Sometimes big lessons come from small moments. A couple years ago I was shooting a live event for a Canadian PR company. Chockablock was covering the release of the brand new line of Dyson vacuums. The event included Canadian celebrities from HGTV and James Dyson himself. My crew was to cover the event, interview Dyson and produce highlights footage that the PR firm could use to demonstrate their client’s ROl.
A tall, lean, distinguished man in a mod black blazer and relaxed jeans was led through the excited crowd calmly chatting, smiling, and shaking hands. He seemed completely at ease in his own skin while being watched by a room full of eager people anticipating and dare I say expecting, some entertainment value from him.
As he passed our Chockablock camera on his way to the main stage he stopped. His face lit up. He smiled broadly, saying: “Where on earth did you get those?” He was pointing to our wee miniature bright orange road cones, which were mounted on the base of our tripod legs so that none of the distinguished guests tripped on our equipment. “They’re amazing!”
We had a brief chat, then Dyson confidently stepped onto the stage and gave the audience a witty, super scientific, warm and honest address.
James Dyson by stopping and questioning (at the top of his game and in the “zone” seconds before performing) had reminded me of a large lesson: there is always joy in the small things. We got our interview, and perhaps our famous interviewee is still on the lookout for his own set of tiny road cones.
Take time in your busy lives, careers, and intense moments to be open to allowing yourself be amazed by the small things. It somehow makes those big things a little more sweet.
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