A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to see one of our favourite musicians perform at a local brewery.
His name is Royal Wood.
In this post, I want to talk about the musician who opened for him, Kaleb Hikele.
Kaleb shared a story about a time when he also saw Royal Wood perform.
It was when Royal performed at Massey Hall, which is a very famous venue in Toronto.
It just so happened that this particular performance was turned into a live album.
On that night, Kaleb wasn't just in the crowd.
He told us that he was actually an usher at the show.
That show took place on May 11, 2018.
Just over six years later, Kaleb was an opener for the same artist.
Kaleb's story has sat with me ever since I heard it—roughly a month ago at the time of this writing.
From usher to opener.
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There's a joke from somewhere in the 1950s—the exact origins are a bit murky—about another famous music venue. Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The joke goes like this:
A violinist is walking down a New York City street when they are approached by a tourist.
The tourist asks, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall from here?"
The violinist replies, "Practice, practice, practice."
I've heard variations of this joke where the practice line is replaced with, "Hard work!" I love that particular variation.
***
The reason that Kaleb's story is sticking with me is because of what happened in the six years between usher and opener.
To be clear, I have no idea what happened in Kaleb's life in those six years, but I am imagining that it involved some version of practice, practice, practice.
If you've ever been in a situation where you've been inspired by something or someone, and said to yourself, "I think I could do that one day," then you know Kaleb's story.
You might be in that situation right now. You might be the usher.
One day, you will be the opener.
Until then, practice.