“You're living in your own Private Idaho

Living in your own Private Idaho

Underground like a wild potato.” The B-52s, a new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976.

Today I invite you to get out of your own private Idaho. “Get out of that state” as the song exclaims - meaning that state of mind that limits you.

This B-52’s 1980s hit seems to be just a silly dance song with strange lyrics. But it has a powerful message about getting out of your own limited space and trying something new.

I did just that two Saturday nights ago by seeing the band at the beautifully restored concert hall, The Capitol in Port Chester.

I’ve been a musician virtually my whole life – at least 45 of my 50 years on the planet. That includes 12 years of classical piano training and over 35 years of playing in bands. I confess to being something of a musical snob and I’m very picky about the concerts I go to. I have a strong, deep seated preference for groups with lush harmonic qualities and thoughtfully crafted lyrics. The B-52’s would be at the bottom of my list of bands I would want to see.

However, I was invited by a dear friend and decided to have some fun with it. And fun I had, along with some exciting discoveries. If you have been reading my blog you know I am not a stranger to having fun at the work place. Fun reduces stress, cuts absenteeism, gives people purpose and actually improves productivity. Fun is a phenomenal energy to harness properly in the work place.

And the B-52’s certainly figured out how to do that with their careers – just goofing around, with weird lyrics and making jokes. Having fun is what they do professionally. That’s all. And they have had a terrific career for being authentic about it. They roused the crowd in Port Chester that night, and while they did, they reminded me and inspired me to always go beyond the frontier of limiting thoughts and beliefs. Let’s go where energy abounds. Planet Claire perhaps!

So I got out of my own “Private Idaho” that night and I invite you to look for yourself in your career, in your role of transformational leadership or in business development. You may not need executive coaching to figure out that it’s time to blast off!

So how about you? What new and inspiring action can you take on this week that will be a breakthrough out of a Private Idaho in which you’re stuck and out into an empowering direction?