The following remarks were delivered at the 91st General Meeting Monday Opening Session on May 15, 2023. It has been edited for content and phrasing.

INTRODUCTION: In a career spanning more than 30 years, Mark Schulman has traveled the world as a drummer for P!nk, Cher, Foreigner, Billy Idol, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks, among others. However, his career goes well beyond the drum kit. Mr. Schulman is a classically trained cellist, co-owner of West Triad Studios in Venice, California; has writing credits for films, TV shows and commercials; and is a motivational speaker.

MR. SCHULMAN: Well, hello, my friends. I am here to celebrate you, and nobody better to celebrate you than someone like me because I will be your own personal rock star at your service. I work intimately with some of the most successful and inspiring musical artists on the planet. Many of whom I call my friends, but not only that, I've interviewed rock star performers in all industries, from CEOs to world-class athletes, to experts in the areas of sales, technology, healthcare, finance, insurance, and the entertainment industry.

I'm going to share with you what I call my greatest information in the form of stories, performances, and business-relevant content you can immediately use to supercharge your attitudes, behaviors, and output as we hack into the rock star edge. Here's a question for you, though. Are you ready to rock? Yeah.

(Mr. Schulman playing drums.)

You know what, I am not the only one who's going to rock. Everybody stand up. Come on. This could be better than morning coffee. Stand up. Shake it out. Shake it out. Get your hands in the air, yeah. Shake it out. Get your hands in the air like you don't care. Get your hands in the air like you don't care. Get your hands in the air like you don't care. Put your hands in front of you like – well, I never thought of a good rhyme. All I want you to do is do exactly what I do.

I'm going to clap rhythm, and you're going to answer me with the exact same rhythm. One is that you're with me; you're present. And two is that you have as much fun as you possibly can. Are you cool with that? First me, then you.

(Clapping exercise with Mr. Schulman and the audience.)

Now, that was a performance. And as my 13-year-old daughter said very astutely when she was only 7, "Daddy, we're all performing, even if nobody is watching. And it's so much more fun." That statement changed my life, because after being on stage, I realized I could treat other aspects of my life like a performance – when I'm pitching a client, when I'm having a conversation with my family, with my employees, even when I'm in the gym working out. Because if I treat it like a performance, guess what? I become more engaged. And there's so much talk about the lack of engagement or engagement sliding over the last two years. I've not only become more engaged; I'm more effective, and I have so much more fun.

And that is the core of the rock star attitude, because today we're going to discuss the amazing attributes of the rock star performers, because for rock star performers, there are no small moments. Every detail is critical. And I'm fairly certain the great performers understand it. Any performance is not only a representation of what we do but is a representation of who we are. I got to tell you, if that performance was a representation of who you are, you guys really rock. You were great. Give yourself a hand. I guess people didn't party as hard as I thought you did last night. If you're having fun, say yeah.

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: If you were having fun, I kid you not, you're experiencing a bit of a condition we call drummers high. It really exists. Ask any drummer. You can only experience drummers high by being fully engaged in the performance – not by reading about it and watching it on YouTube and not with some sort of virtual goggles on. It's the actual engagement that just gave you the following benefits. You just boosted your immune system, boosted your endorphins, and made yourselves more acute.

There's something else going on, and this is critical. You're actively listening. Because you were actively listening, you were responding instead of reacting. We've been living in very reactive times, but when you react, you're just playing old stale responses, old defenses, old prejudices. That weakens your power in communication. When you responded, you're inventive. You're creative. You're present. And that strengthens your power in communication. Especially in this time when the practice of active listening is getting lost in the fabric of today's communication with short attention spans, smartphones, precaps. And active listening, mark my words, that’s the core for sustainable rock star performance. I would love it in our short period of time if you would continue to just commit to actively listening. Can I get that commitment from you? If I can, say yeah.

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: I'm going to test you.

(Clapping exercise with Mr. Schulman and the audience.)

MR. SCHULMAN: You guys are fantastic. So, I'm going to take you all the way back 20 years to the very first Cher farewell tour.

(Video playing of Cher.)

MARK SCHULMAN: What's your name?

MS. JAYSON: Shaunica.

MR. SCHULMAN: Shaunica. I met you earlier. Shaunica, what do you think is the last year of the last Cher farewell tour? If you get this right, I'm going to send you some signed drumsticks.

MS. JAYSON: 1999?

MR. SCHULMAN: No, because I just said we were doing 2002.

MS. JAYSON: Oh, I'm sorry.

