NDCQ - Not Dead Can't Quit

On July 7th, 2011, I stood on the stage at Seattle’s Key Arena. There were 10,000 members of the International Lions Club staring back at me. They were there for a four-day convention. My band, BrickHouse, was about to perform.

Just 16 months before, I had taken the band to see Beyonce on that very stage where we now stood. I had boldly told them, “Some day, I’ll get you all up on that stage.” Little did I know that it would be so soon, or that it would look so daunting.

Although we had played outdoor shows to around 3,000 people, there was just something about playing Key Arena and all of its history that momentarily paralyzed me. I thought of all the incredible artists and athletes who had performed there. I looked to my right and saw a neon sign saying Katy Perry would be there next week. I looked up at three huge screens that were projecting our image to those in the back. Adding to my stress was the fact that we weren’t doing a typical show. We were performing an entirely new set list designed by our customer.

I recognized all the signs of fear and panic as we waited to be announced. My palms were sweating. My limbs were tight, my throat constricted. My stomach ached. I immediately returned to some of Mack’s coaching lessons and began to breathe deeply.

Next, I recalled Mack’s lessons about moving through fear. Mack had told me that fear is simply an exaggerated dialogue around the question of “What’s going to happen to me?” This “fear conversation” is based on things we think we know. But in fact, we really don’t know what’s going to happen. We think that we do but in reality, we don’t know what’s going to happen a year from now, a month from now, or even a second from now. And yet, I had begun to fixate on everything that could possibly go wrong. My mind was going 90 mph.

I remembered Mack telling me to slow the conversation down. “Lee, begin to manage your conversation. The way out of fear is through focus! Focus on the thing that must be done in this moment.”

Mack had always said that ultimately, your ability to succeed will always come down to one thing… your ability to focus on your target. And we know that focus occurs when clarity, concentration and action converge in the present to produce a result. Focus always occurs in the present and it is about being so completely connected to the thing that matters, that you think of nothing else. In contrast, fixation is stuck and attached to the past or some idea of what the future might hold. That’s what had me stuck…worrying about the next few minutes and what disasters could occur.

As they announced the band, I recalled Mack’s instructions. I stepped into what I absolutely needed to do in that instant. I focused on the execution of the music that had to be performed. I played the keys, led the band – and executed on each target in front of me in each moment as it arrived. As such, I became too absorbed in what I was doing to even recall being afraid. Soon enough, I was having fun and before I knew it, the show was over. We had delivered and it had been an exhilarating experience.

Thank goodness that under stress and pressure, I was able to recall Mack’s lesson: Focus on the target!

Lee Witt