The Secret To Good Jazz And A Good Life (Is This In Your "State Of The Union", Solopreneur?)

Fair warning: I'm going to mention a politician in this email.

You may be really sick of thinking about politicians during this intense election season.

But this story includes a great metaphor, and you know I can't resist those.

I recently heard Barack Obama's chief speechwriter share how the former President's love of jazz completely changed his life.

(You remember that guy, right?)

Cody Keenan had hammered out a first draft of the State of the Union address so the President could review it and “zhuzh it up" [my words, not his] before the big night.

The SOTU is a particularly tough speech to write, as it involves taking a long list of 30-40 policy ideas (snore) and weaving them into a cogent, engaging narrative.

After getting some positive feedback, Keenan recalls Obama's conversation with him about the first draft:

“Here’s the thing. Everything is in here. Every sentence says something. Every word means something. There’s no wasted space.”

Raising his hand, palm down as if he were showing how tall you must be to ride this ride, he added, “The entire speech is up here at ten."

He pushed his hand down. “I need some of it down here, at six, seven, eight.

"Let me put it another way. You listen to Miles Davis?”

I fessed up and said no.

“You know what they say about Miles Davis?”

I did not.

“It’s the notes you don’t play,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “It’s the silences. That’s what made him so good. Silences can say more than noise can. I need a speech with some pauses, and some quiet moments, because they say something too. You feel me?"

…I’d been so consumed with making sure everything was in there that it made him complain that everything was in there.

“We’re in great shape. I don’t want you to do any work tonight. I want you to go home, pour yourself a drink, and listen to some Miles Davis. And tomorrow, take another swing at it.”

He pointed his fork at me. “Find me some silences.”

You know what that speechwriter did?

(Well, in addition to applying Obama's input and inserting some potent pause-points in the speech, which received rave reviews).

Keenan was so impacted by this idea of “the notes you don't play” that he decided to find more silences in his own life.

He “Miles Davis-ed” ("Obama'd"?) everything.

He started taking walks with his wife, reading for pleasure, savoring the process of cooking a meal, and just building more moments into his life to slow down.

He blocked chunks of time out in his schedule, just to reflect or rest or play.

He started putting his phone down more (not easy to do).

The silences brought more pleasure and meaning into everything. He became a better writer, and a happier person.

“Find me some silences.”

I've been writing a lot recently about creating space in your life, whether it's slowing down to savor the “hygge” of a pumpkin latté, or avoiding “smothering your fire” with information-overload.

I'm not just taking my own advice and using repetition.

We're coming up on the season when a lot of us do our own “State of the Union” assessment of our own lives (and yes, that includes your business. More on that to come…).

Silences and space not only increase your ability to reflect clearly on things; they mean you're more likely to feel good about the life you're reflecting on.

Now put on some Miles Davis and think about that ;)