“Mom this song is lame.” The beginning refrains from Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to heaven just weren’t vibing with my 11 year old self. 

“And she’s buying a stairway to heaven

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed”

Back in the day when FM Radio was the primary way to listen to music, if your favorite song came on, you turned up the tunes and made it a point to sing along as loud as you could. At least that’s what my mom taught me. We were driving to church where my mom had a solo she was really excited about  and she was working on her vocal warmups. As I look back on this experience, and many like it, my mom was the coolest mom you could ask for. We’d rock out to Van Halen and Leonard Skinners before arriving at church to sing “How Great Thou Art.” 

“In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings

Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

You know”

My mom knew all the words perfectly and as I listened to this song for the first time, I became quite confused by the lyrics. They made no sense! What I did appreciate though, was my mom’s passion. We were pulled over on the side of the road outside the church entrance so she could continue her rock and roll style vocal warm ups. And warming up she was.

“And a new day will dawn for those who stand long

And the forests will echo with laughter

Remember laughter?”

When the song hit the third refrain, and the rock really started to pick up, I was dismayed by my mom’s head banging in her white church dress. Thoroughly embarrassed.

“If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now

It’s just a spring clean for the May queen”

As a father now, I can absolutely relate to catching a musical vibe and harnessing the ability to thoroughly embarrass my kids. I’ve done this several times to similar songs, although my voice is nothing compared to my mom’s. Personally, I like to jam out to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes or Longtime by Boston.

I remember when the song concluded. She looked at me as if in utter shock that I didn’t find the song as jamming as she did. I must have had the most horrified face. She straightened her hair, fixed her lipstick in the rearview mirror and said something to me I’ll never forget. She said, “Matthew. If you can’t enjoy your ‘stairway to heaven moments’, then what’s the purpose of life?” 

Wow. What power is in that question. What’s the purpose if you can’t have a little, innocent fun?

I was still trying to figure out what my mom was going to tell the pastor when we’re five minutes late to church since we had an impromptu jam session outside the church entrance. I suppose we could just call it a divine teaching experience that seared a wrinkle in my brain; an amazing song, my recollection of wise words from my awesome trailblazing mother.

As we started driving towards the parking lot, she went on to say that life is full of opportunities. Opportunities to have fun, to learn something, to live and work, and enjoy your life. The opportunities are everywhere. But the key isn’t to just talk about them. It’s to chase after them. 

The people who are the best at what they do don’t talk a lot about themselves or what they do. They just do it. They let their actions speak for themselves. Michael Jordan’s great not because he has to convince you he’s great, but because he’s respected by lots of basketball players for being the greatest.

“But mom… I want to be great at basketball. I want to be able to slam dunk like Jordan can! I don’t care what…” I tried to reason.

She interjected, “Oh Matthew… Don’t tell me. Show me.” 

And then she pulled a typical mom move and transcended the basketball analogy and applied it to my whole life. She went on to say, “In your life, don’t tell people all the things you’re going to do. Show ‘em. Just get out there and do ’em. You’re probably not going to be that awesome at first in whatever you try, but practice, practice, practice. Understand that you’re where you’re at, and other people are where they’re at.”

More than the music. More than the stories of Michael Jordan. More than any of the things she said, this mantra stuck with me. I began repeating it to myself over and over again.

“Don’t tell me. Show me.” 

This story has stayed with me for many years and has impacted the way I think about life and business. It’s so profound that I made it one of the core values at Strategic Voyages Business Consultants. As business consultants, often we’re questioned about our efficacy, any tangible results, or any actual generation of business. When I first started my company in 2018, I didn’t know how to handle these objections or comments. I felt the pull to justify what this profession means, argue with people about the value we bring to our engagements, or somehow try and substantiate the hundreds of dollars per hour charged. 

What I’ve learned is a business lesson from my trailblazing mother. Don’t tell me. Show me.

Fast forward to today, my company is 4 years old and still in its infancy. However, we’ve got a ton of success stories and we’ve closed dozens of multi-million dollar business loans for companies saving them tens of thousands of dollars.

So, in your business, what are you showing people? What are you telling them? Why do you feel like you need to talk so much instead of just going on there and doing it right?