Today, my friend Brenda Abeja reminded me of Max Lucado – the man whose book was my first good read during the first semester of my undergraduate studies.
Max once said,
“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”
Like Brenda rightly put it, it’s “a very challenging thought”. Here is why. Turning the back to the crowd:
- Positions you to miss the smiling, encouraging faces in the audience.
- Makes you face the smaller audience – the choir – not the great army of fans in the auditorium of life.
- Makes you unsure of whether what you’re doing is being appreciated or not.
- Makes you vulnerable: someone in the audience may throw some nasty thing at your back!
- Requires a higher level of personal discipline, emotional intelligence, and mental maturity — all of which may really leave you sufficiently exhausted.
On the other hand, though, turning the back on the crowd:
- Enables you concentrate on what matters most: the stellar performance of your team through your effective conducting.
- Affords you a peace of mind due to not facing the neutral or merciless faces of those never moved by any level of excellence.
- Removes all possible distractions and reminds you to focus on your purpose, not your praise.
- Elevates your thinking to the higher calling, to the bigger picture of life, not minor but animated nuisances in life.
So, turning the back on the crowd may be – actually is – a challenging undertaking but a life-giving one. And practically, here are just a few examples of what turning your back may include in daily life:
- As a single man/woman, listen to the crowd’s cheer for you to marry but don’t allow their pressure to make you rush and crash.
- As a wise lady whose heart is on raising honourable offspring, hear but don’t listen to the discouraging expectations of “modern society” as you make your own radical decisions.
- As a gentleman whose yearning is to leave a legacy, refuse to fall for the trap of success without significance, sophisticated toys without impact, and habits that appear “cool” to peers but irrelevant to your important relationships in the long run.
- Apologize when the other person is wrong not because you are a doormat but simply because you treasure the relationship above being right.
- As a professional, shut your ears to the volcanic proposals of peers who volunteer to run your life on their terms, reminding you of the car you’ve not yet bought, the school you’ve not yet taken your children to, and new fashion you’re missing.
- As an elder whose life has been well-spent while creating a legacy of building many lives, be content with having generously invested in people even if fellow seniors only pride in a visible abundance of material accumulation.
- Etc. (You can kindly share your own practical examples below for our mutual learning).
Friend, for the sake of having your orchestra well-led, have a happy back-turning! I’ll smile at you from the tenor corner of the choir. I identify with your struggle.
Live. Love. Lead.
#YouWillManage
