Spirit of Success Testimonial

November 7, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Spirit of Success

I had the opportunity to be a presenter at the Spirit of Success Entrepreneurial Summit October 17th. I want to share with you some feedback I received from a new colleague and friend, Terri Wilcox, at Resultants for Business, Inc. She put into words what I hope many others discover upon hearing my story and seeing me present.

“I wanted to let you know how great the presenters were at the Spirit of Success. I especially wanted to thank you for placing Billy McLaughlin in the morning to kick off the day. At first I was skeptical. I saw those guitars up there waiting for the speaker and as a business person attending strictly to glean new knowledge and strategy about business I was automatically disappointed with what I was expecting to be a long hour. That didn’t happen.

“As the presenter started to speak, and then play I first thought, ‘What am I going to get from this? He’s just telling us about his personal story.’ Then I started getting wrapped up in the total experience…the words, the business messages, the story, and the music. All were interspersed so that small nuggets of information infused into my brain. What seemed to be a scattered approach became more deliberate for learning.
“You see, many business leaders are pressed for time. They do not have the luxury of time to be creative. Their brains are working on the left side constantly. We look for structure, black and white answers, and concrete learning points…’give it to me straight and give it to me fast.’ Billy forced my brain to switch to the right side and for one hour allowed me to open up the gates of creativity and innovation. I don’t care how concrete our thinking, everyone has the ability to be creative in their own way…it’s a matter of choice. But what most busy people do, when in business, is to turn off their creative sides. Yet one of the most dangerous issues we observe today is watching a business grow and mature yet lose their ability to innovate. Once the innovation is lost, the business suffers. It cannot adapt to change so readily.
“Billy helped me to see business concepts I already knew, but in a creative way. My mind started racing, thinking about those concepts differently and actually applying some ideas right there on the spot. This presenter opened me up to accept the other presenters for the rest of the day. No wonder he got a standing ovation.”

-Terri Wilcox, SPHR, Business Advisor, Resultants for Business, Inc.

Pictures taken by TJ Jensen

Spirit of Success

October 8, 2013/in News, Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Spirit of Success

Anyone who knows me knows how much I believe in the power that we have within ourselves to change life for the better, even when challenges come our way. If all the tools, technology, experience and skill you accumulated were to be taken away overnight, like what happened to me, you’d still have 99.9 percent of what you need to move forward and make life a better place for yourself and those you care about. Looking back at what I learned, I believe we have only scratched the surface of our true potential as individuals and as a society. The source of that potential is not in knowing more things or having more money. It’s in the truth that becomes obvious once all those things are gone, when you finally pay attention to the person, the soul, who has been there all along.
For these reasons, and many more, I am looking forward to the Spirit of Success Summit, on October 17, when I will share the stage with some world-famous speakers who happen to live here in Minnesota. The Spirit of Success speakers include Harvey Mackay, Joan Steffend, Dave Horsager, Paul Scheele and me. Each of us has a powerful message to share about lessons we have learned from life, not books. Over the years, I have attended and presented to lots of business events. Often they focus on things like industry issues and trends, technical and economical subjects that change quickly. Spirit of Success is an event where we will talk about the one thing in life and business that is unchanging.
Along with the speakers you will meet that day, you will also meet some very special people who are inspired to attend this event. They are people who are looking for better ways to work and collaborate with others so that we can all get to where we want to go. Thinking about all that energy in one place and knowing the people who will be presenting at the Summit, I can tell you that, in addition to being inspired, we are going to have a lot of fun. If you want to join us, register at Spirit Of Success.

Interview with Secura Consultants

October 8, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Secura Consultants

Once a year, Secura Consultants hosts the Twin Cities DI Day. The annual event is designed to enlighten financial professionals on the many ways disability impacts the lives of individuals and their loved ones. It is also intended to encourage these professionals, through their roles as insurance providers, to help people avoid the devastating and unnecessary financial side effects that accompany a disability.

Last month marked Secura Consultant’s 12^th annual Twin Cities DI Day, which was held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. President George Davidson invited Billy as keynote presenter. “Billy wove a tapestry of story, talent and passion for music, which was an incredible experience for attendees,” he described.

