Before there was Nike…

Long before Nike’s famous swoosh and slogan, Just Do It, appeared on the scene, there was Brian Jones.

Brian is a dancer, singer, choreographer, graphic designer, traveler, and all around great guy.  He’s a dear friend.  I met Brian in college while working on a musical.  He was then, and still is, a consummate professional and a bit of a perfectionist.  Brian believes in hard work, practice and focus.

“Don’t talk about it, just do it.”  This was Brian’s credo.  He didn’t appear to have the time or patience for fear-based lagging – he’s of the just get-on with it ilk.

Although it caused me to have several moments of panic, his philosophy was direct and results-producing.  Ceasing discussion and rumination is a way for us to get out of our heads…to just give it a shot.  If we wait for the moment we feel we are truly ready, we may be waiting forever.  Talking is passive – doing is active.

It’s easy to chat around and around an idea, a wish, a concept, but it’s another thing to apply it and make it “real.”  Trying and failing is a part of the process.  Trying and succeeding is the icing on the cake.

I can always imagine Brian, with a furrowed brow and semi-smile, saying these words, as he struts off leaving me to get on with it.  It’s a hilarious and loving image I carry with me – one that I pull up in my memory every time fear plants a wall in my path.

Nike may have brought their bravado to the masses, but Brian was there first…not talking, but doing. – BB