Time to Get Quacking

By John Blumberg, Andersen Alumnus and author of Return On Integrity (www.BlumbergROI.com)

My oldest brother, Mark, majored in music composition and subsequently spent his professional life in the music industry. I don’t know if his exact title was music arranger, but that was how I thought of him. He arranged music … more specifically he arranged musical notes, yet in a way they would come to life.

It was amazing for me to watch him sketch-out beautifully drawn musical notes on a blank piece of sheet music. It was much like the notes were magically starting to sing right from the paper. I was still in my later years of grade school when I first watched him do this. He would draw the variety of musical notes faster than I could write the single words to the sentence of a letter.

While it appeared that the notes poured from the ink in his fountain pen, I knew they really flowed from his head, heart and soul. He had a deep love for music and was genuinely gifted at it.

I had the love … just without the gift.

Yet, just by watching him, he taught me more than he will ever know about loving and using the gifts you do have. He also taught me how to have some fun with your gifts. During one of my summer breaks from college, Mark called me to come over his house. He wanted me to hear a fun little jingle they had thrown together for a Memphis morning-drive radio personality, Rick Dees. Mark had written the trumpet section of this arrangement. Weeks later, that fun little piece would turn-out to be a run-away hit around the world hitting the #1 spot for a week on Billboard’s Top 100. It was called Disco Duck.

Based on that one song, Rick Dees would subsequently catapult his career from Memphis to Los Angeles morning radio. Disco Duck would go on to win the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Song that year. Mark couldn’t bear to watch — cringing at the thought that this satirical novelty song would win such an award. While he had a lot of fun helping put together what was meant to be a fun little joke for Rick Dee’s morning show, he was disappointed we would confuse such an effort with real music.

Sometimes we also get confused about integrity.

We settle for satirical novelty versions of the real thing. We don’t do it on purpose, yet the results are the same. Integrity is not a soundbite. It is a state of being. Whole. Entire. Undiminished. It’s the one essential thing — to everything. And when we settle for less, we leave powerful gifts inside us — unsung.

It is dangerous to make assumptions about the state and depth of our own integrity. Yet we often do.

On New Year’s Day we released Return On Integrity: The Individual’s Journey to the One Essential Thing. It holds the potential to unleash amazing gifts from your core if you will take the journey. Much like the musical notes that flowed from Mark’s head, heart and soul, you will find that your values will eventually begin to appear as a masterpiece you may never have imagined. And when they do, your needs, wants and behaviors will come to life as a whole new song.

Integrity is the most natural thing in the world. Your integrity is ready to sing and dance. Are you ready?

It might just be your time to take a “quack” at it!

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

John G. Blumberg is an Andersen Alumni, a national speaker and author of several books. His books are available on Amazon and at major bookstores. You can connect with John at http://www.blumbergroi.com/connect