Lift the Curse

For those who are accustomed to reading the ‘Window Three Blog,’ you know that it’s common for me to jump between sports, music, television and cinema, in an effort to portray ideas about to be brought to your attention.  With many of us being partial to one type of analogy over another, it is my job to make certain we are objective in our approach.  Therefore, all apologies to our musicians of the world who like hearing about the emotion found in music, as I feel we have left you out in the cold for a bit too long. 

Like our other three topics we use to make comparisons (sports, television, cinema), music alone doesn’t guarantee interest.  With so many genres from which to choose, I often find myself looking for artists and songs that are familiar to the general public.  This week’s story comes from the very successful band, Pearl Jam, and their lead vocalist, Eddie Vedder. 

I must admit that while growing up, I didn’t know much about Pearl Jam.  My knowledge of the band could be summed up with the songs: “Better Man,” “Daughter,” “Jeremy,” “Even Flow,” and of course, “Alive.”  And while all these songs are great, it was the last one that’s story caught my attention while again watching ‘Storytellers’ on VH1.

For those of you who have never watch ‘Storytellers,’ I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, check it out.  If you think music has emotion, wait till you feel it once you hear the story behind it.  I had heard the song “Alive” many times and when it was on, it always seemed to be a very motivating song.  After all, the chorus says, “Oh, I, oh, I’m still Alive!”  Good stuff, right? 

Well, there on stage Eddie Vedder told about the story of “Alive” and how to him, it resembled more of a curse than a motivation.  According to Vedder, when he was a teenager, his mother revealed to him that the man he thought was his father was actually his stepfather, and that his biological father had died. The first and last verses detail those actual events:

First Verse

Son, she said, have I got a little story for you

What you thought was your daddy was nothing but a...

While you were sitting home alone at age thirteen

Your real daddy was dying, sorry you didn't see him, but I'm glad we talked...

Oh I, oh, I'm still alive

Third Verse

Is something wrong, she said

Well of course there is

You're still alive, she said

Oh, and do I deserve to be

Is that the question?

And if so...if so...who answers...who answers...

I, oh, I'm still alive

During Pearl Jam’s appearance on Storytellers, Vedder stated that over the years the meaning of the song “Alive” had changed for him. 

"In the original story, a teenager is being made aware of a shocking truth that leaves him plenty confused...It was a curse — I'm still alive,” Vedder recounted. The audience's response to the song is what has brought about the change in meaning for Vedder. He added, "They lifted the curse. The audience changed the meaning for me."

Now I apologize if I went too far in my introduction to what will eventually be the baseline to this week’s idea.  However, I felt a full understanding was necessary.  Nonetheless, let’s start making sense of things.  In this analogy, I want Vedder’s story to be a reminder of two things. 

First, and probably the most obvious: make the most of all life's experience, good or bad.  There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that hearing about your father’s death and never getting a chance to meet him would be difficult to overcome, but not impossible.  In fact, it’s from experiences such as the one Vedder went through, that emotion is born, and what we do with that emotion is a choice.  Vedder shows us that it doesn’t have to be a negative one. 

Second, Vedder talks on how it was the audience that changed the meaning of the song for him.  As he stated on VH1, "In the original story, a teenager is being made aware of a shocking truth that leaves him plenty confused...It was a curse—I'm still alive.”  However, he later describes the audience as “Lifting the Curse,” and thereby changing the meaning for him. 

My question for you is, “How are you working to change the meaning of difficult issues for your key accounts?”   In other words, when a customer you know has had a bad experience with your organization, if a friend is having a difficult time adjusting to a new position, when a family member is struggling during our difficult economy, what are you doing to step in to change the meaning of the difficult circumstance?  What are you doing to show them that, like emotion, change can be good or bad, and remind them of their choice?  What are you doing to, “Lift the curse?” 

Almost every situation in a person’s life can be viewed in a positive light.  Sometimes it might take a few minutes and a bit of creativity, but it’s there.  Every opportunity gives us a chance to grow both personally and professionally, and that’s the irony.  While it’s true that the more of these experiences a person is exposed to, the less likely they are to recover.  It’s also true that with more of these experiences, they are also offered more opportunities to grow.  However, sometimes they just need to be reminded.  That’s what you are there for.  Have a great week everyone!