Beyond the Momentum: Navigating the Blur of Doing
Reflecting on 30 years of music and tech to understand why stopping the 'furious ball of energy' is essential for true legacy.
Key Takeaways
- The 'furious ball of energy' in our younger years often prevents us from understanding the purpose and impact of our actions.
- Legacy is not built in the momentum of 'doing,' but in the intentional moments of 'being' and presence.
- True storytelling requires stopping long enough to see the view and understand the 'why' behind our journey.
Beyond the Momentum
I spent 30 years in a band called Sift. When I look back at the 90s with my partners in crime - Justin and Todd, I don’t see a calm, curated history. I see a blur.
We were caught in a furious ball of uncontrollable energy - rehearsals, shows, late-night recordings, and the constant hustle of traveling and marketing. We were obsessed with the doing.
We were so busy keeping that ball rolling that we rarely stopped to understand where we were, why we were there, or where we were headed. It was a furious but often uncontrollable energy - and we didn’t take the time to consider how it impacted ourselves, our goals, or those around us.
The Shift to Being
January is usually the month of “doing.” New goals, new lists, more hustle. But as I’ve transitioned from three decades of storytelling through music and film into building LilyList, I’ve realized that the most valuable thing we can offer ourselves isn’t another to-do item. It’s the permission to stop. One of my last LinkedIn posts spoke to this.
Last year, we had our quiet launch for LilyList in November. After 14 months of no time off, I took the last two weeks of December to finally step away from the noise. In that silence, I realized that capturing legacy doesn’t take the form of a “furious ball” of activity. Legacy is what happens when you finally stop to understand the being part of your life.
Why This Matters Now
Most of you reading this are over 40. You’ve had your years of “furious energy.” You’ve built careers, raised families, and kept your own balls of energy rolling at high speeds. LilyList exists because I don’t want you to look back in 20 years and only see a blur.
In my three decades in technology and experience with multiple technological “breakthroughs” - the latest being AI, I’ve seen how easy it is to automate the “doing.” But you cannot automate “being.” That requires you to be in the room, on the stage, in the moment, and in the story.
This month, I challenge you to look at your own “recordings” and “shows” - whatever they look like in your life - and ask: Where am I, and why am I here?
Let’s make 2026 the year we stop running long enough to see the view.