Why Should I Work?
I performed annually as a street performer at the Canada Day celebration for Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver for many years. The weather factor is a significant one for street performers; when the skies are clear and temperatures are fair then it’s heavenly. When it’s pouring or cold outside, it’s disappointing, but at least you can stay home and sleep. Worse is weather that alternates between promising skies and inclement conditions. In this situation a performer may start a show, spend forty-five minutes bringing the crowd to a peak of entertainment satisfaction and then lose them running for cover from a harmless sprinkle before a pitch can be made for donations.
This was just what it was like one Canada Day as I tried to squeeze scheduled shows in between bouts of rain and thunderstorms. What was scheduled to be my third show on that day arrived under the same skies that had already scattered two of the large crowds I had worked so hard to build, and I was in fact feeling depressed about it.
Standing on the performance area a few minutes before my time slot, I stared up at the cumulonimbus clouds I was sure were taunting me. It had temporarily stopped raining, but I felt like Charlie Brown in front of Lucy and her football as she promised that she wouldn’t pull it away again. I just didn’t believe it, so I started to pack up my equipment.
Then my friend Owen arrived, a talented magician who performs close-up magic on the street. He asked what I was doing and when I indicated that I was going home he reminded me what our business is all about with an animated zeal. He waved the smelling salts of the busking spirit under my nose and basically called me on taking the easy way out of the day; encouraging me to try again even after the first two rainouts and provided personally to me what a good busker gives to every audience, an infectious mood of possibility and enthusiasm.
My priorities properly re-established, I set up for the show. It did in fact rain during my performance, sprinkling off and on, but I challenged my audience to stay with me telling them I wouldn’t quit on them if they didn’t quit on me. It turned into a great show and an irreplaceable experience, as is any circumstance that reawakens our vision for excellence when we're tempted with comfort or laziness in our lives.
It wasn’t until later at home that day that I had a chance to actually sort the cash from the show. It is one of the greatest pleasures of street performing, slowly unfolding bills, stacking and counting coins. Making the money brings pleasure of course, but it’s each donation representing the satisfaction one has provided to a crowd of strangers that is more fulfilling than anything. I felt gratitude for my colleague who invited me to honor my temporarily forgotten passion for my job.
Nearing the bottom of my hat I took out an American one-dollar bill that was folded over several times and slowly opened it flat to add to my stack. I stopped and stared for a moment before it registered that somebody had tucked a one hundred dollar bill inside the one-dollar note. They had evidently been moved enough by my effort in the rain to silently and anonymously let me know that diligence is still appreciated in this world.
No matter what it is that our modern world manages to make comfortable for us, it will never be possible to realize excellence without developing habits of discipline, demonstrating integrity, follow-through and commitment in our lives. In fact it is those very things that transform the struggle of the daily grind into the pleasure of work.
Thanks Owen.
-From the Archives-
Granville Island 1993
Street Show
Quotable
"I love to sleep. It's the best of both worlds You get to be alive, and unconscious."
- Rita Rudner
"I hated my last boss. He asked, "Why are you two hours late?" I said, "I fell downstairs." He said, "That doesn't take two hours."
- Johnny Carson
Recent Newsletters
Jail Break
Kindness Heals
3 Economy Tips
Communication Farce
When Attention is Hard
Good Morning America
Rick's Agent Friendly Site
Don't miss this month's
Monthly Laugh on Video
of The World's Funniest Waiter in action.
Rick Lewis has been entertaining and inspiring audiences for the last 30 years. The success of The World's Funniest Waiter over the years is based on clean, interactive comedy and high-level circus skills.
