Bono is my Life Coach
Lessons from Joshua Tree

If you want to make a big impact, you have to be willing to be BIG.

The crowd mills about, the tension of waiting amplifies after the last echoes of Beck’s opening set die off and the lights come back up. The stage setup gets torn down. The space becomes unadorned with the exception of a curved wide multimedia screen and two simple setups for U2’s instruments. A giant Joshua Tree silhouette presides over the space, quietly.
Slowly, poetry and essays on America, racism, equality, devotion, presence scroll by in black and white on the 30 foot high screen in front of us. Diverse words from Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg, George Elliott Clarke, Joan Crate, Shirley Geok-Lin-Lim, Yusef Komunyakaa, and others spark a heart opening rally against intolerance.
Words meant to stir us to create the America we perhaps intended to create, but haven’t (yet).
Words like these…
The crowd is entraining to each other… The tension builds. The lights go out and our voices rise.
This could be dangerous if done with bad intention, I think to myself… It has been. I feel my heart tune into the hearts around me, because that’s what happens when you and 40,000 other people gather to share a wavelength.
The opening beat of Sunday Bloody Sunday pulses… and for the next 90 minutes, we are gripped by the energy of non-violent revolution.
The band has very little flash. There are some incredible multimedia visual effects that offer dimension to the experience, but it’s clear that, after all these years, U2 is quite confident in their power.
They have nothing to prove.
They risk making political statements that are CLEARLY in dissent against our current president.
They are taking a stand for connection and sovereignty, regardless of race.
They charge what they charge to access their energy and this experience.
They easily command an arena-sized space, bringing it to silence or completely unleashed voices in moments.
They have nothing to lose.
They are willing to lose people when they speak their truth. (Clearly evidenced as people walked out mid-show after the band went a bit more political with their messaging and imagery.)
What if we took a lesson from Bono and just fucking OWNED IT?
How might it look TODAY—in your everyday life—to own your power?
THIS is what I mean by “being BIG.” It’s not about the “size” of your life, but rather, the integrity of it.
How does even one day in that energy sound to you?
Good? Scary? Unattainable? This is your one wild and precious life, love.
There is no time like the present to show up for yourself. (There is actually no time BUT the present).
The time is now. Literally.
You are meant to find your power, and it’s simpler and more efficient to do so when you are supported.
We have supported thousands of people like you in their journey h.o.m.e. It would be an honor to walk this path with you.
Thanks U2, for an immersive and empowering evening.
I watched Joshua Tree in 1987. A most incredible, heartbreaking album for an 18 yr old to hear and a life changing concert to attend.
Today I’m 48 yrs old and the message is reaching a new, younger audience and it us still relevant, still poignant, still true.
Now That is heartbreaking
Absolutely lovely and powerful. Thank you for being out there, sharing, asking the questions and more.