NOVEMBER 2024

Have you seen Ted Lasso? 

The Apple TV comedy-drama is one of our favorites. The show centers around Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) an American football coach who’s hired to coach a British soccer team. What he lacks in soccer expertise, he makes up for with enthusiasm, joy, and unshakable optimism.

His Pollyanna outlook on the team, their record, and the season ahead seems unrealistic and unfounded, but ultimately, it’s what brings them all together. 

What I love about the show is his ability to build community, bring people together, and work toward a shared goal.

Here are four life lessons we can all learn from Ted Lasso:

1. Stay teachable.

You’ve heard me say this before, but as musicians, artists, teachers, business owners, leaders, directors, and human beings in general, we’re never done learning.

But I’ll be honest: It takes work. It takes showing up, asking questions, and staying curious. Sometimes it involves taking risks, making mistakes, or trying something new. 

You have to take the initiative sometimes. You have to seek out new information, do your research, and stay connected to the field. You have to be willing to listen, discuss, and see things from a different perspective.

You have to remain teachable—willing to change your mind.

2. Courage is the willingness to try.

The word courage comes from the Latin “cor,” which means heart.

Merriam-Webster defines it as “the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”

Think about the challenges you’ve faced in your career: performing, teaching, writing, directing, pivoting. When have you felt that strength or willpower to commit, confront, and overcome something difficult? 

When was the last time you felt courageous? What does courage look like for you in this season?

3. Vulnerability is a strength (and it’s how we build trust).

Somewhere along the way, we were taught that vulnerability is a sign of weakness. That the only way to feel safe is to be guarded. Maybe you learned that it’s easier to perform without taking risks. It’s better to be quiet than to show up as yourself and be rejected.

But letting your guard down, being authentic and real, and sharing parts of yourself that feel personal invites others to do the same. This fosters community, empowers others, and builds trust.

Sometimes you have to be the first and that’s okay. You can lead by example, in the classroom, studio, rehearsal space, or concert hall.

4. Believe in yourself and believe in one another.

It’s been a long week for those of us in the U.S. There’s a lot of divisiveness right now: Half the country is celebrating; the other half is heartbroken and afraid.

Here’s my moment of vulnerability:

I’m grieving with those experiencing uncertainty, unrest, undoing, and those who feel invisible and unseen. I’m hurting for all the people whose lives will be broken by this, and all who will be harmed by it in the future.

As I shared earlier this week, this is not just about politics; it’s about our country, our community, and how the choices we make impact others.

We have work to do, friends.

In the words of Ted Lasso: 

“Believing that things can get better, that I can get better, that we will get better. To believe in yourself, to believe in one another—that’s fundamental to being alive. If you can do that—if each of you can truly do that—can’t nobody rip that apart.”