What I Learned from Billy Idol About Engagement

Written By: Mark Schulman

Back in 1993, I got called to do a recording session. I’ve done many recording sessions in my day, but this was for Billy Idol, and Billy’s just cool. I was called to play on the end title theme for the movie SPEED. Do you remember that movie with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper?  Well, that recording and my participation in the music video went so well that I ended up being Billy Idol’s drummer for the next eight years.

Performing with Purpose: Insights from Billy Idol

Billy and I had some very special moments together. We’re writing a song in my studio one day and he started talking about his early performance experiences. This completely change my attitude and re- shaped my perspective about performance and about engagement forever. He said, “You know mate, I used to get on the stage and perform every note like it was the last note I would ever sing.” And I thought, “Wow I’ve never thought about my performance that way.” And he continued, “I used to sing every single note like my life depended on it!”

Transforming Performance through Engagement

This shifted the way that I look at performance because I realized that for rockstar performers it truly is not just about WHAT we play, but HOW we play it. HOW ENGAGED ARE WE???

And I know you can all relate. Because we all have those HOW days where we are on point… And we all have those WHAT days or more like “what the hell” days where you’re not in the groove, you’re not engaged, you’re not communicating at your best, you’re not having enough fun and you’re certainly not performing at your best.

And then you have those HOW days where you have panache, finesse, a snap in your step… You are engaged, you’re smiling more, you’re having more fun and I would bet money that you’re performing at a higher level.

Passion vs. Purpose: Unleashing Your Best Performance

When I give my keynote, I demonstrate the difference between these two approaches on drums, and it’s very obvious to the audience. When I ask the audience to shout out one word that describes the difference between these two performances, the word I hear most is PASSION!

I am very passionate, but I remind you that we are all passionate. Passion is the motivator, activator and inspiration for us to do what matters the most to us. But what happens when the passion wears down, you cannot access the passion, or the passion completely wears off? Because it is critical to remember that passion truly is fleeting.

The good news is there is an expansion of passion that can bring that passion back, which is PURPOSE! Passion may be how we play it, but purpose is why you do what you do. What is your intrinsic motivation and what gets you up in the morning?

The Cycle of Engagement: How Purpose Fuels Passion

The challenge for so many of us is that we get disengaged from our why- our purpose… So I am going to share my WHY with you.

After Billy Idol left, I made a decision that every time I sit down at the drum set, every single note I play matters. What drum I play, the combination of rhythms, the dynamic levels all matter. Then I had an epiphany – if I play every note like it matters, what I am actually doing is attaching a sense of purpose to every note, thought, word, and action!

The moment that I attach a sense of purpose to every note, thought, word, and action, I become more passionate about that note, thought, word, and action. Then, the purpose generates more passion, and the passion generates deeper purpose. I now call this the CYCLE OF ENGAGEMENT.

This brings absolute engagement, mindfulness, joy and of course, a greater level of performance. I have applied this principle of what I learned from Billy Idol and making the decision about why I do what I do when I play drums to enhance my own engagement in everything I do. Very simply, engagement fosters more fun which inspires greater performance.

Creating Your Own Engagement: Empowerment in the Workplace

There has been a constant decline in workplace engagement in the last two decades. I have studied engagement extensively and what I have found is that in every article I’ve read it points back to the workplace, managers, and CEOs taking responsibility to foster our engagement, health, and well-being. There are even ‘Chief Well-Being Officers’ these days.

But I have found that it is a lot more fun and a lot more empowering when I know that I can create my own engagement and so can you.

Engagement is a Choice

If I find myself getting disengaged… I stop and I think about Billy Idol, this decision about my approach to drumming, this story and it reminds me that I have a choice about my engagement.

If you attach a sense of purpose to every thought, word and action, you will create immediate engagement! Have fun with it. Thank you, Billy, and thank you for engaging.

For more information please visit: https://www.bigspeak.com/speakers/mark-schulman