Daily Inspiration 12-14-12

"Always be eager to learn,
no matter how successful
you might already be."

-- Jim Rohn

Here, There and Everywhere - Tommy Emmanuel, Frank VignolaDai

I subscribe to the Tommy Emmanuel facebook page and saw this video this afternoon. Tommy tours with two guitar virtuoso's, Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo and I got to see them live with Tommy in Feb of this year. What a thrill to see my all time favorite guitar player and meet these younger, equally awesome players. (By the way, enjoy the video. It is awesome!)

I'm a guitar player and have been for about 46 years, but I wouldn't even be on anyone's radar near these guys; however, I can truly appreciate when I am in the midst of truly special talent, as these two gentlemen are.

What came to me when I saw this video was how each of them fed off each other, encouraged each other, stretched each other, and more. When two great artists get together, there is a synergy in action that is subtle and yet profound at the same time. You can see in the first few seconds how Frank on the left responds to the intro of the song, and then back and forth they delight each other and the bar is raised and they respond to that and yet, throughout all of that joy, there is the constant presence of the song, the tempo and the follow through to completion of the piece. It is beautiful to watch when you see it and it is beautiful to listen to as well.

When you are good--really good, at something you do, how do you improve, expand, become more? You have to get around others that bring that out of you, don't you? It's the only way to go forward effectively. That reminded me of the movie, Prefontaine, about Steve Prefontaine and his coach who became the founder of Nike shoes. In the movie Steve was pushing and pushing for more competitions with better runners so that he could be challenged and become a better runner.

I love to get around people who know more than me and who are more skilled too. It is a perfect way to know more, and become more skilled. Think of it as graduate school.

Do you have people like that in your life who can help inspire you to greater things?  

It Is Also Said That Fish Will Only Grow When There Is Room To Grow In The Space They Are In.

 

Spread Some Joy Today--Every time I write a paycheck, I send a thank you in some sort of way; most of the time in writing, sometimes not, but always the thought of my gratitude for them and what they do for our company. Doing this is sincere and heartfelt, but it is also a reminder to me of where best to put my focus.