According to George, much of Billy’s ordeal was the result of his loss of income due to the sudden onset of his disability. “When something like this happens it changes the complexion of everything,” he explained. It is an example of why George is committed to communicating the message that disability protection is an important part of planning for financial well being. He wants to make certain that people in the financial services industry include disability as part of the conversations they have with their clients. “It’s not all about fun and lake cabins, it’s also about risk planning,” he said.
In the 12 years that Secura Consultants has sponsored DI Day, George cannot remember anyone who has delivered more impact than Billy.
“He is an incredible star who will make it hard for us to provide comparable talent next year. His ability to be open, disarming, funny and engaging is rare. Often in a presentation, you get what feels like canned commentary. While I am sure that Billy knew what he was going to say, it felt more like we were having a conversation with him. The same is true when he plays guitar, it comes through him and is very soulful. I had never seen him play before; I was mesmerized. It is clear that he is a unique talent. You can’t appreciate what he has lost until you hear what he has gotten back.”

In his efforts to curb the financial distress caused by disability George said, “All we can do is deliver the message. I don’t think that I could have found anyone better to do that than Billy. I have sent a correspondence about him to others who do what I do in this industry. He is a tremendous spokesperson.” George believes it is important that people fully understand financial impact of a sudden disability. “When I think of what it would’ve been like if Billy hadn’t made his turnaround; what the world would have lost!”

: Secura’s Disability Insurance (DI) Day

: Billy speaking at Secura’s DI Day

: Interview with Secura Consultants

Pictures by TJ Jensen 2013

Interview with Upsher-Smith

September 11, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Upsher-Smith

Dave Stefanoni, head of early-stage commercialization and advocacy, and Mark Evenstad, president and CEO of Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc., comment on Billy McLaughlin’s performance at a recent company event.

Billy was asked to give a presentation to the Upsher-Smith Community, an assembly of employees and invited guests, with the intent of raising their awareness and understanding of the types of challenges Billy encounters with dystonia as well as the challenges he faces with his son’s epilepsy. “Originally, I had wanted to ask Billy to do a more intimate version of his music and leadership story that he presented during the gala for the Epilepsy Foundation. When Mark heard of the plan, he decided to invite the entire company together on the lawn outside our building,” said Dave.

“People at Upsher-Smith are kind, caring and open-minded. When they observe and hear someone like Billy, they work harder, better and faster to develop solutions that people need to live healthier lives,” said Mark. “That’s why I hold these events. They give us a picture of who we are working for while attaching a face and a story to our efforts. As far as I’m concerned, the faster we can solve problems involving the central nervous system, the better it will be for all,” he explained.

The company has hosted similar outdoor events to employee groups, including a panel of parents whose children have epilepsy and an adult woman with epilepsy who shared her life experiences. One of the reasons for this exploration is that Upsher-Smith is developing drugs that treat seizure disorders. They are currently working on three products that include standard therapy, rescue therapy and treatment for refractory symptoms.

Billy’s presentation was scheduled so that it bridged normal and after-work hours. It took place on the lawn outside the building. Mark noted, “When I sent a company-wide email announcing Billy’s presentation, the excitement was high, but expectations were unknown. People did not expect to be as captivated as they were by Billy. I looked around the audience and all eyes were fixed on him as he told his story. This is unusual during an after-hours event where people like to visit and chat. Whatever expectations they may have had were blown away, mine included.”

Among the takeaways for Mark was the fact that after Billy resolved to learn his music left handed (having lost the use of his right hand to dystonia), he would not settle for anything short of playing his hardest song before returning to stage publicly. Also, the inspiration he shared from having been at the top of his craft before crashing and burning and then pulling himself up again while helping his son as best as he could modeled behaviors that, according to Mark, “any of us would be excited to witness.”

Billy’s presentation also served people at Upsher Smith beyond those who were working on the drugs specific to epilepsy. Dave had wanted to acquaint other groups with people afflicted by epilepsy as well as their caregivers so that they might feel less removed from all that had been going on with the new products and advocacy program.

“Billy has a unique ability to weave levity and music into the serious subject of epilepsy. He created the perfect platform to make an impact. Billy helped to rally our people behind our goal; he let them know that everything they do helps to fuel our success. The results were better than I had anticipated. Billy aligned our organization. The feedback we received was exceptional. Mark mentioned to me that it was one of the best events we had ever put together. I don’t tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, but the thing that touched me about Billy is what he’s been through. Through it all he remains positive, upbeat and willing to give of himself and his talent. I also happen to love his music. Billy provides the unique experience of a concert motivated by a story – there’s not too much of one or the other,” said Dave.

