Momentum in Milwaukee

momentum

Today we did a dry run in the Frontier Airlines Center while it snowed outside here in downtown Milwaukee. Ian and I are here with Bill at the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) as he prepares to deliver a keynote address tomorrow morning. While Bill has been working hard to pull all the details together, Ian and I have been enjoying the indoor water park right here in our hotel.

Keynote speaking is different than delivering a workshop, a lecture, or a more typical presentation. Keynotes involve the whole community of conference-goers, designed to be anchors of conferences such as this – to give everyone something to think about and talk about. Bill has been developing the content for this talk over the past three years after he was invited into the world of music pedagogy at the OU Graduate School of Music. That’s not counting the years of coaching and teaching that have shaped his own methods for helping people perform at their best when it counts… in athletics, in business, and now in music!

By observing Bill’s process of preparation over the past couple of months, I think I can safely say that the content isn’t the hard part in keynotes! Fortunately, Bill has worked diligently at this one, has embraced the opportunity to refine his skill in this particular speaking format, and has gotten the right people on his team to help make it a great experience for the participants tomorrow. I think it’s going to be great, and I’m really eager to see it all come together.

The new part for Ian and me will be selling books in the back of the room! We’re hoping to go home having spread the good news that you CAN learn how to perform at your best when it counts, you CAN make practice more effective and more enjoyable, and you CAN become a better self-coach! If we are successful, it will also happen to mean that we’ll be traveling home with with some emptier suitcases come Monday!

This photo of Ian, while of poor photographic quality, reminds me of this new phase of life that we are entering. Bill and I are both entering into new territory with our careers. Transitions such as these can be scary, difficult, and unpredictable. Ian wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to go down this slide by himself or not yesterday. When he finally decided to do it, the first time, he did so slowly, and a bit awkwardly as he slowed himself the whole way down. Today (sorry – no photo), he was whizzing down the big-kid slide solo, and loving every minute of it.

Maybe we can learn something from Ian… BRING ON the keynote and back-of-the-room sales! Wheeeeee!