Journalist Rita Braver once interviewed Steve Martin on CBS Sunday Morning.
Steve is a genius, yet based on their discussion, he wasn’t a very happy man.
Rita started with questions about the evolution of his career from when he was the #1 comedian in the world.
He frequently appeared on the Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live and had top-selling comedy albums. Yet he walked away from it because, as he told Rita, he felt he couldn’t “top himself.” The pressure of being funny all the time was too much.
He transitioned into acting, wrote books, hosted the Emmys and won Grammys.
Yet, the entire time, Steve confessed he never really felt he had “arrived.”
Toward the end of the interview, Rita looked at Steve almost tenderly and asked, “So, it’s really turned out okay, hasn’t it?”
Martin shrugged and said, “If only someone had told me that 30 years ago, I could have relaxed and enjoyed it.”
Wow. The poignancy of his remark and his regret have stayed with me for years.
It seemed, for Steve, the jury had always been out. He had never stopped, looked around, and realized he already had a good life right there and then.
It seemed he had never deeply connected with the people and experiences he was having because happiness was always “out there,” somewhere in the future.
ACTION
How about you? Could it be that you already have a good life right here and now that deserves to be noticed, appreciated, imprinted, and connected with?
Are there people reaching out who want to connect with you – and they’re waiting for you to reach back?
Have you been promising yourself you’ll connect with them when you’re not so busy, when that project is finished, or when things slow down at work?
Please understand once and for all… YOU’LL NEVER GET ALL CAUGHT UP. And the happiness we seek is not out there somewhere. It is right here, right now… If we take the time to stop, look around and connect.
P.S. Last week’s Clarity Weekend was a perfect reminder that the good stuff isn’t out there in the future, it’s right now and all around us.