According to Dave, “I would absolutely ask Billy back to do another performance. However, I’d like to do it somewhat differently next time. As we continue our efforts in this area, I would love to see us become a bigger partner by helping to sponsor Billy’s tour in such a way that more people can hear his message, especially those who are directly impacted by epilepsy. As our efforts evolve, we can touch others with this message. Billy will help us increase awareness of what epilepsy is and how to handle it. Eventually we can make progress toward how epilepsy is being dealt with in the legislature, schools, jobs, transportation and housing. Creating this voice is a big part of our ultimate goal.”

*Thanks to Dave Stefanoni and TJ Jensen for capturing some great pictures from the event!

: Billy at Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc.

: Stage view

: Billy on Stage

: Some great Upsher-Smith employees making this event a success!

: More great Upsher-Smith employees

: Billy and Mark Evenstad

: Billy and Dave Stefanoni

When Conditions Change

September 9, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

For the most part, leaders are poised to respond to challenges that confront them, but the problem lately has become how to deal with a moving target. While some prefer to wait for the dust to settle before adjusting their plans, others see today’s climate as being in a state of rapid, perpetual change. Considering the rate at which information, products and services are now disseminated, there’s a convincing argument to expect more change, not less. What is the process for navigating change? One solution, offered by virtuoso guitarist Billy McLaughlin is to learn the art of reinvention.
McLaughlin is an Emmy Award-winning musician, speaker and author of soon-to-be-released, “Road to Reinvention.” In his book, McLaughlin chronicles what could easily be described as a hero’s journey that took him from success in the highly competitive music industry to sudden failure and humiliation in front of thousands when he was stricken with focal dystonia, a little-known neuromuscular disorder that destroyed the use of his fret-playing hand. His astounding return to stage as a world-class speaker and musical icon resulted from his ability to reinvent himself by changing hands to reclaim his music. “None of us get to do any day over, so every choice we make steers the path toward our ultimate success or failure,” says McLaughlin. The lessons McLaughlin learned through his unprecedented musical comeback demanded that he make progress everyday, no matter how big or small. His overriding message: “Stop worrying about what is broken and start paying attention to what works.”

McLaughlin continues to live with focal dystonia, which is currently incurable and could destroy the use of his other hand just as quickly at any time. He has chosen to make the most of his musical capability each day, knowing that the process of reinvention that he has discovered through his experience will enable him to adapt and make the most of whatever situation may arise. Since his comeback, organizations from around the world have asked McLaughlin to share his story about overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. Through an innovative mix of music, storytelling and disarming humor, McLaughlin offers a new perspective on business and life. He inspires audiences to action as he demonstrates the ability to move forward even when dealing with extraordinary change.

Road to Reinvention, Preface

September 6, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Road to Reinvention

“My road to reinvention was fueled by my longingness to be whole, to have purpose and meaning.”

Growing up I felt lonely a lot of the time. That’s odd to hear when you learn I have five brothers and three sisters. I experienced an intense loneliness even though our house was never quiet or lacking a crowd. Even as a grade-schooler, I felt like something was missing in my life. I had plenty of healthy social interaction both at school and at home, but still had what, back then, I would have called extreme loneliness.

Now I understand that what I really had was extreme “longing-ness”.

I was longing badly at a very early age for something I knew was missing in my life. I mistook it for loneliness when I was young and swept up by it. But now I know that, all along, it was something unrelated to what anyone else could have given to me with time and attention, with love and affection. It was something utterly common but also commonly misunderstood…..it wasn’t “loneliness”….it was “longingness”!

In the same way people stumble to describe in detail the life they want or the success they dream of, as a younger person, I could not have described to you what it was that I was missing. I didn’t know what it was…I could only feel what it was. In that lack of clarity many of us mistake longingness for loneliness. We try very hard through our personal relationships to fill the void that can only be filled by facing and embracing our emptiness, our quest for meaning and purpose.

This is the context in which I choose to tell my story. What I used to think of as one thing really turned out to be something else. Even recently, what I thought was the worst thing that ever happened to me has somehow turned out to be the best. To re-frame our understanding of loneliness and illuminate a better description of longingness would be a tremendous ancillary outcome of your investment of time in reading further.

