Sometimes, when I am listening to music, a classic song comes up in my playlist. Many of these artists experienced prolific periods of writing and releasing music. I wonder what they must be doing now because they haven’t put out new material in quite some time. The effort for a songwriter to attain fame must be tremendous. For them to then go silent after that success interests me. They must have found something else to feed their hunger and drive their satisfaction.
Take, for instance, Stevie Wonder. The man is a musical genius. He wrote hundreds of songs during his career. The majority of his songs were written from the early 60s through the mid-70s. In fact, during what is considered his “classic period” in the early 70s, Stevie Wonder wrote, recorded, produced, and released six, full-length studio albums. Many consider it the most bountiful period songwriting in the history of popular music. Ever. Wonder charted 9 top-5 hits and won an astonishing 12 Grammy awards during the 5 year period. At the end of the classic period, Wonder was just 26 years old.
Stevie Wonder’s output during this time was truly phenomenal. It took him 15 years to release his next 6 albums. And, since 1991, he has released just two additional studio albums. I find his career interesting to ponder. Furthermore, I have seen similar changes in output from other artists during my lifetime. I cannot help but wonder if my career has seen the same type of changes as these musicians, just in a much less visible manner. When I reflect, I see places in my career where I:
- Ran out or conquered all of my material
- Lost my creative muse
- Kept working but stopped sharing with others
- Got comfortable and satisfied my hunger
Keys of Life
Although I’m not a songwriter, I think similar themes play a role in my life. I’ve had periods of extreme productivity followed by times of silence. There is nothing inherently positive nor problematic about either extreme. As a matter of fact, I argue that these undulations ready us for life’s next stage. The key, I believe, is to recognize when they are happening. Then, make the most of them. Use what is learned and move promptly in a new direction. That is precisely what I have been wrestling with for the past several years.
Contemplating My Hunger
I have held jobs since I was 12 and I have worked full-time since I graduated from college. That streak snapped about 18 months ago. A purge suddenly jettisoned me into the unknown. My world suddenly stopped revolving around a job. Unbeknownst to me, I had used that job as part of my identity, routine, and satisfaction. It was time to unravel those identities. I became determined to do that work before I decided where to go next.
Becoming jobless provided me with a whole new way to contemplate work. Prior to this time, I must admit I hadn’t thought enough about it. I have worked for as long as I can remember. My hunger for money, success, recognition, and accomplishment was well satisfied.
While I satisfied my hunger, I think I lost track of feeding my passions. My last several years of work focused on pushing myself to learn new skills and create a spark for a role where I lacked passion. I thought I could kindle a fire and be productive, like I had done many times before. Unfortunately, passion cannot be created. Even though I felt I was making progress and creating success, my team was reorganized and my job eliminated.
Re-discovering Values
When I sat and thought about finding a new profession, I went back and made a list of what I enjoyed about any job I had ever held. My list started with customer interaction. From the deli counter in high school to meeting with corporate executives, I loved the rush of helping people and getting them what they need. A second critical element also rose quickly. Working with motivated people to get a day’s work finished. If needed, roll up your sleeves and skip lunch. I thrive in the camaraderie of working together to succeed. When I was in my “classic period”, these were the elements firing the passion and creating my hunger.
Beyond these two core values, I continued to add to my list. Along the way, I uncovered several other passions I was not pursuing vigorously enough. Stewardship, responsibility, and integrity shape the way I think and act. These values drive the actions used to guide my life, to mentor people in my profession, and to be accountable with my wife and kids. This type of servant leadership fell out of vogue at work. I needed to fight harder for these values. The changing ideals dripped water on the flames fanning my passions. It took me far too long to realize it.
Higher Ground
With work slipping into a silent period, I decided to explore myself more before jumping back into a rebound relationship. I wanted to focus on rekindling the passionate part of work I enjoyed so much. I spent a lot of time thinking about ideas I had been neglecting. After several months, I was hounded by a strong desire to share my thoughts and beliefs. I began by journaling through 100s of ideas with which I had been wrestling.
These ideas began to coalesce into themes. I began to create outlines and add thoughts and details. The process continued to evolve into snippets and whole paragraphs of thought in my journal. Then, one day, I decided I wanted to capture these ideas online.
I figured it would last a couple of months and I would satisfy the hunger. Incredibly, the hunger still burns. What started out as a conservation, exploration, and healthy living platform steadily evolved into my search for deeper meaning in my life. I hope my search will trigger you to dig more deeply, too. If I can help one person to re-discover their passions and hunger, the whole silent period will have proven its worth.
Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing
Digging into these ideas and sharing their impact will continue. But, I have also realized that I have a hunger and a fire to be more than a writer. This undulation has led me to begin the journey down a fresh path. I have unfinished business remaining to be completed in my life.
My search connected me with people working to further principles I admire. I want to help them. The servant leader in me feels confident there is a place to contribute. So, I am returning to the workforce to lead, mentor, engage, serve, and succeed. I really miss working with people who are striving together to make a difference. I know I can play a pivotal role in moving people and an organization forward…together.
This will not be the end of the blog. Perhaps, like Stevie Wonder’s production, my output may decline for a bit. Even though a new chapter is beginning, it does not force the current one to close. I feel strongly to work these two paths in parallel until one clearly dictates closing out the other. I think I will know when this hunger will fire the next cycle of high production.
Signed, Sealed, and Hungry
Enduring separation, silence, and lack of hunger is a challenge every person will face multiple times in their life. It’s up to each of us to fight through these silent times in our own way. Sometimes, the period ends quickly. Other times, the waiting may last much longer. I found navigating the path to be deeply personal. As such, I believe we each need to find our own way out, hopefully with the loving support of people around us. From my experiences, putting myself on a timetable would not have improved the results.
My path and timeframe allowed me to discover dormant passions and awake them. I experienced something I never imagined. The opportunity impacted my life tremendously. Just as my writing has developed and evolved, my life has done the same. It’s time to pour those experiences back into a new adventure. I hope you follow along.