this YouTube video gets me fired up every single time
Domino Santantonio playing a Slipknot track
This is Domino Santantonio, she's a drummer who specializes in pop music. And in the video below she's attempting to perform a heavy metal track. What's nuts is that she's NEVER heard this song before. She only gets to hear the drum-less track once before giving it a try. No sheet music, no prep, just go.
The performance is amazing and I love the song, but what stays with me is how much fun she's having despite the examination-like setup of the video. She's a professional drummer tasked with improvising for a genre she's not familiar with. Pop and heavy metal have very different vibes yet she's enthusiastic about trying.
To put it in perspective, imagine performing your craft or profession in front of millions of viewers while also being way outside your comfort zone. What she does in this video is akin to asking a software developer to code in an unfamiliar language during a coding interview. Or challenging a copywriter who only creates Johnson & Johnson ads to come up with an ad campaign for a new sports car on the spot.
If I had to break down what makes her enthusiasm so contagious, it would be that:
She doesn't take herself too seriously
She's willing to try and fail in public.
She is high energy
She's curious and plays with full commitment.
She is having fun
She isn't concerned with a perfect performance. She's more interested in a figuring out the song.
Domino is expressing an enlightened way of being. She's not obsessing over the pursuit of perfection but instead the pursuit of doing. She's giving her full effort and not mailing it in. She's minimizing her ego and maximizing her fun.
The wise, ever satisfied, have abandoned all external supports. Their security is unaffected by the results of their action.
Bhagavad Gita
Everyone should strive to be like this or change their life so they can be like this. It’s ok if stepping outside your comfort zone makes you nervous. But it should also get you excited.
I haven’t achieved this enlightened state, but I'm working on it.
P.S. a reminder you can reply directly to oldmanrahul@substack.com, or you can tweet me @oldmanrahul about this edition. Thanks for reading and supporting my writing :)