Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2012
11
Six words: Life is short. Do what
matters—A lifetime of wisdom.
After the unexpected death of
my vibrant sister and then my
other sibling’s serious battle
with cancer—all within the last
two years—I’m starting to think
differently about life…and death. I
don’t mean to be morbid here, but,
as they say, one out of every one
person dies and no one can predict
when our day will come. Reason
enough to validate the statement
Life is short
.
Tragedy has a way of slicing away
the frivolous and mindless routines
of life and throwing questions in our
face like, “What does this matter?”
Leaning back into a striped lounge
chair with a cold drink in my hand
and the vast expanse of ocean
stretching out before me usually
evokes a “Life is good” comment,
but lately it’s tag-teamed with,
“What does it matter?”
Of course, idea-makers like
myself, band directors and the
like, are eternal optimists and tend
toward feeling virtually invincible.
After all, we create winning
performances,
transforming
average students into admirable
young people with strong character
and more, year after year. Doing
the impossible with limited time,
budgets and personnel; it’s not long
before we take on the personae of a
super hero.
Super heroes fearlessly face
insurmountable challenges,
which we all do. Unfortunately, that
is as close to
assimilating the
superhero identity
most of us will
come. More likely,
we will take on
more than we can
handle, get lost in
the urgency of the
present and become
bogged down
in the practical
necessities—all the
while losing sight
of those things that
really matter.
But what really
matters? Do you remember why
you pursued a career in teaching?
Remember that desire to cultivate
music to make a meaningful
contribution in the lives of others?
Or to help others find meaning
and purpose through music
performance like you did?
How do we stop muddling
through and start doing what
matters? How can we be sure our
efforts will make a difference in the
long run? Here are a few standards
to hold up to our daily schedule.
1. Determine what really
matters today.
Make your
expectations known. Don’t clean
out the uniform closet if you expect
to hand out new music tomorrow
and you haven’t had
a look at it yet.
2. Be inten-
tional
.
Make
deliberate and
inspired choices
about your work.
Look at your
schedule
and
intentionally filter
out those things
that are not relevant
and focus on what
is. Keep it simple,
direct and to
the point—don’t
overload.
3. Be positive
.
Be good at
finding the good in others. Find
ways to reinforce positive behavior.
Honor commitment and validate
strong character.
4. Learn to say “no.”
Sometimes we have to say “no”
even to good opportunities and
suggestions to stay focused on what
is required at the moment to create
the greatest impact in our current
strategy or program. You may
disappoint someone, but honesty
and not overloading yourself and
Life Is Short. Do What Matters.
Six words. A L i fet ime of wisdom.
Randy T. Gi lmore, Owner/President , Marching Show Concepts, Inc.
Do you remember
why you pursued a
career in teaching?
Remember that
desire to cul t ivate
music to make
a meaningful
contribut ion in the
l ives of others?
How do we stop
muddl ing through
and start doing what
matters?