One of the classes I’m taking in the Summer Discovery Program I’m in now is a “Rock & Roll Boot Camp” class. It’s basically a class where we form bands and learn to play together, etc. As part of the class, we put up a performance yesterday.

My band was the last band to perform, and the last song we did was a cover of “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi. You can check out the video on Facebook here (and while you’re there, feel free to connect with me).

That was our best song by far, and it was a good way to end the whole show. But there are a couple of things I want to say about it.

Technically, it wasn’t as perfect as we would have wanted it to be – it was arguably better during the rehearsal. We made mistakes during the actual performance. But the band was tight enough, we listened to each other and just went with the flow after our mistakes. So even during our “mistakes”, we were still playing as one band, as one sound.

Also, in my opinion, one thing that really carried the song through was the energy of it all. And this is what I really want to stress.

We were really into it. Personally, at least, I was really into the song. I think the others were too, as can be seen from the video. And it showed. We really enjoyed it, we were really into the song, and as such, that energy came through and played a big role in carrying the song.

And why were we so into it? Because (at least partly because) it was our own arrangement. We did the song in our own way, and in doing so, it became ours. We owned it, and we were passionate about it. We did our own thing, something that we believed in – not just following what others have done before.

I know this is a bit of a messy post, and I apologize, but I hope that the points I’m trying to make are clear. If you take what you’re doing and make it your own – instead of just following others – you’re more likely to be passionate about it. You’re more likely to be immersed in it. You’re much more likely to have more energy and enthusiasm about what you’re doing.

And no matter what you are doing, that enthusiasm is very contagious.