Losing track of what matters in the face of adulation.
Part 2 of a 4-part series on Failing Forward: leadership lessons learned from the rise and fall of my rock band, MAXLIDER
Don’t miss Part 1: How a rock band showed me how not to be a leader.
There’s nothing like being on stage. Imagine having 600 or 700 people in the audience singing the words of a song that you wrote yourself — as loudly and as passionately as you were in the moment you wrote it.
Imagine how time stops and nothing else matters in that moment.
At times, being onstage can give you a seemingly out of body experience, and I had those moments as a lead singer.
There were times when there was so much harmony and unity collectively, and so much energy being expelled, that I would feel like I was floating above myself — like I might even pass out because every ounce of emotion was gone from my body.
When you’ve got a bar full of people singing at the top of their lungs to lyrics you wrote, it’s an experience like nothing else.
Playing music is unique because it draws out feelings that often are hard to get in touch with in everyday life.
You can capture a moment in time that binds everyone together. And when that shared experience is channeled through a small group of musicians on stage in a crowded room, the experience is euphoric.
It’s like jumping out of a plane and the adrenaline junkie in me wants that again and again. Short of the moment when my children were born, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt anything close.
Blinded by fame.
Back in the day, the pursuit of those moments experienced on stage created in me a need to be selfish. I wanted a record deal and I was going to get one…nothing would stop me.
As MAXLIDER got more recognition and accolades, I perceived we were making progress. With every contest we won, the crowds grew larger. Fans sang along with our lyrics. People sent us gifts and knew our names.
As the fame and money grew, I thought things were going great.
But in fact, the group called MAXLIDER was a snowball that was rolling faster and faster downhill.
Unfortunately, I had no idea.
Share your story.
- Have you ever felt carried away by a movement?
- What methods did you use to keep the momentum of the group headed in a positive and healthy direction?
- How did you establish and share a unified vision?
I hope you’ll share your experiences and insights in the comments below. Thanks for listening to my story. It means a lot. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, rock on!
Next up, the third article in the series, Failing Forward…Winning the battle of the bands. Losing the battle within.
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