A friend shared a line with me from the Netflix series on Purdue Phamra and the Opioid Crisis…
“There are two types of human beings that matter, creators and sellers. They’re equally important, sellers possibly more...”
The message came with a note saying the quote reminded the sender of me. At first, I was flattered, as I fancy myself a Professional Salesperson…but the last line of the quote goes like this…
“There’s no greater talent on the planet than the talent that stimulates the actual physical movement of a person removing money from their wallet and handling it to you.”
At first, I was flattered, but over time and considering the subject, well, frankly – this analogy had bothered me for over two weeks. I’m not a drug dealer. I believe what I do, and what I teach and how I mentor others, is the pursuit of being a professional and solving problems. Sales professionals help their clients find the right solution to a problem. I began considering the possibility that what I do is not actually selling but is in fact creating.
So, all of this is churning around on my gerbil wheel, and then Jimmy Buffett dies…and the First Lesson read at church this past Sunday is from Exodus, with Moses talking with the Burning Bush. Which as a reminder for some of you, is the story of how God gives Moses the motivation and instruction to go and lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
I have taken from all of this, and I have settled on creators being more important than sellers.
Why?
Because creators fill us with passion and interest and a desire to do! They fill us with enthusiasm, and fear, and longing, and …. Creators, the Creator, lays the groundwork for individual discovery. The idea, the image, the lyric, the solution, is the motivation. It is the driver of action, which is the response to that which is created. Creaters lay the groundwork and the foundation, they build the structure within which the rest of us find our enthusiasm, fear, longing, pain, exhilaration, and relief.
I draw parallels from life’s moments and my work. And while this is going to be a self-aggrandizing leap, the death of Jimmy Buffett and the Moses’s conversation with God are in fact the glue holding this thought together.
I’ll start with Jimmy. The news of his death brought a deep sadness to me for most of the day Saturday. I have been a fan from days before the term Parrot Head existed. In the late 70’s I was listening to his music, and being jealous of those who had the money and wheels to get to Tampa or St. Pete to see his concerts.
I first saw him in 1981, then again in 1982. I saw him several times in New Orleans, including at Jazz Fest in 1989 – where Ed Bradley sang 60-Minute Man with him and I sang WDWeGDaS, at the top of lungs with a dozen other friends, who were just as drunk as me and collectively we were responsible for over $100M in sales and revenue. I saw him in Atlanta, and nearly 40 years after the first time I ever saw him here in FLA, I saw him again in FLA.
His lyrics have always spoken to me – I have no favorite song – I have favorite lyrics.
We are the People our Parents warned us about
I just bought a waterbed filled up with Elmer’s Glue
Just a semi-normal person, thought he had the future planned, then he won some silly sweepstakes, now he had a hundred-grand
It’s 5’oclock somewhere
If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me
But nothing hits deeper than A Pirate Looks at 40. It’s from his A1A Album released in 1974 – and while the song is about a Drug Smuggler lamenting his life and wishing he was a smuggler 200 years ago. In the song there are a few lines about the ocean.
In your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of ‘em dreams
Most of ‘em dreams
He’s saying that the biggest “treasurers” at the bottom of the ocean are the life-dreams of those passengers who never finished their journey – be they sailors, passengers, slaves, or combatants – they all ended up at the bottom of the oceans – their life’s dreams going with them.
If you’ve EVER struggled with wondering if you’re ever going to achieve your dreams, and wondered whether you are on the right path, this song will cause you to wonder, and if you’re lucky, it will bring you motivation, drive, desire, and introspection. This is what JB always did for me, his lyrics – of both his Sensitive songs and his Trash songs – have given me cause to think and to wail like a mad-man at his concerts – my last was Dec 9, 2021.
I spend Saturday working this around in my head – having decided that in fact the creators are more important – and then on Sunday Moses speaks with the Burning Bush.
In the story, God tells Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When Moses asks what he’s to say to convince them to leave with him – questioning his ability to lead them – God reassures Moses that he will be not alone, that if they question Moses and who has sent him, God responds, “I am who I am” and further says, “I am has sent me to you.” Their Creator wants them to follow Moses, the CREATOR is their motivation, their relief, their passion, their call to action.
So, this is how I spent my weekend – pondering. Working out how I should tell you that I want you to see yourself as creators – and no I do not mean Gods – I mean the motivator, the catalyst for discovery and learning, the lyric, the reason.
To compare what we do with selling drugs, and convincing people to willingly hand over money is an insult to what you, and we, are capable of being.
To see yourself as a creator – as someone who causes thought, introspection, consideration, passion, and personal action – that is something worth your effort, something worth your expertise, something that others can draw inspiration from – something that might cause others to see you as a creator. Be Exceptional.
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