Celebrate Miles Davis (pt 3)
One more note celebrating the May 26 birthday of musical genius Miles Davis: trumpeter, composer, and band leader.
Let me tell you about an interview I saw on TikTok with another music legend Herbie Hancock, who played with Miles Davis.
From that interview and a little additional research, I picked up some inspiring advice to share with you this week. Today, number three.
Miles Davis found ways to take what seemed wrong and make it right.
Hancock spoke of making a mistake, playing the wrong chord, and in response Davis “played some notes that made my chord right…. Miles didn’t hear it as a mistake. He heard it as… part of the reality of what was happening at that moment. And he dealt with it”
Davis realized that the response can be more important than the event itself.
Good advice.
According to Davis, “When you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that you play that determines if it’s good or bad.”
Let’s break that down:
- Take what seems wrong and make it fit in and seem right.
- Don’t dwell on mistakes… instead, see them as part of your reality.
- And deal with it.
It kind of reminds me of the old saying by Epictetus… admit it, you were thinking of him too… that you can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react.
Turn a mistake into a new opportunity.
What do you think?
See you tomorrow.
#milesdavis #herbiehancock #jazz #leadership #mistakes #reaction #Epictetus