to “Pull a Steve Martin”

(Verb 1) To “Pull-a-Steve-Martin”: to live life fully; to buck a linear path in favor of wearing many hats; to be whatever your heart desires, as many times as you want.

There. I coined it. At least I think I did. There will be no arguing in fifty years over whether the phrase began in a college dorm room or aboard some ship sailing to the Far East. From this point forward, “Steve Martin” will be the words we use when conversing about a life where every whim, passion, and endeavor is undertaken for the interesting life story we are creating for ourselves.

Now, that that’s clear (*i kid*), why is Steve Martin an ideal of a life well lived?

If you were to research the biography of Steve Martin years ago, the primary words you would find would be: actor, comedian, comedy writer (*and for good measure: juggler-magician-balloon animal artist).  He was well known for his arrow hat, his SNL guest appearances, lack of rhythm in “The Jerk”, being an all around “Wild & Crazy Guy”. Comedy. Acting. Variety Performer. Simple.

But over the years, Steve Martin’s biography has also included: playwright, author, composer, artist, pianist, banjo player, producer, magician, and band leader (have you heard his bluegrass albums with  “The Steep Canyon Rangers”? (Sublime! – that being said, I am a sucker for bluegrass and hope to begin banjo lessons this year!)

What does this mean to you? It’s all very simple really. I am asking you to “pull a Steve Martin” in your life.

I once regarded my own life-story as a tangled jumble of “indecision”, or, that’s the way some may have described it. I didn’t spend years of my life with one accurate “title”, moving up the linear ladder of coordinator to supervisor to manager to director. No. I “flitted” (as I believe it was said to me once) from London to Ireland; acted for a bit; produced theater for a bit; wrote a book; began painting; developed documentaries; dabbled in design; and now – jewelry and uniting all the pieces to do what I love to do best – encourage folks to live Inspired lives.

Jason (aka: Mr Bird, and my darling love) laughs that my current desire to play the banjo or the mandolin is akin to learning Latin or a language spoken by no more than 20 people.  He might be right, but then, why does every undertaking in life necessarily need an overall objective? Why can’t we undertake things simply because it makes us happy? You know, for the simple joys of pursuing the Inklings of our heart?

I think what you might find if you “pull a Steve Martin” in your life, is that you may just stumble upon Joy. You might encounter that elusive Miss Bliss who will open doors in your life which were closed before (to paraphrase Joseph Campbell). You might become wildly successful at something New, something Different, something outside the “box”.  At the very least, you’ll have a lot more fun exploring and discovering the nooks and crannies of Life.

After all, we do it for the stories don’t we?

Hugs on the journey,

T