A Standing Ovation

The sold-out crowd eagerly waited for the concert to begin. The lights dimmed. The spotlight came on. The curtain opened up. Anticipating an amazing performance, the crowd started clapping and cheering. The band started playing. We had great seats, fifth row, center.

That was our second time within six weeks to hear Grammy Award winner Maxwell in concert. We knew what to expect. The concerted ended. The crowd gave him a 10-minute standing ovation! The audience put such a demand on the recording artist that he returned to the stage to sing one more time. At the end of the performance, he took a bow. That was years ago when my friend and I went to a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.

Every day we perform on a “stage” in front of an audience. What makes each of us command attention on and off stage? Practice and persistence! Most remarkable performers don’t practice to become perfect, they practice to become better. In doing so, they consistently raise the bar in their chosen profession.

There are many of us who aspire to achieve great goals. We surround ourselves with like-minded professionals. Iron sharpens iron is a maxim that is solid in every industry.

In the book The Encore Effect, author Mark Sanborn details how to cultivate traits to achieve positive results. He focused on five key steps:

#1 Passion – An intense and compelling enthusiasm.

#2 Preparation – This is how you develop the skills to earn a standing ovation.

#3 Practice – Consistent and accurate solo performances.

#4 Performance –Strut like a peacock in front of your audiences.

#5 Polish – Refine your skills and reinvent your career.

A standing ovation on the “stage of life” is earned. Moving our performance from mundane to memorable, from dull to dynamic, from tiresome to terrific and routine to remarkable requires a personal decision. Let’s face it, when we hear the applause, cheers or grow our network or hear the traditional “great job,” it strokes our egos. And we all have an ego.

At some point in your career you’ve received trophies, awards, certificates and letters of commendation. It stroked your ego. It made you want to do more, didn’t it? That was your audience’s way of saying “Bravo!” It also means they are demanding an encore performance.

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