First Identify What Matters - Then Focus

I discovered a Gentleman by the name of Tim McCallum today. You may be surprised it has taken me so long to do so.

What can we learn from Tim?

Tim McCallam is a Brisbane based musician.

More specifically, he is a predominantly classical singer performing Locally, Nationally and Internationally. He also appeared with some acclaim on The Voice.

When not booked to appear on the professional stage, he is often found busking in the Brisbane Southbank Parklands, usually in the vicinity of the Conservatorium of Music.

I am not claiming any knowledge of Classical Singing and therefore have no ability to provide a credibly critique, however I do know Tim sings emotively, movingly, passionately and superbly.

Back to what we can learn from Tim McCallum.

The first lesson from Tim is, take care when swimming in the surf. Aged 18, Tim did what many of us have done hundreds of times and dived over a wave. However, he dived on to a sand bank, broke his neck and became a quadriplegic.

His music career was already underway and now, seemingly over.

Tim's passion for song was seemingly over when his Doctors said he would never sing properly again. He was determined to prove them wrong.

To sing, there is a need to use muscles that drive  breathing and diaphragm control and for a classical performer, the ability to control these muscles is more acute than for other musical genres. For a quadriplegic, these muscles are no longer able to be controlled by the brain.

Tim has developed a method of placing downward pressure through his arms to his wheelchair and by doing so, has learned to activate the diaphragm and associated muscles necessary for projecting his voice in song.

However, while this is an incredible lesson of persistence and determination in pursuit of a passion, it is not the prime lesson.

The 18-year-old Tim was naturally devastated by his paraplegic condition. More so, he loved singing.

He had extreme clarity about what was and was not important.

At the time, he said words to the effect:

“I never wanted to be a world class walker, but I have always wanted to be a world class singer”.

The primary lesson in my opinion is one of concentrating on what is most important, on what really matters, rather than complaining about and expending emotion, energy and focus on negative issues that do not impact the ultimate attainment of  business, sporting or personal life goals and therefore happiness.

For more about Tim McCallum, click here for his website.