Living in Color
- Post By: Greg Crumpton
- Date:
- Category: Blog
Story-telling. Finally I figured out why certain people really stand out to me. Over time I have heard great speakers talk about the importance of being a good story-teller. I heard it, or so I thought, until a series of events this past weekend really stung me, albeit in a good way.
Friday morning, bright and early, I met my friend, partner and mentor to discuss a couple of exciting projects we have in the hopper. Sam arrived, 3.5 minutes late as I have come to expect, we ordered breakfast, and then dove into the details of what we needed to get done. I sat and listened to him talk, and he strung his words together in an animated way that painted a very detailed picture of what could be. I just “got it.” If you could listen to it right now, you would just “get it,” too. Story-telling … Part one of the weekend.
That same weekend I was totally committed to get a few small projects knocked out prior to Thanksgiving. It will be here before you know it, like in two weeks, so I was driving to Charleston, SC later on Friday to get the project list whittled down. As I often do, I fired up Jim Rohn on the iPod. Every time I listen to him it’s like the first time I am hearing him, he just hits me that way. This particular piece was on how simple things really can be if WE do not over complicate them. Simple as in the iPhone design. Simple as in Googles main page. Keeping it as simple as you can and still getting the proper results. So as the miles passed, so did Jim’s words and I jumped out at the local Lowe’s, ready to purchase the supplies I needed and ready to work. That was story-telling part two.
As I got started I thought about Jim Rohn’s words and said to myself, “This plumbing repair deal can’t be that difficult unless I over complicated it.” And sure enough, I had.
After a few more trips to the store so I could simplify the reapir, I got it done. I cranked up a little Pandora to wind down the afternoon with.
I am multi-genre, so about anything except rap works for my ears. A song came on called In Color. The artist is an Alabama native, and former US Marine, named Jamey Johnson. As Jamey tells this story, he is basically recounting history through family pictures with his grandfather. Grand dad tells of a blue dress, a red rose, and the summer heat in June, none of which you can tell from just the photos. He describes the Hell of 1943 in Europe, he talks of his tail-gunner who had his back until the day they came back home.
The lesson for me was: Yes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but it’s not the same as experiencing it in living color. Powerful words, especially on this Veterans Day weekend. Story-telling demonstration part three.
The Outliers, the quintessential book by Malcolm Gladwell commonly referred to as the 10,000 rule book, is one of my all-time favorite reads. As I learned about the 10,000 rule and then overlaid it onto my life, it just clicked for me and I just got it. The most recent book by Gladwell is called, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. I enjoyed it as well, but until this weekend, not to a very high level. Two Google Alerts later, I see Mr. Gladwell on television. He is discussing his most recent book at an event at The Free Library of Philadelphia. It was very intriguing to listen to him tell about the means used to re-create David and Goliath.
He then appeared on Glenn Beck’s relatively new show. As I listened to Beck and Malcolm discuss this book, the last three chapters are based upon faith & spirituality, it hit me again… Malcolm Gladwell is an awesome and unique story-teller. He gave very vivid details about the scenarios and the events that make up the stories within David and Goliath. When I thought back on The Outliers it was the same thing. I can recall with great detail Gladwell walking me through the Canadian Youth Hockey All-Star roster within the first chapter or two of the book. What was unique about that and why was the roster worthy of a second glance or three? I won’t spoil it if you haven’t read it, but it was the story-telling that brought the boys to life. Story-telling weekend event part four recognized and mentally filed.
As I sit here typing this, I am remembering more and more story-tellers who I have crossed paths with. Two summers ago, I did a few interviews of people I knew personally that I thought were successful. It turns out that they were also good story tellers. You can read about some of them in earlier blog posts. Their stories will inspire you. Heart-ache, regrets, hard-work, drive, desire, restlessness … it takes all that to make it. Make it by “my standards” anyway, not in a trust-fund baby kind of way.
It all brings me back to the AirTight Creed, “Don’t Just Show Up.” Don’t be part of the gray in the black and white photographs. Dig in, embrace, stretch your brain, learn new things, hang out with your kids or your parents, visit different cities, even different countries. Go embed yourself in another culture for a few days. Try to not worry so much about failure. If it’s calculated risk that works for you, then do that. Calculate your tolerance and ramp up to it. It doesn’t have to be over the top. Just get out there.
What are you doing to make sure you are Living in Color?
