Month: February 2016

What Will You Bring?

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You can say it a hundred ways:

 

“You get what you give.”

 

“You only get out of it what you put into it.”

 

“Cast your bread on the water, and it will return to you after many days.”

 

“Garbage in, garbage out.”

 

Or:

“And in the end, the love you take

Is equal to the love you make…”

 

In other words, in any venture in life, you’ll take away exactly what you bring to that moment. If you bring joy, you’ll reap joy. If you bring pessimism, you’ll walk away with pessimism. If you bring despair…well, you get it.

 

When my grandmother passed, she returned to each of us the gifts we had given her over the many years of her life. Those grandchildren who had given lovely, caring gifts received loving, caring gifts as rich mementos of her life. Those who had only eked by and given as little as possible reclaimed the tacky, shameful gifts that had been given. We all went to our homes that weekend with clear and obvious reminders of how generous and thoughtful (or stingy and miserly) we’d all been.

 

“And in the end, the love you take

Is equal to the love you make…”

 

The first year that I went to Liverpool, I went as a stuffy, American writer. I had trouble understanding Scouse. I wouldn’t try the local dishes. (Blood pudding? Eeeeek!) I dressed differently, and looked prim, stiff, professor-ish. And though I interviewed and observed, I never cracked a joke or smile. Bottom line: I didn’t fit in. Not a whit. Every minute of that trip, I was on the outside looking in. And though I learned a lot, I didn’t have fun being a stranger in a strange land.

 

The following year, I decided to do things differently. Instead of wearing my camel skirts, blazers, and sensible pumps back to dear old Liddypool, I donned tight leather pants and boots. I walked the streets of Merseyside instead of riding in taxis. I sat in The Grapes and The White Star and Flanagan’s Apple and learned the language and made friends.

 

That second year, strangers asked me for local directions over and over again…because they thought I was a Scouser! I had made the decision to blend in, and voila! I did! And when my nine days Merseyside were over, I reluctantly returned home not only better informed, but very, very happy.

 

“And in the end, the love you take

Is equal to the love you make…”

 

So, what will you bring to The Fest for Beatles Fans April 15-17? An old brown shoe? A sock (darned in the night)? A gently weeping guitar? A little white book? Some Semolina Pilchard? (Or Pilchard Semolina, for those who know the brand.) A 20-carat golden ring? A big brown bag? A portrait of the Queen? What will you bring?

 

Think! Because what you carry along with you to The Fest will determine what you take home. And, if you want to walk (drive, fly, or rollerblade) away from the weekend having had the time of your life, you need to bring a few, crucial items with (you…in Liverpool, you’d leave off the word “you” in that phrase). You’ll need:

 

1)      Suggestions for us about things we can host at The Fest to make you happy. (We love your ideas!!! Send them to us ASAP, please! We are trying to find out what you like and include it in our expanded offerings! And if you’d like to volunteer to lead a class or a hike, we’d love to hear about it…soon). Email Danny@thefest.com with any ideas!

2)      A spirit of FUN!!!

3)      The ability to take part in what you enjoy and to happily pass over the things you do not like! (After all, someone else might enjoy that event and dislike the things you like, right? Give and take.)

4)      A compliment or two for those who are presenting, singing, decorating, hosting, performing, cleaning up, selling tickets, emceeing, and making it all possible.

5)      A spirit of curiosity about new speakers, books, panels, and experiences! A mind ready to seek out, enjoy, and find the best in every situation. A sense of adventure!

 

If you pack these five items along with your bent-back tulips and jeans (except on Sunday), you’ll find yourself smiling, laughing, learning, nodding, singing, and making the most of every moment! You’ll find yourself ready to have a great time and go home happy.

 

What you bring to the party is up to you. I would hate your disappointment to show. Is there nothing for you here? Will you disappear?

 

Or will you go all out, all in, all together now for a unique, exciting, uplifting Beatles weekend of fun? I hope it’s the latter…because the love you take really, really, really IS equal to the love YOU make. Ahahhhhhhhhhh!

 

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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Timing is Everything

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Y’ better slow down…

Baby, now y’er movin’ way too fast!

 

It happens every year at this time. The tall, exotic, Japanese Magnolia trees in my neighborhood imitate Mother Superior…and jump the gun.

 

A few warm Louisiana days and nights seduce the silly trees, and right in the middle of January (or at the beginning of February), they explode into mad, delicate, pink blossoms.

“Noooooooo!” I scream at them through the picture window. “Noooo, it’s only February! It’s going to get brutally cold again! Any minute now!”

 

And sure enough, the frost and ice rush in unannounced. And the delicate magnolias are violently frozen, their lovely premature blossoms seared – falling wilted to the ground, a spectacle of poor planning.

 

You see, timing matters.

 

Brian Epstein knew this. He refused to let The Beatles set foot in America until they owned a Number One record. In January 1964, when the boys trekked off to Paris with an excursion to America only a few weeks away, Brian was outside his comfort zone. He was truly gambling. Capitol Records had assured him the Number One slot would be The Beatles’, and he believed the Powers-That-Be. But scheduling the U.S. trip ahead of his target goal was a huge risk. Everything hinged on that one phenomenon. Without the Number One under their caps, Brian knew that The Beatles could flop in America, just as Cliff Richard had done when he “crossed the pond.”

 

Well, you know the familiar story. While in Paris, The Beatles and Brian received that fortuitous phone call from Louise Harrison (yes, it was Louise…read that part of She Loves You, Vol. 3 in The John Lennon Series for detailed documentation) telling them that I Want to Hold Your Hand had just topped the charts in the United States. And in that jubilant instant, the tipping point was reached. Brian’s gamble to prepare for departure had paid off. The moment was right for conquest!

 

Journeying to America before this pinnacle had been grasped might have been disastrous. Waiting prudently for the name recognition the lads needed was vastly important. It mattered.

 

Mark Lapidos, too, can tell you about the importance of waiting, about the need for dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” When Mark devised the idea of “Beatlefest,” he could have plowed ahead on the surging crest of his youthful enthusiasm. He could have moved, full speed ahead, to make his exciting idea into reality, no matter what!

 

But Mark didn’t. He waited.

 

He summoned up his courage and went to see John Lennon in person, asking for John’s blessing on the concept of the Fest. Mark wisely asked for an endorsement that would make The Fest something of which The Beatles approved and of which they would be proud. And John saw that it was good. And it was. And 40 years later, it’s even better!

 

So what does that say to us? To you and me – owners of sure-fire schemes? It whispers, “Wait.”

 

Don’t jump ahead. Plan. Seek counsel. Ask for opinions. Question everything. Move slowly.

 

If the Japanese Magnolias would follow Epstein’s and Lapidos’s examples, they would be lovely for months during the spring. They would enjoy a season of beauty unequaled by any other vernal tree. Instead, they spring ahead ruthlessly…and time and again, they fail.

 

I don’t know what you’re planning or writing or preparing or creating, but know this: If we would pay attention to detail as we plan, practice, hone, revamp, investigate, seek counsel, and keep working, we would see our dreams come true. The Beatles, Brian Epstein, and Mark Lapidos all knew that this is the way forward. Successes one and all, they could tell you:

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, timing is everything.

Slow down.

 

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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