You Never Know Who’s in the Room

A few years back I went to see a Switchfoot concert at a college nearby.  At the time I knew who they were, but would not have considered myself a fan.  At the urging of my brother, I went to see them.

The concert venue was lousy, and there was almost no one there.  Probably less than 500 people showed up.  The warm up bands were awful.  I was skeptical.

Next thing I knew Switchfoot was up on stage and giving it everything they had.  They had an insane amount of energy and put on an amazing show.  I became a fan that night.  Fast forward three or four years to two weeks ago when I took my entire family up to Charlottesville, VA to see them perform again.  It’s a four-hour drive from where we live, but I knew it would be worth it.

Sure enough, they killed it again.  It was one of the best live shows I have seen.

The moral of the story for me has nothing to do with Switchfoot, but rather their commitment to giving it all every night they perform.  They could have easily mailed it in the night I first saw them, or even given 75% of their usual effort.  Instead, they made us feel like there was nowhere else they would rather be.  As a result, they gained a whole family as devoted fans.

Something to think about when you don’t feel like doing your best work.