I wanted a challenge, so I’m going to mash-up my first band, Zen Buddhism, and business re-branding. Here I go!
I recently found a trove of promotional material from my early music days. One of the pieces was a flier for the first show of my first band, The Armadillo Society. We had no idea what we were doing and the flier was really just a bunch of written out information that we photocopied at the library. I had a lot to learn about music and marketing, but it was a start.
In Zen, there’s an idea called “Beginner’s Mind”. It’s the concept of approaching each moment as a beginner, without the baggage that we bring from our past or expectations of the future. Meditation and other tools are designed to help access this present mindfulness. In the irony that seems to abound in Zen practice, the goal is mastering the art of being a beginner.
There’s Always a New Chance to Begin
Right now, I’m knee-deep in a big re-brand for the work I do. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, just trying to be more awesome. I’ve built up a lot of writing, training programs, and speeches over the last 1o years, and it’s gotten sprawling and messy. So I’m trying to wrangle it into a coherent and clear whole (basically, I’m trying to follow my own advice to other entrepreneurs).
It can be challenging because I’ve got a lot of emotion, ego, and expectation attached to the process. My constant reminder to myself right now is to go back to the beginning and keep it simple. My goal is to operate with the skill and experience I’ve developed over my career, while still manifesting the enthusiasm and openness of a 18-year-old starting a band with his friends.
It’s a fun exercise for me. Where can you try that out in your life this week?