The other day, I was flipping channels on the TV and one of my favorite movies was wrapping up: Mr. Holland’s Opus. If you haven’t seen it yet? Do it! So many wonderful storylines, including the importance of art, music and performance staying put within our educational system.
But I digress.
*Spoiler Alert* I’m going to talk about the end of the movie, so, if you haven’t seen it…stop here!
Still with me?
OK! Let’s dive in…
I’m at the last scene where Mr. Holland, the band director, is debuting for the first…and last time…his ‘opus.’ His decades long creation of his own musical masterpiece is finally ready. It had stayed incomplete for so long because of, well, life!
We find Mr. Holland having been laid off from his lifelong teaching job. On the last day in school, he’s lead to the auditorium, and in front of him? Students from all the years he taught have returned to play his Opus.
It reminds me of the song from Rent – One Song Glory. There’s a line that says:
“one song to leave behind.”
Isn’t that what we all seem to be chasing today? Leaving “greatness” behind? Isn’t that what all the hustle-bros are after? Wanting to be remembered?
And what the movie suggests is that while Mr. Holland thought his Opus was his one song that he got to leave behind...in reality? His Opus sat in front of him. His students. They were his Opus. Many of them whom he had imbued with life lessons and a love and appreciation for music.
His Opus wasn’t the piece of music. It was in shaping so many lives. Raising a family…flawed as he was. Loving a wife. Being a friend. A colleague.
And the same is true for our lives. I believe our society’s addiction to ‘hustle and grind’ is because we’re writing the wrong Opus. We’re seeking that one song to leave behind…and we’re missing what’s sitting right in front of us.
We believe that buying the biggest house in the nicest neighborhood is our Opus. Having the newest car…our Opus. Being the RockStar-Double Diamond-Employee-Of-The-Quarter? Building the next Amazon? Our Opus.
Quick! Name the founder(s) of Pier 1? How about Borders? DressBarn? Movie Pass?
These are all companies that, at one moment in time, were “we made it” sized companies. The founders likely celebrating their “One Song To Leave Behind…” and those stores are barely memories. The founders having faded into a Wikipedia listing.
Your Opus isn’t stuff that you leave behind. Your Opus isn’t a dusty trophy you won for outselling everyone during some random Q1 years and years ago.
Your legacy, your One Song is going to be played and sung by those who remember you…those who remember how you treated them. Those that you impacted in small and great ways. And that symphony will either be filled with laughter, memories and a few tears….or with deafening silence.
You can strive for greatness, yes. I continue to get hammered by hustle-bros that I’m advocating for laziness or complacency, mostly because hustle-bros can’t see beyond the Q1 Rock-Star Double-Diamond trophy. What I’m really advocating for? Understanding the legacy you’re actually writing…the legacy you’re actually leaving behind.
In your pursuits, remember that the Opus you are truly writing is on the hearts and minds of those around you. Each positive interaction creates a ripple, a note if you will. And while the small ripples we impart to others may seem insignificant, when all of these ripples, all of these notes come together…it makes beautiful music. It makes your Opus.
Are you helping others on their journey? Are you making people better? Are you supporting your friends, colleagues and family? If so, you are adding notes to your Opus. A song to leave behind.
Or you can keep on hustle-bro’ing, burn bridges, scratch and claw your way to the top while ignoring others. You can buy cool shit, have the bestest stuff and collect another double diamond award.
The silence of your Opus will be deafening.
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