Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials on August 4, 2008 at 10:21 am
People often ask me why I write career advice, why I want to help people — especially young people — find happiness in their careers. This weekend I found the best way to explain it.
On Saturday night I attended the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, CT, and had the privilege of seeing Dave Brubeck perform. For those who don’t know, he is a world-famous jazz pianist who is now 87 years old.
From the moment Brubeck laid his fingers on the piano keys, I was mesmerized. And it wasn’t just the music, although he did play the most beautiful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I will ever hear. What I found most inspiring and transfixing was the look on Brubeck’s face. As he performed and watched members of his quartet perform, he wore a look of pure, unadulterated joy. It is the look of someone who is doing what he loves most in the world and appreciating every glorious minute of it.
I can’t help but believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience that feeling, whether they find it by playing music or writing a flawless sentence or building the perfect code or delivering a heart-stopping closing argument.
It’s hard to think there is anything better than doing what you love every day. Amazingly, as if he had to do anything else that night to impress me, Brubeck reminded me that there is something better. Near the end of his performance, he announced that a 12-year-old boy named Dakota, a member of the jazz camp accompanying the festival, had asked to play his saxophone with Brubeck. The audience laughed at the adorable audacity of the kid, and then Brubeck surprised us all by inviting the 12-year-old up to the stage.
The kid played a song with Dave Brubeck and his quartet — no doubt a moment he’ll remember for the rest of his life — and then Dave Brubeck, beaming even more than the boy, said:
“Dakota, thank you for inspiring me.”
And that, the joy of supporting someone else in the discovery of his calling — especially someone younger (in this case, 75 years younger) — is the only thing better than finding that joy yourself.
That is the best way I can explain why I do what I do. And why I hope to still be doing it when I’m 87 years old.
Thank you, Dave Brubeck.
[...] Why I do what I do: a post about Dave Brubeck [...]
@Mark – Thanks for the great story. I’m not surprised at all that Brubeck surrounded himself with other people who loved playing so much. The amazing comments I’ve been getting just show what an influence he had on so many people.
Thanks for commenting!
Lindsey
Great post, Lindsey! Talk about the notion of following your bliss. I’m a big jazz fan too, and though I’ve never caught him live I do know that Brubeck’s always been a fan of working with and mentoring younger musicians. He even has an album called Jazz Goes to College! On a related note… in the summer before my senior year of high school I worked at a drum shop in New Jersey, and Joe Morello (the drummer with the ’60s-era Brubeck Quartet who recorded “Take Five”) was a private teacher there. Up close, he played and taught with the exact same sense of joy and enthusiasm. I’ll never forget it. And bless him… he’s still teaching to this day.
Thanks,
Mark
@ Zanade – couldn’t agree with you more. Life is too short AND too long to do something you hate every day. Thanks for the comment!
- Lindsey
@ Tom Ruff – Thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it. I’ll check out the Leonard Bernstein special!
- Lindsey
[...] From Lindsey Pollak: Why I do what I do: a post about Dave Brubeck [...]
Lindsey,
One of the best blog posts I’ve read in a long time. Thanks for bringing us all back to the basics and reminding us how important it is to do what we love. PBS is running a special on Leonard Bernstein that shares a similar story.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Tom Ruff
I totally understand where this article is coming from. I found a way to take my passion and make it a full time job! I remember a mentor of mine said if the position doesn’t exist create it! And I know spend my day doing what I love and for a better purpose.
Life is too short to complain about what we do for a living don’t you think?
@ Rebecca – totally. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could show their joy like that?
- Lindsey
@Jill – your comment gave me the chills — that is such a good way to describe it. He is like a kid once he sits down at the piano. His whole body and face transforms. Glad you had a chance to see him live too.
- Lindsey
We made the same observation when we saw him play two years ago – the pure, unadulterated joy on his face. He was 85 years old – but only on his way to the piano. Once he sat down, he was a kid again.
Great story! I think that’s why people love musicians so much – they can wear their joy on their sleeves so easily :)
@Anita Bruzzese – wow, I love that about Art Linkletter and could not agree more. I totally believe that work should be enjoyable. We tend to hear artist-types talk about this, but it can happen for anyone.
Thanks for commenting!
- Lindsey
Lindsey,
I’m a huge jazz fan, so I wish I could have been with you listening to him! I just interviewed Art Linkletter (age 96!) and you cannot believe the energy and enthusiam he has for his work and his life. He says he tells college students all the time to do something they love because you work for a long time and doing something you enjoy means you never really “work.” You’re blessed to do something you love — and that you’re good at!
@Miriam Salpeter – Thanks! And, even, better we get to hang out with other people who do the same thing. We are truly lucky. Thanks for commenting–
- Lindsey
@Allison Weiner – thank you for reading! Hope you are still on a high from a great conference.
- Lindsey
Lindsey,
Thanks for a great story. It is inspiring to see people who have connected their passions and their work. I agree with you that being able to have a hand in helping people get where they want to go is a privilege and a joy!
Miriam Salpeter
Keppie Careers
Lindsey, thank you for inspiring me and my team of recruiters!