I was very afraid that something now would.  But once again, I was pulled away from it by another left-field offer, by the same owner, but for a different business.  Way different – a professional sports team.   Because like most other red-blooded men I am quite fond of sports, the thought of being associated with it at that level was intoxicating.

I took that offer.  Again I was off the angst hook – and another charmed step was taken.  This step turned out to be a huge mistake.  The first three months were livin’ the dream, sitting in owner’s boxes and meeting celebrities, but things quickly turned sour, and for the next 3 years, I was miserable.   The project I was working on was going nowhere, and the boss was a holy terror. Worse still, I had to literally change my personality at the workplace to “protect” myself, becoming a subdued, passive version of a “yes man”.

But I didn’t quit. I wasn’t fully absorbing the realities of my situation.  I was too focused on the paycheck – for my age it was pretty substantial.  The fear came back of the dream going bust.

And then, finally and mercifully, I heard those words.

I was fired.

My worst fears were now realized.  My glass, it seemed, was now empty.

Boy was I wrong.

Somewhere, in that initial bout of despair, came a revelation – yes, this really stinks, BUT………

I’m going to make the most of it. I’m going to become “Terry, Inc.” and learn to sell myself.

And I remembered something – something I wrote when I was in the absolute depths of my loathing, about 6 months before I was let go.  It was a personal manifesto, laying down the type of career I really wanted to have.  I wanted to be a leader, one that shows his true personality.

Armed with these intentions, I forged ahead into the unknown with a renewed sense of optimism, but not the unbridled sort.   It was tempered by several realities – the foremost of which was the notion that I was most likely going to have to step down the ladder a few notches before I could climb back up.

I also didn’t expect that every letter would result in an interview or an offer, or probably even every 10^th letter, but knew that the more I sent the better my chances.

I was acting as a “realistic optimist” – those instincts had always been there, but they had never had a real chance of being acted upon fully until that time.

Three months into my search (and about 500 letters and phone calls) I was fortunate enough to find a new position – several notches down, as I had predicted, but with the potential to rise back up.    I started this new phase of my career with my eyes now wide open, knowing that the charmed phase was over, and there was hard work ahead.

It was work, however, that came with a vow. I was always going to be true to myself, and my vision of what I wanted to become – otherwise it wouldn’t be worth doing.

As I restarted my career this new approach paid great dividends – for it also carried along with it my new attitude.  I was now much better able to think about favorable outcomes to the situations I was facing – and reject them if need be.  Several years later, this turnaround was confirmed by one of my teammates via an exclamation after a particularly intense budgeting session – “you’re glass is always half full!”

At that moment, my new attitude got a new name.  And when it was time to start this blog, there was no question as to what it should be named, and what the overall tone of it should be.   Because I felt it was well worth sharing my experiences from that point of view.

Half-Fullism ended up working for me in ways I never thought possible.  And today, I face today and the tomorrows to come realizing that while every day isn’t going to be sunshine, there isn’t a magic wand that can solve everything, and not-so-good, unexplainable things can indeed happen to good people, there is still a lot of joy and fulfillment out there to be found and experienced.

And I’m going to do my best to find it.  Join me, will you?

(Postscript: I also wish to extend my grateful thanks to all of you that have supported me and this blog for these past 4 years. I couldn’t have lasted this long, or loved it this much, without you!)

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(From L to R) Chris Garrett, Leticia Pruitt, Me, Zena Weist & Jason Falls at SOBCon09 (cc) Shashi Bellamkonda Social Media Swami Network Solutions

Chris Garrett makes it quite clear that he’s in the “business” of blogging and new media- it’s right there on his very popular web site, ChrisG.com. And if you are ever fortunate enough to spend any time with him, it’s also quite clear he is a person who knows a LOT about those things, and is one of the most valuable learning resources in the blogosphere.

But there is more to Chris than this knowledge and business savvy.  Much more. He’s a thoughtful, friendly, and caring person who genuinely wants to help people, not only by improving their web sites, but by improving the quality of their lives as well.

I recently chatted with Chris on a variety of topics, and as usual it was a fascinating discussion with tons of great insights.  Let’s listen in……….

Terry: Chris, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. On your “about” page, you refer to your use of the Internet as an “addiction” that started in 1994. I’m always curious about this – what was the catalyst back then that triggered the addiction?

Chris: I started off with those old dialup modem “Bulletin Boards” (or BBS as they were called). I kind of dismissed the Internet to begin with as it had a stuffy academic reputation. There was access in a limited way through the college I worked at, but it was seen as slow and boring and all the action was on the ‘boards. In stages I started getting into the Internet via the usenet newsgroups and email, I saw it as an extension of the geeky socializing I was doing on Fidonet and the BBS stuff.