MR. SCHULMAN: I'm going to send you the drumsticks anyway. Let's take a selfie. Come on, it will be great. Give her a hand. I wasn't picking on you. Actually, the last year was 2017, but we are going back to the first Cher farewell tour 2002 – the third show of the tour. We were in Cleveland, Ohio. Anyone from Cleveland? We love you, Cleveland. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a great place. Anyway, we're on the stage. The band was up, the curtain was up, and the lights went out. And the audience was going nuts, and Cher comes onto the stage to climb onto her platform. Her platform is shaped like a chandelier. And it's modeled from a chandelier from her very own home. Aw, to be Cher; flying around the stage on your very own chandelier. It must be nice, right?

Anyway, she gets off a platform, and they start bringing the platform out. We played the opening song. Still on the platform, I'm looking for her. By the time it hits the 40-foot mark, exactly when she's supposed to start singing, the curtain drops.

The audience goes wild. Cher starts singing. I can't hear her. And I'm kind of positioned below the platform, so I just kind of see this platform, I don't see Cher. Everything is OK. I thought maybe her mic was out or maybe my headset was out. And they start bringing the platform down. I'm thinking, OK, I'll get this fixed. It's just a little technical issue. And one by one, the band members stop playing and they're looking back. They're looking up with horror in their eyes. Then I look at the audience and the audience has a sort of collective countenance of (mouthing: Oh, my God.) And finally, it came down to the point where I could see what happened, and it was incredibly frightening. There was Cher dangling from the truss behind where the platform was. The platform was 20 feet down. All I saw was little dangling Cher feet. It sounds kind of cute. It was scary as hell. And they quickly realized – the techs – the easiest, safest way would be to bring the platform back up and she wouldn’t even disconnect herself, because they couldn't get to her. They did it, and it was moving so slowly.

Oh, my gosh, the band was dead silent. The audience was dead silent. Then the stage started getting populated by a bunch of different people: Cher's assistant, Cher's assistant's assistant, Cher's assistant's assistant's assistant. The entire management team came out – 25 people. And then they finally brought it up high enough, and I heard this (loud bang.) I was just praying that Cher was on that platform. Then they started to bring the platform down and sure enough when I got a chance to see, I saw that Cher was actually on that platform.

They brought it all the way down. She was escorted off stage by 25 people, but I saw her eyes. She was petrified. Can you imagine how frightening that must have been? And I thought, I bet the show is over, because the show is over. Then I thought, I bet the tour is over. Let's face it, home girl does not need the money. And then we were on stage, and it felt like probably 60 seconds, we didn't know what was going on. I'm looking at the dancers. The dancers are looking at the band. The band is looking at me. We're all looking at the audience. The audience is looking back. Finally, I look at the music director. He shrugs his shoulders. I figure, OK, show's over, grab my stick bag. I'm about to jump off my drum riser.

And Cher comes running out. And running full speed like she's zapped by electricity. She has a mic in hand. She runs right in front of me, and she says, "Come on, let's do this. Take two." So, we break into the song. And I've never seen her give a more electric performance in my life. But that was also the moment when I realized, wow, we know we cannot control what happens to us. But it is the greatest with which we recover from challenges, from disruption, from life-threatening situations and our unyielding desires in spite of these challenges to provide what I call rock ‘n’ roll communication in the form of service, in the form of solutions.

That is what determines our relationships with our customers, with our clients, with our associates, with our employees. That's what determines the future of your business. And I understand you really are unsung heroes. You have 100 years and have a great legacy. You're the ones that prevent the fire, but you do not get the accolades.

The success is a prevention of over 100 years, but again, I'll tell you a little story. Imagine being on stage in front of 50,000 people and not one set of eyes is looking at you, because they're all looking at the shiny product, the shiny P!nk, the shiny Cher, the shiny Billy Idol. We are the back line – the drum, the bass, the guitar. We are literally called the back line because we are there to be in the back. We are there to promote that product.

And I know it seems like you would never expect that, right? We're actually the unsung heroes because everybody really only cares about the star. But I got to tell you, 225 people on the road with P!nk, and the guy who's responsible for monitoring just the motors on the aerial stunts when she's about to do aerial stunts, he becomes the most important person on the tour because if anything has gone wrong with the motor, they can't do it. P!nk is parched, and she's been running around the stage. She's been doing aerial stunts, and she's so thirsty. The girl who's responsible for having the water and the throat spray in just the right spot, that becomes the most important person on the tour.

