Somebody Oughta Do Something!

"Somebody oughta do something about that!"

How many times have you heard something like this? Maybe you've even said it yourself. We keep thinking someone else has more time, is more qualified or has more drive or commitment than we have to get something done so we walk right on past, never realizing that maybe we could be the ones to make some kind of a difference in the world. Maybe all it takes is deciding to get involved.

If that seems too hard or you simply don't know where to begin, start thinking in terms of what really floats your boat. What are you interested in - what really lights you up? When you get engaged in causes you believe in and do it in a way that's fun, it makes for much easier going.

I find these days that I'm starting to have a lot to live up to in this regard. People all around me are starting to do the kinds of things some folks only dream about doing... and somehow they make it seem easy.

Just one timely example is a bunch of lawyers who decided that since they all had played (or wished they had played) in bands in their younger years and it would be fun to form a band of their own just to have a reason to get together and jam.

When word got out that they played some fun rockin' dance music, they started picking up gigs, first for minor social events for their firm and then for various fundraisers. Somehow that all evolved into the notion of showcasing the talent and fun side of the legal community while raising money for a good cause... and thus, Lawyerpalooza (TM) was born.

Keep in mind, the guys who got this thing off the ground are attorneys who have plenty of work to do on their day jobs - jobs that quite regularly take up a lot of evening and weekend hours too. Most of them also have families. Once they stuck a stake in the ground, though and said, "Hey, let's do it!" they ended up generating a lot of excitement amongst themselves and their co-workers. Ultimately, that led to getting other volunteers involved, other law-firm-related bands, and plenty of publicity in both the Seattle Times and in the Seattle P-I along with various publications in the legal community locally and elsewhere. They even had an interview on a local rock radio station, KZOK, since one of their morning DJ's (Spike) was on slate to help judge the event.

That's what's called creating buzz.

Even better, they raised more than $20,000 (net!) for local school music programs during that first event and have generated interest for lawyers in other communities to follow in their footsteps. What makes this example of finding fun ways to get involved so timely is they're about ready to do it again.

This second Lawyerpalooza (TM) event is scheduled for May 10, 2004 at the Fairmont Olympic in Seattle so pass the word. I'll let you know when tickets go on sale, which should be happening very soon.