What really impacted me was my first experience of the web, I could see the possibilities. Then I got my first contact through a website I had put up. The first complete stranger who ONLY knew me via my website. That was a real revelation. I’ve never looked back!

Terry: I loved one of your most popular posts about defeating procrastination – I get the feeling that while you say that you struggle with “analysis paralysis”, you have a streak of impatience that drives you to take risks and at least do SOMETHING . How do you balance those two things in successfully moving forward with your career?

Chris: I have always believed that we progress as people by
1. Knowing our own nature, and working with or improving that.
2. Making the best of what we have been given.
3. Pushing our comfort zones.

When you look at it, what do we risk in most cases? A bit of reputation and some money. When you compare that against a surgeon, or my dad who was a fire fighter, and lives are at risk, do we really have that much to be nervous about?

So I know I am shy and an introvert, but I speak at events (like SOBCon). That meets all three requirements! We have to make things happen, lucky people are those who are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. I know I can sometimes get my wheels stuck in the mud by overthinking things so sometimes I have to take a leap of faith. My main way of dealing with things though is to partner with other people who will push me. Then I feel obligated to fulfill my end of the bargain and not get bogged down in contemplating my navel!

Terry: I share your love of a good curry, and I’ll always fondly remember our chat about Chicken Tikka Masala (which resulted in a blog post). The interesting take away we both had from that discussion was how something that is now a staple of every Indian restaurant came about from a simple request for gravy by Glasgow restaurant customer. I now think of that dish as a symbol of how individual initiative can have such a profound effect on the world. What does it mean to you?

Chris: I agree with your assessment but it also has another meaning for me, which I will try to articulate but the idea is still forming so bear with me!

When I think of Chicken Tikka Masala, I think of how the dish was already quite popular, it’s a good dish, but that sauce added something special and individual. That random, possibly drunk, restaurant customer found what was missing and it took the recipe to a whole new level! If you want to put it in context, Chicken Tikka was a commodity and the “special sauce” is what took it from being so-so to fantastic.

If we think about what we do in our daily lives, some of it can be seen as commodity, same, me-too, and what we can do to make it so much more is bring ourselves to the party. We are our special sauce! We all have something about us that is new, different, special and valuable, we just have to bring it out.

So I see it as a mission when I talk to clients to find their CTM, what is your special, spicy, delicious sauce that you can add to your commodity chicken product or service?

Terry: Tell me about your partnership with Darren Rowse – your book “ProBlogger” was quite the success (it’s still ranked 2,194 on Amazon a year and-a-half after its release). How did this collaboration come about, and will you two be working again on anything else? Lastly, do you think the lessons still hold up today given the rapid evolution of other Social Media platforms?

Chris: I first “met” Darren in 2004 I think it was. We later worked together on Performancing.com (Darren contributed some early content to the site, etc), and struck up a friendship, talking on Skype and email, and so on. Darren and I were already planning to work on something when the opportunity for the book came about.

I think the reason the collaboration made sense was because we have a similar outlook but different approach. Obviously Darren is the champion of making blog income from Adsense, Chitika and so on, whereas I don’t do any of that and more make my income because I blog, not necessarily directly from my blog. It gives the reader a rounded view and opportunities to pick what resonates with them. The lessons do hold up surprisingly well, but then the core of the book is about creating something of value and being true to yourself and your audience, rather than obsessing about specific technologies and tactics.

The shocking thing for many people is it is only this year in Las Vegas of all places that we both met physically for the first time. We had a meal together in Melbourne too, which was great. Darren is one of my favorite people but I am sure he knows that already, heh. I am sure we will work on something together in future, but Darren is so busy I am not sure how much time he will have in his schedule!

Terry: Thanks again for chatting Chris – one more question: It seems like each and every time we speak we end up having a very deep and involved conversation –in your words, we’re always trying to “fix the world”. (The last one at SOBCon09 resulted in posts  on my blog and yours about finding our joy and purpose in our lives).  Now I bet that you are “world-fixing” more often than our all-too-infrequent conversations – what’s on your mind lately that you could share with my readers?

Chris: Funnily enough I was thinking about that just this morning!

One thing that has been on my mind on and off this year is that I decided who my mentors were and I got to meet each of them in person this year. I know some people have a formal arrangement about who mentors them, but mine didn’t know I regarded them as mentors and I have only told one of them! I did mention their names on an interview lately so maybe they know now.

Two things come to mind from this.

1. I think it is important to have mentors and to choose well. They shouldn’t just be people you can learn skills from but who show you a bigger game, an approach to life and work. People you would want to (largely) emulate.

