They Want A Great Time

Most people want a great time way more than they want great musicians.

Yes, it helps to have great musicians in order to arrive at a good time…but by no means is it necessary. Why do (some) bad bands draw a big crowd? Because they understand this concept.

People want a show, a thrill, a chorus, a lead singer, a vibe, a story, some attitude, an arc, something worth talking about.

Why are people gonna be glad they saw your show?

And whatever your answer is, rehearse it, grow it, feed into it, make it the main thing.

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Making Phases

Three phases…I’m not sure they always go in order and there’s plenty of overlap along the way…

Making it…starting out you wanna make it. Make it big. To the top. Toppermost of the poppermost. It’s all about hype and glitz and leather boots and wearing sunglasses inside and being so cool it hurts. It’s all about being somebody everywhere you go…and you go everywhere.

Making something great…the realization that you’d trade all the cool in the world for a great song, a great offering that will lift you and the world around you. Magic is cooler than cool. Whatever it takes to make the people laugh and cry and pump their fist. Take the sunglasses off, let the people see into your soul.

Making…creativity is the gift. The feeling you get when you make the thing, that’s what music is for. Starting with nothing and ending up with something. Creation. A miracle. And making with others is a binding force that lasts forever…connecting with others through creativity…in real time.

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Two Minutes Of Playing Time

Every player riding the bench who gets in for a couple minutes at the end of the game use to be the player playing all the minutes in high school.

College coaches don’t go recruiting kids who did well playing two minutes each game in high school. They aren’t looking for two minute players…and there’s not a group of basketball players who from an early age specialize in playing two minutes each game…even though there are plenty of players who play only a few minutes per game.

Rather...you train as though you’re going to play all the minutes all the time. So you’re ready for the maximum, even if you end up playing the minimum. Coaches want two minute players who can play the whole game.

The two best precursors to playing for two minutes…

Prepare like you’re playing all forty

Play really well when you get in for one

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Coach Intensity

The coach stays intense and focused the entire game…but the players ebb and flow. The players get frustrated and dejected and let the emotion of the moment cloud their actions.

Why?

Experience counts. It helps declutter the moment when you’ve gone through a bunch of moments kinda like this one.

College basketball players are young and easily swayed by circumstances. Coaches are older and their strength and zeal isn’t as tethered to circumstances.

»» This is why as players retire after their pro careers they say ‘Mentally I’m stronger than ever but I just can’t quite move like I used to’. If only the young could have the wisdom of the old.

Like the Faces song…I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger.

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Tired Free Throws

If you can make free throws when you’re exhausted you have a chance.

That muscle memory has to be deeper than your tired.

Refining those skills and instincts to such a degree that your mind and body can put together a score even when your mind and body are stacked against you.

What kicks in when you’re exhausted?

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We Shoulda Had It

It isn’t rare for the score to be pretty close at half time for the 16 seed vs 1 seed games in the college basketball tournament.

But then by the final buzzer it’s a blow out.

The 16 seed says ‘we shoulda had it’ because during the first half they showed they could hang. They found out what it looks and feels like to run with an elite program. And if they did it for one half they should have just been able to repeat it for the second half.

But that elite level of play is something the 1 seed has been doing for thirty games…while the small school only has that kind of gas in the tank to handle twenty minutes.

It’s good for us to find others who show us what greatness looks and feels like, and to show us what we’re capable of if we’re willing to do the work.

The 16 seeds play as hard as they possibly can…and often learn that pure effort isn’t enough to get the desired result.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple