Singing Lessons from a Nazi Camp Survivor

Search for enlightenment no more.

I got you. It’s so easy.

You don’t need to connect with the Buddah.

You don’t need the Dali Lama.

You don’t have to meditate, drink gallons of tea, walk on hot coals, or study ripples in the water.

You don’t even have to find a guru in a cave on a mountaintop in some distant land.

All you need is a Van Halen song at full blast with David Lee Roth singing. (Ask for song suggestions if you need one)

Zen awaits you if you listen. And it’s simple, though far from easy.

I was listening to David Lee Roth in an interview. And while I was expecting nothing but tales of debauchery fueled by fame, I heard possibly the best advice you can receive for success in whatever it is you love to do and want to excel at.

Mr. Roth talked about his first singing coach. This guy, and please forgive me for not knowing his name, played for some tough crowds. He played for the worst crowds that you could possibly play for.

Beyond just singing, David said how he learned about tattoos from his coach as well. This gentleman had a tattoo on his forearm signifying his Nazi camp number.

This man played piano and sang while imprisoned at Auschwitz.

And he passed on this advice to a young David Lee Roth;

“Mr. Roth: Sing as if your life depended on it.”

Because this man’s life literally did. He couldn’t have a bad night while imprisoned if he wanted to live.

And David Lee Roth said “Every time I sang, I sang like my life depended on it.”

What a concept to help achieve your highest level at whatever you want to be great at!

My days of danger are over. I lead about as safe of a life as anyone possibly can. And, if I have a bad day teaching, life goes on. Nobody was harmed. I’ll show up and do it again the next day.

But if I apply this concept: teach like my life depended on it…

Won’t that force me to dig deep…

To hone my skills….

To double down on my strengths….

Help fine tune my weaknesses….

Analyze what can be done to make each class the best class that I have ever taught. And then make it the worst class that I have ever taught from that point forward.

Invaluable advice.