2. The human qualities I felt these people possessed I think are sadly scarce but are the reasons for their success. Generosity, empathy, putting others needs first, standing up for things … it saddens me that many of the “gurus” that people in this industry turn to do not have these qualities. They talk about “turning the internet into your personal ATM machine”, about sucking money out of the system or peoples wallets, it’s all about take-take-take.

It’s like people have it backwards, they are thinking about what they can get rather than how they can help. Like one of your favorite songs, we only get what we give, right? Maybe the economy has been the catalyst for this, but I think we need to focus even more on providing value and about helping people. The more we help others the greater our own rewards will be, and the more fun we have.

So bottom line, pick carefully who you want to model to improve your situation, and focus on giving and helping. Bring your CTM to the table to add your own special sauce to the mix … I think that’s a nice recipe for success!

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Today I’m launching my new site design (thank you Thesis and Jesse Petersen!).   It was just time, given that blog platforms are evolving faster than Twitter is gaining new users (well, maybe not quite that fast).

This “rock” needed to be turned over and examined.   Not because there was something so wrong about how my site looked – it was because I just wanted it to be better.  A little less busy (I hope you agree!).

I had been thinking about looking under rocks for several weeks lately – I always worry about complacency, and it was a perfect analogy for me.   Because there’s always a better way to do something – or a better way to analyze something – or present something.   The minute we think we have it all figured out, all nailed down, and there’s nothing more left to change – that’s the EXACT time we need to think about mixing things up a little.

It’s about trying a new and different perspective – and realizing that you DON’T have all the answers.

This viewpoint was reinforced for me just yesterday when I attended the Audience conference in NYC – Jeremy Shoemaker, better known on the Internet as “Shoemoney“, spoke about how being successful was “about managing time and working hard.”   He made a lot of mistakes along the way, he said, but he kept pushing – talking about those mistakes out in public, and along the way discovering better ways to, in his words, get “skills to pay the bills.”   And now he is quite successful out there- because he was willing to turn over those rocks.

Sometimes you need someone else to do the turning over for you.  Getting a friend, or any objective third party, to tell you how you can do something better, takes a decent amount of courage, especially if you do not take to critique very well.   We recently hired an outside firm at my company to take a look at some of our operations, and sure enough, they looked at some rocks we hadn’t looked under for several years  – and found some things that we could change to make us better.

It always stings a bit when you hear these things – humans do have this little thing called pride, after all  – but if we really want to be successful, and STAY there – we can’t just glide over those stones.

Gotta stop and turn ‘em over.  While it may be pretty ugly under those rocks, and you may have to take a couple of steps back before you start marching over them again, it’s well worth the effort.

Complacency is not our friend.  Never be satisfied, and you’ll have a much better chance of finding lasting success.

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….is out there somewhere.

You just need to find it. And in a land of over 100 million blogs, how is that possible?

And besides, blog posts don’t change lives, right?

Wrong.

They can, and they have. I’m living proof of that.

One day in June of 2006, I found my way to a blog written by Liz Strauss called Successful Blog.

I found her by way of a link on someone else’s blogroll (Phil Gerbyshak) – I was just starting my blogging adventure and was just looking around, trying to get comfortable with this new world.

What caught my eye was a post she wrote about how writing a good blog post is like driving a Ferrari.

It was good- written with insight, verve, and moxie- and a very apparent desire to help other people. What’s more, it appeared that Liz just didn’t leave her post on the page and that was it- she invited, and responded to, comments from her readers.

So I commented, she responded, and that’s how I “met” Liz.

Of course, there’s a lot more to this story and how it resulted in a rapid (and still unbelievable) expansion of my known universe and friendships, the birth of SOBCon (a fabulous annual conference in Chicag0) and a long-term business partnership with Liz, but suffice it to say it was that one little post that set it off.

It was the most important blog post I’ll ever read.

And if it happened to me, it can happen to you. Yes, you can change your life by reading a single blog post.

But not just any ol’ blog post. It has to be one that is written in the same manner as Liz-with a little heart thrown in for good measure.

And, it has to be “conversational“- that is, an honest invitation for dialogue. That’s really where the life changing comes in.

Think about it- one way “broadcasts” can be influential, no doubt, and can lead you to a life changing moment down the road, or a revelation of some kind- but they are not life changing in and of themselves. You need to do all the heavy lifting after you read it.

But on a “two-way” blog I’ve described, it’s different. You’ve immediately expanded your circle of relationships, and that’s the catalyst to the life change- the power of those relationships.

