WHAT'S A ROCK STAR?
What does it mean to be a Rock Star? Rock Stars are more than singers. Nashville and LA are filled with amazing singers, but few of them are Rock Stars. Rock Stars don’t just sing. They stand out. They make a difference. They inspire fans.
And Rock Stars are beginning to appear in everyday life. The ability to stand out and inspire those around you is not limited to musicians. Anyone can do it. You can do it.
The secret to becoming a Rock Star is not about working harder. It’s not about working smarter. It’s about working with more passion.
Working hard and working smart are important. But lots of people do that. It’s passion that gets you noticed. It’s passion that inspires change. It’s passion that’ll drive you out of bed every morning and send you singing into the office. Passion is power!
Rock Stars are more than stage personas. It’s a metaphor for life.
A Rock Star’s passion creates an inner drive that becomes forward momentum. They don’t stop. They pursue their dreams. They believe in what they do. They work more because they enjoy it. They stay on task because they enjoy it. But most importantly, they inspire others. Their passion becomes contagious.
The great thing is, everyone has passion. You may not have connected with it in a while, but you have vast resources of passion. We just have to tap it.
THE SOURCE OF PASSION
Before I became an author, I was a musician. Before I became a musician, I was a bartender. I worked in one of those little upscale pubs that makes their own beer.
The biggest Rock Star in that place wasn’t the owner or the manager, or the chef, it was a waiter named Greg.
Greg doesn’t look like a Rock Star. He’s tall and a bit overweight with dorky glasses, a paunchy face & almost no chin. But I found every server in the place looking up to Greg. The management asking his advice. Customers asking to sit in his section. Greg makes people care. He’s a natural leader, because he works with passion.
Greg’s passion orbits around food and drink. My first day on the job, he’s training me to tend bar. He takes me behind the bar and shows me all the beer taps. He begins explaining how each beer is made. He spends an hour talking about the process of beer making. He walks me thru the brewery. I learn every step of the process we use to make the beer.
Then he takes me back out and pours 6 beers, one of each type. He shows me how to pour so the beer’s frothy head is just the right size. He shows me the color of each beer. He has me smell each beer. He describes the relationship between smell and taste. He describes each beer in such detail I can practically taste it.
FOCUSED ON QUALITY
Next he tells me to taste the beers… Really? He wants me to taste the beer? On the job?
“Yes!” he says. Actually, he demands I taste each beer when I come in for work. Not a whole glass, mind you, just a sip to make sure it tastes right. He shows me how to open a bottle of wine. He spends 15 minutes just making sure I know how to wash the glasses properly so the detergent doesn’t leave a residue and affect the flavor.
I learn to open bottles of wine and how to discreetly smell the wine before serving it, so I could save the customer the unpleasant experience of tasting a bad bottle. Greg even shows me how the soda fountain works and tells me I have to be sure to taste each soda when I come in for work, “Just to make sure they taste exactly right…”
This guy is on a mission. His passion gets me fired up. He’s so intent on making sure the customers enjoy the perfect experience, he gets me excited too. I want to attain that same level of quality.
RESTAURANTS AREN'T SELLING FOOD
Greg knows restaurants aren’t selling food or alcohol. Restaurants sell an experience. He doesn’t sell food and drink. He sells customers a great night out. And every customer, every waiter in the place, even management, they love him for it!
Greg’s receipts were typically 15-20% higher than anyone else in the place, working the same night with the same number of tables. He sold more high end wine and pricey specials than anyone else, night after night. If you sat in Greg’s section, you were going to spend more money, and you were going to love him for it.
The wait staff management had instructions directly from the owners to give Greg every shift he requested. Greg worked every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. He always got the best section. His passion made the restaurant more successful and when you walked in the door you could tell when he was working. Everyone in the place stepped up their effort when Greg was on the floor.
Many people may think of Greg as just a waiter. But to me, he’ll always be a Rock Star.