An Olympic Medal for Weddings and Parties?

Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.
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August 31, 2008

What does it take to win an Olympic medal these days?  Am I even in the running?

More in a minute.  First, a story.

Yikes — it just happened again. A telemarketer tried to sell me a magazine subscription.  He asked if I wanted to “support his Foundation or let thousands go hungry”.

Huh?  What kind of illogical offer is that?

He gave me two stark choices as though they were opposites and covered all sides of the story. I hear ridiculous statements like this all the time, and they kill me.

Does stuff like this ever happen to you, too?

In my opinion, most issues in the world are some shade of gray, rather than black or white.  Selecting any extreme solution is likely to be hasty, superficial, and more often wrong than right.

Sure, this “either-or” option helps us get off the fence when we’re stuck making a hard decision.  Especially when making a decision is more important than whatever we eventually decide.

But it seems like we’re given these oversimplified options all the time.  Too often, I think.  Especially by salesmen looking for an easy commission or politicians looking for an easy vote.  “You’re either with us or you’re against us” comes to mind.

I thought about this misleading black vs white situation while watching the recent Olympics on TV.  The games were exciting and inspiring, as always.

However,  with so much emphasis on winning a coveted Olympic medal, I felt the media often verged on saying “We love you if you win an Olympic medal (especially a gold one, for our country), otherwise we’re barely interested in you!”

Hold on!  The games aren’t primarily about winning medals, are they?  Is winning the only thing?  That simplistic viewpoint is just too black and white for me.

I think it’s far more significant to be in the race at all — win, place, show, or something else.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s nice to win an Olympic medal, of course, but a far greater honor to compete as an Olympian.

I believe that all the athletes, whether individuals or teams, want first to do their personal best.  Only for a few at the very top, does this definitely means winning an Olympic medal.

But all those medals, and the universal frenzy about national medal totals — don’t they distract from the Olympic movement’s ideal of “excelling”? After all, these athletes are the world’s champions, and at that lofty Olympic level, each one has to be totally focused on their sport.

I’m not one of those athletes, so I can’t really know how they feel or exactly what they aim for.  But in my heart I hope everyone was striving primarily for the love of excelling at their sport — maybe to come in first place, but always to do their best possible job.

Now don’t be surprised, but this reminds me of my band. Although no one gives an Olympic medal for helping people enjoy their parties, this is exactly what we aim for.  If I’m an athlete, my sport is helping people have a good time.

In my opinion, my bandmates  are real champions at entertaining people and helping them get happy.  It’s what we love to do, and we do it well. We’ve spent years honing our skills, learning what makes parties succeed, and we strive for our very best at every party.

For example, take the photo above. Here we are this summer, entertaining at the city of Cupertino’s annual 4th of July festivities.  2008 is our fourth year at the celebration, and the six-man band presented a lively program for family picnickers of all ages, and many dancers, too.

It was a wonderful evening, followed by a terrific fireworks show, and I hope you were there. Thanks for the nice photo, Joy.

How about you?  What’s YOUR sport?  Is an Olympic medal in your future?

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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.

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Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.

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