Rock and Roll Guru

“Well it seems that I’ve been playin’ the game way too long…”-Bruce Springsteen

It’s time to stop playing all the games that aren’t fun. Most of us, like The Boss said, have been playin’ them way too long.

We need to stop listening to the people who tell us that we’ve got to learn how to play the game in order to get ahead in life, or in our jobs, or in our relationships. It’s all a bunch of crap. Do we really want a life, or jobs or relationships where our success is determined by learning how to play the game?

I admit that I’ve played my share of stupid games. Graduate school, for example. The game was figuring out what they wanted to hear and then giving it to them. That’s why I refer to it as my worthless masters degree. This isn’t a condemnation of formal education, but for me it was a huge waste of time. I was coaching college basketball and at the time most universities wanted you to have an advanced degree to do so, so I played the game.

No more! The only games that I want to play are the ones where I can make my own rules. I’ve found that people treat me a whole lot better when I make it clear what my rules are and what I’m willing to accept. My clients love that fact that I make the rules because they know upfront that rule number one is that we deliver kick-ass rock & roll customer service.

Try it out and see for yourself if life becomes a whole lot more fun when you make your own rules. If you’re not currently making the rules for what you will accept in your life, I’ll bet the only thing stopping you from doing so is fear. Fear is nothing more than an irrational concern regarding events that may or may not screw up our lives at some unspecified time in the future. We’ve absolutely gotta learn to let fear go if we hope to be fulfilled in our lives.

There is a caveat here. Some games are actually fun. Like backgammon. And Rock and Roll Triviologies. Chutes and Ladders and Candyland used to be fun when the kids were little. Golf, however, is not fun. In fact, I hate golf. It does nothing more for me than ruin a leisurely walk in the park as I chase a little white ball around while uttering countless profanities.

All I’m saying here is we should choose the games we play very deliberately.