The reality is we are all rock stars in our own positions, because no band, I mean no band, no organization could have the magnitude of success without any or all its members. And I want you to remember that, because I also want you to think about just having a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll swag, because you have earned it. You may be the unsung heroes. I'm the unsung hero. You think of me as this rock ‘n’ roll drummer. Well, if you were on stage, you'd be like, "Look at me. Look at me." No, they don't look at me. But without me, the show fails. Without every single one of those people, the show fails.

And if I look at the story of Cher, sometimes it's just about the decisions that we make. It's about moving past our own concerns, because Cher, in spite of her fear and trepidation when she was actually doing this, she was actually putting the well-being of the customers, client, the audience, the band, the dancers, the singers, and even the road crew, above and beyond her own well-being in spite of that horrible fear she must have experienced. And there was a decision right there.

She could have stayed off that stage. I told you, home girl didn't need the money, or she could have charged that stage as a result of that one experience. She holds the record for being the female artist with the longest show in recorded pop music history. That show lasted nearly three years. And she grossed $350 million, and that's because of a decision. And you realize when you make a decision about anything, you are cutting off all other possibilities and it gives you absolute power when you really make that decision. And Cher is known for her monologues. She decides to take it a step further. She said, "I'm going to make this a foundation for my monologue." She started joking how when she was up there, she probably looked like a drag queen pinata. And she said the truss could have been totally cool. Had she fallen to her death, they wouldn't have talked about how Cher fell to her death. They would have talked about what a waste of a perfectly beautiful $25,000 gown. We can't use it anymore.

So, what drives Cher? What activates the great performers in all industries? It’s so simple. It all begins with attitude. And I can see by a lot of your faces, "You're a drummer; that's the best you got? That's your big payoff? That's what you got for us?" But hang on before you disengage. I'm going to demonstrate the absolute power of attitude many times, but first I want to congratulate each and every one of you. Congratulate yourselves for your very own attitude, because like it or not, it's with you 100% of the time. It infects you. It infects others. It's highly contagious. But what makes attitude so extraordinary? I call it the golden ticket, because we know we can't control what happens to us much of the time. That's evidenced by what's been going on globally, in your industry and all other industries for so long. But at any point in time, I'm talking about right now, you have the power to change, control, or shift your attitude about what’s happening to you. And all that takes is a simple decision to choose an attitude that serves you.

And I know a lot of you are thinking that sounds too simple. Come on, that's just pop philosophy. Well, I don't know, give it a shot.  I mean, how many of you consider yourself action-takers? What, the rest of you just lie in bed and eat Bon Bons every day? Every single time you take an action, you know what you're doing? You're making a decision to take that action. You're cutting off all other possibilities. That gives you power.

And let's define attitude. It's so simple. It's your point of view. It's where you're looking from. It's your vantage point or your disadvantage point, depending upon the attitude that you have the power to choose. And I'm going to go on because it's not what we look at. It's what we see and perceive that determines our experiences. That determines what would you want to believe. It determines our perception. The way you perceive yourself, the length at which you see the world, the meaning that you attach to people, places and circumstances. And these are all determined by the stories that you tell yourself. Oh, those lovely stories. And the stories are determined by the attitudes that you have the power to shift.

Think about all that for a moment. I know it's quite a bit. But for the next few days, I want you just to think about the stories you're telling yourself. I mean, are you the hero? Fantastic. Is it a comedy? Great. Is it a melodrama? No, not so good. Is it a murder mystery? Getting worse. Is it a horror show? No. But check this out. Because your attitude is just the foundation for a formula that I live by, that I swear by – that it's the topic of my next book ­– because your attitude is what drives your behavior. Think about the power and think about the implication of that. And one attitude can drive many behaviors. That is huge. And your behavior is what determines the consequences or outcomes of your life. This is A times B equals C. Attitude, behavior, consequence. And it's a formula that I said I live by and I swear by.

So, I'm absolutely suggesting by shifting your attitude, you would change the outcomes of your life. But you know what? I'm not going to talk about it. I'm going to demonstrate it because I created a process for myself in which I can create an immediate attitude shift that can sustain me. Are you ready? All I do is I think about an attitude that serves me like I asked you to do. And you can substitute the word attitude for mindset, your point of view. Attitudes are courage, love, joy, gratitude, and so many other ones. Take joy as an example. It's so universal. All I do is I recall an event or a time when I was joyful. And we need to attach physiology to it because it sets in the body. And when I recall this time when I was joyful, I also include as many senses from the experience as I can because it makes it present time. Do you realize your mind doesn't time bind emotions? If you relive something, you are reliving that joy, reliving that fear. I prefer joy over fear, OK, so that's why we're going with joy.

