While in Liverpool, we stumbled upon a beautiful Anglican cathedral on the top of a hill. Naturally we went inside and took a tour. The tour guide, who by his brown robes appeared to be a priest or abbot, told us the following story.
A small boy with sensitive hazel eyes stands in front of the choir master in a nearly empty church. He is auditioning for a coveted spot in the cathedral choir. Nervous and excited he delivers his best performance. When he’s done, he smiles. He did his best. Unfortunately, the choir master disagrees and the eleven year old child leaves - rejected.
Fifty five years pass. Now the cathedral is packed and the congregation is giddy with anticipation. People have traveled from all over the world to attend a special service. A strong and handsome man with the same sensitive hazel eyes, the boy now an adult, stands in the same church. Only this time, he is the choir master. And he is directing his original composition, Behold My Heart, which will be performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
His working class beginnings are long forgotten. He is now one of the most successful musicians and composers in popular music history. He has 60 gold discs. In 1997 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. In 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That boy, now a man, is Sir Paul McCartney, the passion and purpose behind so many beloved Beatles tunes.
Over the years, I’ve thought about the story a lot. And I’ve realize that there are two key messages. Most people will immediately recognize the first – if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
But I am more drawn to the second, more subtle message. That is, the great heights we can accomplish when we find our life purpose and follow it with a passion. Or, as Matthew Kelly, author of The Rhythm of Life, says “success means becoming the best version of yourself.”
“Success means becoming the best version of yourself.”
Success isn’t about how much money you make. It isn’t about the car you drive or the size of your office. It isn’t about how many friends you have. It’s about being the best YOU that you can be.
We don’t become the best version of ourselves by sitting still. We have to work at it. And to work at it, we need to follow three simple strategies. They are:
1. Know your passion (or your life purposes as Matthew Kelly says).
2. Feed your fire.
3. Embrace failure.
Three things. That’s it.
The first strategy is to know your passion. This first bit of advice is the most important. And sometimes the most misunderstood. People will tell you that you can achieve anything if you try hard. They are wrong.
Paul McCartney would have made a terrible accountant. That’s because his passion, his life purpose, was music.
If what you are doing with you life is not your passion, you may do well, but chances are you will never truly succeed. But if you find that one thing that makes your heart beat and you pursue it, you are capable of achieving real success.
Once you know your passion, you have gained an enormous power, the power to set your destiny. Once you know your passion, you will understand that you must make decisions every day based on what will best further your passion.
In the words of Howard Thurman, "Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
What is your passion? Does the thought of working with numbers excite you? Then embrace your inner math geek and make the most of that. Do you most enjoy helping others? Then seek out volunteer opportunities in your community. If you know your passion, you have the first key to success.
The second strategy is to feed your fire. Once you know your passion, you need to tend it and to feed it. Remember that passion is like a fire. It needs fuel to grow and spread. And one of the best ways to do that is to get involved with other people who share your enthusiasm.
If you douse your fire with water or cover it with a blanket, it will suffocate. Don’t surround yourself with wet blankets or people who will put out your fire. Avoid people who will tell you that your passion is silly or that you cannot succeed.
Seek out those who, like you, have the same fire. Study them. Learn from them. Grow with them; and feed each other.
The third strategy is to embrace failure. Screwing up isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. And often, it is the best thing that can happen to you. Because you will learn so much more from what went wrong than you did from what went right.
Remember the eleven year old boy standing in front of the choir director realizing that he had failed to meet his goal. At that moment he had two choices, to quit or to press on. But he was following his passion, so he pressed on. And he used that experience to become a better musician. It took a lot of time and a lot of work. And there were a lot of failures along the way. But each failure brought a new opportunity to get better.
When you face failure, don’t run away. Face it. Then embrace it. Ask, “How can this make me better?” Then take those lessons and apply them the next time around. Success is in the eye of the beholder. But true success cannot be counted by coins in the bank or by the size of your home. True success happens when you have become the best you that you can be. And to do that you must find your passion, feed your fire, and embrace your failures.
And if you do these things, there is a good chance that you will find yourself directing the choir.
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