My Lifestyle Career

A Night of Pure Joy and (Stevie) Wonder

One of my favorite career-coaching questions is, "What brings joy to your life?" 

I ask clients to think about this because sadly, all too often, we lack joy in our work. It's an important point to consider. Contrary to popular belief, integrating joy into what you do isn't just about having fun. When you are doing work that feels good - it allows you to do good  - and that in turn empowers you to share your unique gifts with the world in important ways.

Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to see "joy and wonder" at work while attending a gala fundraiser for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). By way of background, the MMRF was established in 1998 by twin sisters Karen Andrews and Kathy Giusti, soon after Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. In just little over a decade, they have become the world's number-one private funder of multiple myeloma research, brought four drugs to market, raised over $170 million for research, and become a model of how to get government, researchers and private industry to better collaborate for success.

Thirteen years after being diagnosed, Kathy is in remission and was recently named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2011. The joy on Kathy's face as she gazed out at the sell-out crowd and the enthusiasm of the audience for her mission was palpable; the evening resulted in over $2 million being raised for their cutting-edge research. Talk about one person making a difference.

That accomplishment alone would have made the evening a whopping success, but as I mentioned before, the evening was about both joy and wonder. Wonder with a capital "W". One of the two people honored at the gala was the legendary Stevie Wonder who was presented with The Spirit of Hope award for his tireless humanitarian efforts on behalf of civil and human rights issues. In tribute to Wonder, the evening's entertainers, including Grammy award winning artists, Michael McDonald, Darius Rucker and Javier Colon, winner of NBC's, The Voice, sang Wonder's iconic songs. 

At first it was not clear that Wonder would take to the stage to perform. But before long, to the delight of everyone in the room, he was singing and jamming along with the featured acts. (One of my other favorite career-related questions is, "What can't you stop yourself from doing?" and clearly Stevie Wonder just can't stop himself from singing!). 

It would have been a treat to see Wonder perform under any circumstances, but because this was a private event, I was able to enjoy the performance standing within 25 feet of the stage. I was mesmerized watching his hands fly across the keyboard, and the harder he played, the more he smiled. Of course, he wasn't the only one having a great time on stage. The unbridled enthusiasm of both the featured singers and the back-up musicians was infectious, they were clearly honored to be performing alongside their musical idol. Not one of them could mask their, "I can't believe I'm really on stage with Stevie Wonder" look in their eyes. After finishing up an impromptu duet with Wonder, Darius Rucker, who was grinning from ear-to ear, proclaimed to the crowd, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in Heaven right now."

Indeed it was a magical evening - filled with giving, joy and wonder:

Joy for Kathy Gusti whose remarkable vision and leadership has saved countless lives.

Joy for Stevie Wonder who overcame incredible odds to become a living legend.

Joy for the musicians who relished the opportunity to play with their childhood idol.

And, joy for all of us lucky enough to be in the audience to soak up the spirit of the evening. Thank you to the MMRF for an evening to remember. To learn more about this incredible organization, please visit their website.

Feeling Overwhelmed? Take a Tip From Santa Claus

It may strike you as strange that I am talking about Santa Claus in August, but bear with me on this one.

I've been reading a fascinating new book, Innovation You by Jeff DeGraff, that presents tried-and-true techniques for reinventing your life.  I'll be reviewing the book in full in another post, but for now, I wanted to share one of DeGraff's observations about the importance of making space in our lives for change to occur, even when the letting-go process is painful.

In the chapter titled, "Create Capacity - Empty the Bag," De Graff writes:

"Even Santa Claus, our beloved icon of gain without pain, has to empty his sack so that he can fill it with new gifts each year."

Indeed he does.  And if you want to generate more change in your life, so should you.

It's an important lesson, particularly now as the summer closes and your inbox fills with invitations to sign up for volunteer activities, enroll in classes and renew memberships to professional associations.  Before you go into default (or is it guilt?) mode, and automatically agree to all requests, clarify your priorities and then access whether those activities will help you meet your goals in the year ahead.

If they do, great.  But if not, don't hesitate to refuse these invitations in order to create space for needed change to occur.

As DeGraff wisely reminds us,

"Remaking your life is inherently about effective trade-offs. Are you willing to give something up to gain what you seek?"

I hope you'll mull that over.  It's a great question to consider -and act upon - no matter what the time of year.

Are YOU Ready to Release Your Inner Sinatra?

Few of us would claim that working on a construction site in the middle of New York City in the blistering heat is glamorous, fun or enjoyable.  But then again, few of us have ever worked with Gary Russo, a.k.a., "The Second Avenue Sinatra."

Gary is an ironworker who is helping to build a subway line on Manhattan's Upper East Side.  A few weeks ago, Gary informed his co-workers that he was going to set up a karaoke stage on the corner of their work site so he could sing during his lunch break.  Not surprisingly, his announcement was ridiculed by his team of "tough guys." But undeterred, Gary forged ahead, and for the past two weeks, he has been entertaining, enthralling and wowing the crowds with his musical talent.

Thanks to Gary's willingness to share his "inner Sinatra", along with publicity generated by YouTube, his construction site is now one of the hottest entertainment venues in NYC.  His co-workers are no longer laughing at Gary. Instead, they are now part of his act -singing, smiling and swaying to the music - while basking in the glow of their newfound fame.   

It's not just Gary's co-workers, or his lucky lunchtime crowds, that are reaping the benefits of his talents.  This morning, Good Morning America invited Gary to perform on camera and he lit up the show with his infectious enthusiasm.  I watched the segment while working out at the gym, and when I looked around, I realized that the people who had their monitors tuned to GMA were all smiling, while the folks tuned into the financial news looked uncomfortably glum.

Take a look at the video below and you'll see what I mean ( I dare you not to smile).

Isn't it wonderful how one person's willingness to share his gifts can create such joy? 

While few of us are as musical as Gary, all of us have an "inner Sinatra," that can be used to brighten our workplace in different ways.  Some of us are natural listeners.  Others have a wicked sense of humor, a great design sense, or an ability to instantly make others feel comfortable.  When we choose to share our gifts in a way that benefits others, the impact is meaningful, and sometimes even magical. 

So the next time you are feeling bored or disheartened at work, think about how you can use your unique talents to change the ordinary into something extraordinary.  If an ironworker can find a way to make jaded New Yorkers smile by singing on a street corner, then surely you can find a way to add more meaning - and joy - to your work using your own special blend of talents.