The first thing I do is I get my mind set up like something cool is about to happen, so I want to prep my mind. All I do is I count backwards by five like it's a rocket launch. So here I go, five, four, three, two, one. I close my eyes tightly. I clench my fists. I tighten my core. And now I'm recalling a time when I was joyful, involving as many senses as I can. Oh, I like this. Oh, yeah. Oh, this is great. I love it. I'm re-experiencing this joy again. And, of course, I'm smiling. You realize when you smile, you're activating hundreds of muscles in your face; it sends a signal to your body to relax and sends endorphins to your brain. I'm like a crazy person. I'll be driving, and I'll just decide to smile because I want to get an endorphin rush. I want to get high, and it works.

In that particular example, we were in Puerto Vallarta on vacation. And my daughter decides, "I want to sneak into the pool late at night after nobody is there." So here I am, and I'm sneaking into that pool and it's cold. I got goosebumps, and I can smell that chlorine. My daughter is already in. She's splashing, and she's laughing. I can hear the sounds just echoing off the water. Oh, she's carrying me underneath the water. Of course, she's 100 pounds, I'm 160, but she can do that. I just relive that event, and I am filling that joy right now.

Can you feel my joy? Can you feel it?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: All right. It's your turn. Everybody stand up. Oh, yeah, come on. Oh, this is horrible, I'm going to make you recall something joyful. All I want you to do is recall a time when you were joyful with your friends, with your family, with your mate, on vacation, parties, celebrating, working out, running a 26K and getting runners high or drummers high, listening to music, watching a movie. Everybody, can you all recall one joyful time to yourself? Can you do it?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

MR. SCHULMAN: Excellent. Are you ready to do the exercise? It's very, very quick and it doesn't hurt at all. I promise. Are you ready? Here we go, five, four, three, two, one. Close your eyes tightly, clench your fists, tighten your core and recall a time when you were joyful involving as many senses as you can. Now, let's just sit with it for a moment. Recall it. Are you getting it? Are you feeling it? So, you feel joy? Do you feel joy? Say yeah.

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: Feel that joy. You are creating an attitude shift that's enormous. How does it feel?

AUDIENCE: Great.

MR. SCHULMAN: Excellent. All I do now – I'm going to pick another one of you out. Does anybody want to share a joyful experience? I'll let you choose. Anybody? Oh, this man is still in it. We have this beautiful lady over here. What's your name?

DONNA: Donna.

MR. SCHULMAN: Donna, I'm going to give you a hug. So, share your joyful experience with us.

DONNA: I was in a meeting with my work, and I got a text message from my daughter with a picture of my new grandson that was just adopted.

MR. SCHULMAN: You made me cry.

DONNA: I know. It was the best feeling.

MR. SCHULMAN: That's wonderful. Want to know something? We're getting a picture. Thank you. You were wonderful. You guys can sit down. How was it? Is it everything you dreamed of and more? So true story. Couldn't make this one up. About four, five months ago, I was giving a keynote just like this. And we did a meet and greet afterwards like we're going to do. I was running. And people come up and sit behind the drums like you're going to get to do, take photos. It's really fun.

And this woman came up and she just gave me this hug and she wouldn't let go. She was in tears. I thought, oh, my God, Mark, what did you do? But they were tears of joy, because apparently right after me doing the exercise, she got a call – an emergency call from her adult daughter who suffers from debilitating anxiety attacks and she takes medication when they happen. She couldn't find her medication, so she was freaking out. So, the woman thought I'll run the attitude shifting exercise. I'll do joy, because what I had told her, which I neglected to tell you and I'll tell you right now, I usually do this four or five times in a row. It takes me about a minute. And it is so strong, it lasts for hours. It will last the entire day. If I'm having a challenging day, I might do it multiple times. I might do it 20 times in a day because I know that my attitude is the foundation of who I am, of what I say, how others perceived me. Your attitude truly is everything. And I'm going to have that big old grin on my face the entire time.

So, she said she ran the exercise on her daughter multiple times. And I can't make this up. No lie. She said her daughter's anxiety completely calmed down. Not that it was completely gone, but she was under control and wasn't freaking out. Now, disclaimer, I'm not saying that this takes the place of your pharmaceuticals or anything, all right? What I am saying is it works if you work it. I was curious from you, when you hear about a concept like this that's so simple and you actually experience it for yourself, are you the kind of person who's going to ignore it? Will you ignore it?

