The Reunion

From what I can tell, Saturday Night Live is a little like summer camp, a little like an escape game without an escape, a little rock n roll, a little traumatic, incredibly funny, and perhaps the epitome of euphoria and despair…all while the clocking is ticking closer to Saturday night.

So it unites the people who have gone through it.

There’s the show and then there’s the after party…an after party that often goes well into the next day.

I venture to say most of the people at SNL 50 don’t spend a lot of time looking for reasons to stay out until 5am…but when that group gets together…it’s electric. People are electric. When it’s that good you can’t peel yourself away. You stay out. You pay the price later. Because you WANT to.

Because while I’m sure everyone in attendance would say the show was great…it’s the little conversations and moments of connection throughout the night, throughout the after party and into the early morning that people carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Seek out the extra special. Build the extra special. Learn to recognize the extra special. And when you find those people…don’t stop getting together with them.

»» Side note…They wouldn’t have been able to get all those people to get together just for the after party…they had to have a show first. The show is the rally point. The connector. The thing that makes the after party different.

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The Guts To Take It Public

That’s the difference between playing guitar in your bedroom and taking your guitar out of your bedroom.

Taking it public means there’s going to be people you don’t know who are going to have opinions about your work…and you won’t know what they are.

A constant dance with the unnerving unknown…that takes guts.

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Knowing The Players

The artists, musicians, producers, engineers, agents, managers…

Probably not knowing them all personally but knowing who they are and a little bit about their work. Not so you can pretend like you’re more connected than you are but so that you can see the interconnectedness when names and projects get thrown around.

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Don't Beat The Varsity

That’s the underlying job of the JV during practice.

The JV is suppose to put up a fight but the varsity team comes out on top…that way things look the way they should..

The JV is good.

The varsity is better.

And the coaches look smart for putting those players on those teams.

That’s the way it should be.

But it’s much more interesting when the JV wins.

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The Big Mistake

You’re going to make one eventually. You work hard and you work overtime to ensure that it doesn’t happen but it will. Something that costs a lot of money, or makes your team look dumb, or causes you to miss out on a big opportunity, or even puts relationships and your reputation in jeopardy.

Two things…

1. After you make the big mistake at work you’ll realize the world keeps spinning. Yes it was big. Yes there are consequences. Yes it was your fault. But everyone will still wake up tomorrow and keep going.

2. On the day you make the mistake and feel terrible about yourself, you have to go home and walk through the front door. And those relationships inside that house…you’ll need them. You’ll need a safe and warm place to come back to when you’re hurting and embarrassed. Don’t forget about home.

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The Good Painter

It’s a good idea to hire a good painter to paint your living room.

A good painter is better and faster than you.

A good painter knows what to do when problems arise.

A good painter knows how to keep things clean.

A good painter has spent a long time becoming a good painter.

But

…even the good painters can’t make the paint dry faster.

We can only control the controllables.

We can only improve the improvables.

»» Thanks to Eric for this one.

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