Have you ever felt like you don’t make a difference in your work? Do your tasks seem mundane?
Look at the boy in the photograph.
He resembles countless other boys who have passed through the public school system over the last 100 years. He grew up in Texas. There seems to be nothing special about him.
This is a photo from the 1962 Tiger Tracks yearbook.
That’s Linden-Kildare, a consolidated school district in northeast Texas. The boy in the picture was a freshman in high school. His name was Don, and he played the trombone in the school band. Stanley Walker was his band director. One day, Don told Stanley, “Mr. Walker, I think I am going to quit the band. I don’t like playing the trombone.”
Don was one of many in the band, and Stanley was a busy man. He could have accepted Don’s resignation or dismissed it as a distraction and moved on. Instead, Mr. Walker recognized that Don often drummed on his textbooks and suggested, “Well, Don, why don’t you play the drums?”*
Don did, and the trajectory of his life was changed by a suggestion from his band director — and ours as well. You probably enjoy listening to Don’s music. Even if you don’t, you’ve likely heard it before, perhaps even as background music in an elevator. Here are some songs that Don has written or co-written:
– Best of My Love
– The Boys of Summer
– Desperado
– Dirty Laundry
– The End of the Innocence
– Heartache Tonight
– Hotel California
– I Can’t Tell You Why
– Life in the Fast Lane
– The Long Run
– Lyin’ Eyes
– New Kid in Town
– One of These Nights
– Take it to the Limit
– Witchy Woman
By now, if you haven’t guessed, Don is Don Henley, a founding member of the legendary rock and roll band The Eagles and a Grammy-winning solo artist.
Everybody comes from somewhere. I found the Linden-Kildare annual at a used bookstore. I bought it to remind myself that you should never underestimate what people can accomplish. The next time you’re tempted to think that what you’re doing does not make a difference, think again. Recognize the potential of those you work with and the impact you can have on them.
You may be influencing the next Don Henley, someone who could change the world with your encouragement.
Mark
Dr. Mark Edge
The WorkEdge Company
Telephone: 903-245-7851
Email: workedgetexas@gmail.com
Website: www.workedgetexas.com
Author of Holy Chaos To purchase the book, click here:
* Thanks to Whitehouse (TX) Band Director legend, Denny Whitley, for sharing this story from the life of his family’s long-time friend—Stanley Walker.