So if you want to change your life, find those kind of bloggers and blog posts (you couldn’t go wrong by starting with Liz and Phil, if you haven’t already). You may have to look around a bit, but if you know what you’re looking for, it won’t take long.

Or you can simply put a comment on this post and see what happens. You never know.

What are you waiting for?

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We were on our way to Portland, Oregon for a vacation.  The flight from Westchester County to Chicago was right on time, and so we had a chance to grab some lunch before our 3:30 flight.

Of course, I had my trusty Blackberry with me, and amongst the vacationing and waiting for the next flight I was also juggling work e-mails and my social media activities, as any 21st Century multitasker would do.

Life was flying by as it always was, and then it was time to get on the plane.

After a fairly orderly (by commercial airline standards) boarding process we strapped on our seat belts and pulled out our reading materials.

We taxied to the main runway as I started to page through a Newsweek magazine. Then, it was our turn to take off, and the engines cranked up. I usually stop what I’m doing at this point but this time I was pretty absorbed in my reading.

Then, something different happened.

At about 120 miles an hour, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff.  He slammed on the brakes.  What followed was the longest 10 seconds of my life.

1 Second - “Uh oh, something’s wrong”

2 Seconds - “We’re stopping – why?”

3 Seconds - “He’s avoiding something”

4 Seconds – “Gosh, I hope he doesn’t hit something”

5 Seconds- “I should brace for impact – do I put my head down?”

6 – 7 Seconds - [life flashes before my eyes]

8  Seconds- “Please don’t hit anything”

9 Seconds - “Let’s get off the runway!”

10 Seconds – [exhales deeply as the plane slows down enough to exit the runway]

Turns out, the pilot got a airspeed indicator malfunction light just as he hit 120 MPH, and made the proper decision to abort the takeoff.

Whew….

What was amazing was how it all seemed to happen in slow motion, and how I seemed to be able to run so many thoughts (and deep ones to boot) through my head.

It was one of those little life wake-up calls that couldn’t have come at a better time.  In 10 seconds I was able to take stock of where I was, what I have done before, and what I want to do in the future.  Mainly because I was darn happy to have a future.

I wondered why I couldn’t just take 10 seconds and do this self assessment when I needed to without the prompting of an event like this.   That’s all  – 10 seconds.  Every now and then when the world is spinning a bit too fast, or the multitasking is getting a little out of hand.

10 Seconds.  Without the dramatics.   Just the thinking.

I think I’ll give that a try next time.

Postscript: After we got off this plane, the airline arranged another plane to take us to Portland.  2 1/2 hours later, we pulled away from the gate on this new plane.  As the engines fired up, I kid you not, the lights in the cabin began to flicker and strobe, like we were in the middle of some kind of “Twilight Zone” episode.   They tried to fix this problem by pulling back to the gate and restarting the plane, but alas, this plane was also not going to take us to Portland.  Finally, on the third try on a third plane, and 5 hours after we were originally supposed to take off, we were on our way to Portland.

Isn’t traveling fun?

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Yesterday I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City.     As a lifelong musicologist it was quite a thrill to see all the exhibits and artifacts from many artists I grew up with and admired.

There was also a special exhibit called “John Lennon: The New York City Years” that was especially poignant and ultimately moving, given the tragedy of his all-too-early death in 1980.  Bottom line, I’d highly recommend this museum to anyone with a love (or even a liking) of music.

More importantly, however, this visit crystallized the very reason I love this genre of music so much in the first place.   There was a 10 minute video that kicked off the visit that was very well done and was visually and sonically top notch.   So much so that by the time it ended with a crescendo of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” while over 50 years of Rock and Roll history flashed on the screen,  I experienced an exhilarating “jolt” of emotion.

Exhilaration – that was “the thing” that keeps putting music in the forefront of my life.   And when seen in a “virtually live” context of that video, watched with a roomful of other people, it only heightened the feeling.

Great Rock and Roll, particularly performed live,  is an unmatched sensory experience.   Far better than anything 140 characters can deliver.

For when was the last time you felt exhilarated sending or receiving a Tweet?  Perhaps only when you clicked a music link.  Or when you Tweeted from a concert, or from some other event that you enjoyed.

Social Media is more of a conduit in this regard- it’s not an exhilaration generator in and of itself.  More like a means to share (and learn) about experiences. Like this one, for example.

So, at least occasionally, I highly recommend you put down the Blackberry or iPhone, step away from the computer, and pull out and play an old vinyl record, or a CD – or better still, go to a concert, or a club – and experience the exhilaration of Rock and Roll a little more often.  You’ll be glad you did.

For as the Rolling Stones said,  “I know it’s only rock ‘n roll but I like it, like it, yes, I do”.

Me too lads, me too.

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