Generator

That’s the name of the song that got me into Foo Fighters. So I was a little late…Generator was on the album after the one with Monkey Wrench and Everlong. But it was the first song I was able to go from air drumming to a real kit with (I played drums in high school).

Taylor had just joined the band for that album (There Is Nothing Left To Lose) so Dave and him split the drumming duties. Taylor said Dave played all the intense rock tracks and he played the not-as-intense stuff. But Generator is hard to place on that spectrum.

But it didn’t matter, it was always a Taylor song to me because I was introduced to it through the live DVD Everywhere But Home…and he was back there blowing my mind on the drums. (btw, the performance of Aurora on that live show is amazing too)

So there we go. I dove all the way in. From then on me and all my friends have referenced Taylor’s drumming a thousand times over the years. Brushed elbows once when The Foo’s bought my band fried chicken outside of Austin but we never actually met.

And now it’s sad he’s gone. So sad for whatever unraveled down in Columbia that lead to his early exit. Heartbreaking.

Here’s my offering for the road ahead…

Love your friends. Get to know them. And let them in. Taylor had secrets…tell yours. Make time and space for others to tell theirs. It’s not your job to save them but you might end up saving them. No one is above making terrible decisions but honesty in the context of trusted relationships gives you and them a better chance.

»» Couldn’t find the Everywhere But Home version…but here’s Generator live.

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Half Chocolate

When you’ve melted the chocolate in the double boiler and you go to dip the pretzel rod, you want to keep your hand clean…so you only dip half the pretzel and then let it cool.

But now you force your guests to make a difficult decision…do they want to eat something they’re only going to eat half of? And what do they do with the other half?

You’re giving them exactly what they want but then you’ve included a version that they’re not really interested in. On the one hand, having an un-chocolated side might increase their love for the chocolated side…but on the other hand you should know that your guests just want chocolate on the whole thing.

It’s easier to give the people half of exactly what they want.

To go all the way you’re going to have to get your hands dirty and commit to a process that most don’t. But the guests will be fully thrilled…not just half way thrilled.

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The Glue Guy

There’s one in every band, every team and every group that stays together more than ten minutes.

And the glue guy (along with everyone else) rarely understands the importance of the role and minimizes its value. The glue guy wishes he was the talented one, the good looking one, the visionary, the mysterious one, the assertive one…

But when the glue goes away the whole thing falls apart and everyone wonders why. We had the talent, we had the vision, we had the good looks, why isn’t it working?!

The glue holds people together…and connectedness (more than talent) has a special magnetism and power that can’t be faked.

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Underdog

Being the underdog is a strong source of energy. And you might be able to use it for a long time as your main source of motivation.

But if all goes according to plan, it’s ultimately unreliable. If the energy of the underdog is what’s giving you the juice to win then what do you do when you’re fully expected to win?

If you’re using a temporary source of motivation, keep going with it as long as it’s giving you what you need.

And then be prepared to find something more sustainable.

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Bench Players

They don’t get playing time. The don’t usually even take their warm ups off. No one knows who they are. You see them jump up on the bench when the star players do something good. As a viewer, their enthusiasm can even seem silly…it’s not like they’re contributing to the success.

Or are they?

Great teams get sharpened by playing other great teams…but in reality great teams are only as good as the competition they play against ever single day…ie. The bench players.

We might not care a lot about the bench players, but the star players do. And they know how great the bench players are.

Every great bench player knows they could go play for a different team and probably get more playing time. But they’d rather be an intregal part of a better team.

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One and One

Lots of close games during March Madness. Lots of these games come down to free throw shooting.

For those who don’t know the game well…there comes a time in a game where if you get fouled you get to shoot a free throw. If you make that one you get a chance at another one.

But if you miss the first one the game just moves on.

This is called a 1 and 1. If you make the first you get the second one.

It’s a bad time to be a second free throw specialist. If you’re not very good at the first one but always nail the second it’s unlikely we’re going to get to see your specialty. You’re not usually going to make it to the second shot and because of that it’s much less likely you’ll even be in the game during clutch free throw time.

When you choose what to specialize in it’s a good idea to put yourself in places where that thing is needed and valued.

»» Yes, the truth is no basketball player walks around bragging about specializing in the second free throw. No one misses the first and says, ‘Hey lay off, my specialty is the second one’.

BUT there are lots of players who are much better at the second free throw than the first.

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