I think we experience longingness most when we feel lost – especially when lost for purpose and meaning. We know something is missing in our lives and experience longingness, which demands self exploration and evolution…not an outside fix. I now understand that my “loneliness” was an experience of the need and longing for change – for reinvention and a redefinition of who I was and what I could bring to this world. Longingness is the dynamo of power behind personal change and transformation. If you feel it, you should dive into it. Dive into your longingness knowing that it’s not about anyone else in your life. It’s all about you.

Everything about my feelings of longingness changed when I found music. Music was the way out of my longingness and feeling lost. Music taught me what to do when I experienced those feelings. Playing guitar brought me to a new place that felt rewarding and joyful, a place full of meaning and purpose. I went through all these feelings a second time when I lost my music and had to start over due to my dystonia. It was no easier the second time. My road to reinvention was fueled by my longingness to be whole, to have purpose and meaning. Now, music gives me a vehicle to not only work in harmony with my feelings of longingness, but also to share them with anyone who knows what they are like.

If that’s you, if you are someone who knows the feelings of longingness, my music might be worth listening to and my story might be worth reading. It won’t take long to know, so let’s find out – together!

Book Excerpt

July 18, 2013/0 Comments/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Road to Reinvention

As an artist I’ve always taken great pride in my work and when I’m composing and performing I couldn’t care less about my profit margin. I’m focused strictly on the music itself and what I have to give to my audience. But I learned in my first year of full-time touring that I was an entrepreneur and small business owner in a highly competitive industry. I understood that if I wanted to grow my business (which I wanted to do both for my family and to increase my opportunity to make more music), I would need to pay attention to every facet of my company just like any CEO. I have common ground with every CEO I meet. One thing we all agree on is that at the core of any company is the integrity of our product. If our product, be it an item or a service, does not perform as we say it does, then we have lost product integrity.
That’s the blinding truth I had to face – I had lost all integrity of my product. To make it worse, I had experienced the humiliation of losing my product integrity in front of thousands of people on stage all by myself! I’ve always loved to share the stage with a full band. I’ve recorded many CDs with my own group and others. That’s how I started out – playing in bands. Not many guitarists want to or are capable of performing as a soloist, especially a solo instrumentalist. Sure there are endless singer-songwriters who strum and sing-along. In this setting the guitar is merely a backdrop to the melody, which is provided by a second source. I was getting booked as a solo instrumentalist where all the chords, all the rhythm and all the melody came from just ten fingers and six strings. I rose to the top of the heap of these highly proficient and amazingly talented soloists based on the integrity of my product. People loved my guitar playing and expected me to play the heck out of it in-person, like I did on the recordings. It was awful to experience the loss of my music in front of so many deserving audiences.
What happens when a company or an individual experiences a total loss of integrity? Most of us reach for coffee or something else to drink and sunglasses or something else to keep us from looking at the truth. It hurts too much. It’s too bright a light. Like being naked in public – which scares me to death! Actually playing guitar badly in public scares me even more. Because I had no other way to support my family, I kept doing it until I finally realized I was doing more harm than good. I had to take off the shades and see the truth that my music, my concerts, and my income would never be worth having until I could restore the integrity of my product. You don’t have to be a musician to know when a musician is having an off night. Even little kids can tell when something is out of tune.
We all know when we believe in what is going on around us. When our team believes, when our spouse believes, when our nation believes, then we can make progress for our future. I had no hope at any progress until the most blinding truth came in the words of a neurologist. After years of alternative therapies, trying everything from acupuncture to deep tissue massage to yoga and meditation, I finally began to think I had a brain tumor. What else could account for such tremendous uncontrollable clenching in my hand? Nobody really wants to go to a neurologist. I didn’t. But it began to dawn on me, like my mom used to tell me growing up, that “William, your biggest problem is between your ears!!!”

