This weekend, I allowed myself a rare break from the grind. I had the chance to drive up to Pittsburgh and watch the legendary Garth Brooks perform in front of a record-setting crowd at Heinz Field. In addition to seeing a show jam packed with “real country” hits, I walked away from the stadium with three important life lessons.
1. Bring the juice. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting. I mean, Garth is closer to 60 than he is to 50. And he sings country music. I guess I expected him to just stand up there, strum his guitar, and sing all those great 90s hits.
Nope. Nu-uh. Didn’t happen.
The man rocked the house! He was all over the stage, bringing a rush of energy from the first song to the last. Then, he came back out and played a five or six song encore. It was nuts! Everyone walked away feeling they’d received more than their money’s worth - which is a rare feat in today’s society. I was blown away!
2. Be good to people. Maybe the thing that struck me most happened during the part of the the show where Garth introduced his band. All of them had been with him for 20 or 25+ years! I think that, alone, says a lot about who he is as a person and how he treats those who work for him.
3. Always be grateful. Numbers don’t lie. This man is the best-selling solo album artist in the US. He’s ahead of everyone, including Elvis! In total sales, Garth is second only to The Beatles. He is a living legend. And yet, the whole time he’s up there performing, the man just oozes gratefulness for his fans. Even when he’s not thanking us outright - even when he’s in the middle of a song - you can tell he’s grateful by the way he plays. It’s just constantly evident. At the end of the day, he knows that without his fans, he’d never get to live his charmed life.
So even though my great weekend was regularly interrupted by guilty feelings of how much work I could have been getting done, I’m glad I took the short break. I had a great time with good friends in a cool city. Not only did we see an excellent show, but I walked away with important lessons learned from a legend!