Billy Helps Make “Sound” Connections with Customers

May 19, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

Unitron

Event Planner Maria Cabrera, CMP, comments on Billy’s presentation to Unitron’s customers in May.
At Unitron, our customers are hearing healthcare professionals who care deeply about making a difference in the lives of people with hearing loss. We meet with our customers several times a year, speaking on subjects related to audiology, as well as introducing new products and technologies we have developed. In our latest series of meetings we wanted to do something beyond the basic PowerPoint and technical presentation. We were seeking a way to make a connection with our customers on another level—a means through which we could move and touch them emotionally. We felt that Billy’s presentation was something to which they could all relate, especially since it had everything to do with [musical] sound.
Billy’s message is about not giving up. He encourages people to take the first steps, to realize and overcome their disconnection with the world. The people that Unitron’s customers serve are struggling with hearing loss. Billy’s gave our customers information they can use time and again in their service to them.
We wanted to start and finish our meeting on a strong note. We asked Billy to speak at the end of the day, closing out a series of business presentations with the idea that people would leave feeling much more relaxed and refreshed. Billy is very charming and fun. He has a way of loosening people up after a long day of lectures—he is not your ordinary speaker; he is unique and inspiring.
Receiving responses like “This is the best event we’ve ever attended!” tells me how much our customers enjoyed Billy’s presentation. In a very saturated and competitive market like ours, this is a huge compliment. We look forward to having him back again next month.

: Billy at Unitron

: Billy at Unitron

: Billy at Unitron

The Hero in Your Own Story

April 8, 2013/in Notes/by Billy McLaughlin

As a kid I remember reading stories where the hero would be faced with an impossible challenge and, somehow through strength and determination, win the day. I still like those stories, but have always wondered what went on with the hero in the days that followed. What was their “happily ever after” actually like?
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a number of great people during my travels. They are people whom I consider real-life heroes. Some of them you’d probably recognize by name. Others you have never heard of before. One of the reasons I think they are great is because they set out to accomplish things they believed in and then made them happen. They won their day. Unlike the heroes in the storybook, I have had the chance to see these people in the days that followed their big wins. In most cases, I cannot say that “happily ever after” looked the way I would have expected. Actually, it wasn’t all that different from the days leading up to it; at least that’s how it looked from the outside.
Some of big “wins” in my life, I must admit, felt pretty good. I’ll never forget the first time I received a standing ovation as a left-handed guitarist. It was proof that there was life for me as a performer after being diagnosed with dystonia; the audience was telling me so. The reason why that day had special meaning to me has everything to do with in the days leading up to it. There were so many times when it was all I could do to keep going. Looking back it’s easy to say that the struggle was worth it. It’s not such an easy thing to say, however, when you’re at the beginning of a journey that has no timeframe, no guarantees and no end in sight. There were many days when I thought seriously about calling it “quits”.

The most famous of these pivotal days is a story I share with many of my audiences. It was a day when the pain of starting over was especially hard for me. The fingering, the sound—all the things that had come fluidly after years of practice—eluded me. I had nothing to show for the days of hard work I had been putting in. In frustration I threw my guitar into its case and shoved it into the closet. Had it not been for a few well-placed words in a fortune cookie, that guitar might still be in the closet collecting dust. Instead, I read “Many people fail because they quit too soon.” I am eternally grateful for that fortune cookie because my guitar has never been back in the closet since.
The deeper meaning in that cookie didn’t come from the words at all. It came from a lesson I had learned about challenges as a result of what happened that day. Picking up my guitar and resuming the work I had started did not change the challenges that were confronting me. It didn’t instantly change the sound I was making and my fingering skills didn’t magically improve. The change that took place was inside me. I had made the decision that failure was not an option—and neither was quitting. The challenge was still there, but I met it in a different way. I learned that it did not help to resist or avoid the challenge. The only thing that was left for me to do, if I wanted to move ahead, was to accept it. In the process, I also learned to accept myself.

I gained a new respect for the work I was doing, which allowed me the patience that I hadn’t permitted earlier. Through experiences like this I have gained a glimpse into what “happily ever after” probably looks like. The heroes I have encountered in my life haven’t gotten past having challenges; they just deal with them differently. I think that a better way to translate “happily ever after” is to say “happy whatever happens after.” The true gain in dealing with tough circumstances is in knowing that you can and will get through them. It relieves the pressure and puts wasted energy to better use.
When I made my comeback after dystonia, we posted banners everywhere saying “Billy Mac is Back.” The banners were only partly correct. The left-handed guitarist that returned to stage was pretty different than the one who stood there before all of the recent adventures. To this day, there is still music in my repertoire that I cannot play, lots of it, in fact. I’d be kidding if I told you that I didn’t miss having the ability to play it. However, the capabilities that I lost have been replaced by a quality that could have come only from the transformation that took place in me. To say that Billy Mac is back after decades of playing guitar on stage is only half of a bigger story. Speaking out to inspire others on their journey is the other half. I have discovered that my music can be expressed in an entirely new way.