AUDIENCE: No.

MR. SCHULMAN: Are you interested?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

MR. SCHULMAN: Are you committed?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

MR. SCHULMAN: That's what I want to hear because if you ignore it, you never know what you're missing. You never know what could have been. That's a missed opportunity. Missed opportunities freak me out. Now, if you're interested, you might try it. You might forget about it. You might tell yourself some kind of story as to why it didn't work for you, but if you are committed, you just do it. You take action. That's having a rock star attitude, because the greatest performers take action and ask questions later; am I right?

Plus, you have the ability now to influence and impact attitudes, behaviors, and consequences of others, just like that woman did – your friends, your family, your co-workers, your employees, and your clients. And for those of you dealing with clients, every decision your client makes is based on their attitude first about you, about your friend, about themselves. And you understand the mechanism of how you can use your attitude to literally change the outcomes of your life so you can support them on it. You can do extra due diligence and find out more about them; really become connected with them. Find out about their fears, their hopes, their dreams, what they want for their families, what they want for their futures.

You can do this with anybody, because then they're not just clients, they're not just employees, they're not just workers, they become relationships. I'm convinced that in addition to my skill set, my success is based on the relationships that I have cultivated. And when you take this viewpoint, you're doing exactly what Cher did. You're putting somebody else's well-being above and beyond your own agenda, which means, guess what, you are truly helping and helping is the new selling.

One of my own personal mandates is I want to leave people and things better than when I found them. And business has changed. I've watched it evolve. I've interviewed so many people. And the great business isn't business at all, it's personal.

Speaking of personal, I'm a cancer survivor 27 years. Are any of you cancer survivors here? Please raise your hand. I'll tell you a few years ago, I had a scare. I'm not going to go into detail, but I'll say I went into the hospital for a procedure. There I was in a little operating room lying on that little gurney with a little hospital gown, the IV in my arm, the electrodes on my chest. I was just starting to feel that anxiety creep in, and I created an immediate attitude shift, because I'm committed. The attitude shift was actually kind of a rock ‘n’ roll thought.

It's actually a rebellious thought. I was thinking to myself: You know what, I don't have to be here. I can rip this IV out of my arm and rip these electrodes off my body; I can jump off this gurney; I can escape down the hallway; I can escape to the front of the hospital in the beautiful Los Angeles sunshine. And then there I was in one of those hospital gowns that’s open in the back and I wasn't wearing anything underneath.

But the concept has been a game changer at that point in my life all the time because it's true: I do not have to be here; I get to be here. I was lying on that gurney thinking I get this amazing doctor. I get to experience state-of-the-art medical science. I get to co-create my healing for myself and for my family, and I did some research. It's not just BS. It's done from Professor Bernard Roth, who wrote a book called The Achievement Habit, in which he quantified the fact that our vocabularies can absolutely shift our attitudes, behaviors, and consequences both positively and negatively.

So, what did I learn? I really need to watch what I say. You might want to take that one, too. I love this example, because let's face it, a "have to" feels like a chore. Now, am I a guy that looks like I like to do chores? The words were to reframe it to "get to." A chore can feel like a choice. And that is a radically different approach or attitude or way to experience anything.

When you make something a choice rather than a chore, all of a sudden, all these mundane experiences in life can change dramatically. Instead of I “have to” take my kids to school, I “get to” take my kids to school. Instead of I “have to” go to work, I “get to” go to work. Instead of I “have to” talk to that crazy client, I “get to” talk to that crazy client; or one of my own personal favorites instead of I “have to” go to the gym, I “get to” go to the gym. I use this all the time.

This reframe can change your life. This is part of the demonstration of having a rock star attitude because even if you have a little bit more fun, that is the rock star attitude. I got into this industry to have more fun. Imagine you have a little bit more fun with everything you do because you've reframed it. Do you think your life is going to change? Of course, it's going to change, and it's so easy. I know it sounds so simple, but for those of you that have studied Occam’s Razor, the simplest option is the most powerful.

A "have to" feels like you are the effect; whereas, a "get to" feels like you are a cause. And I'm sure that every single one of you would rather be the cause of what you want than the effect of what you do not want. Am I right?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

MR. SCHULMAN: Are you ready for your call to action? It's so easy and so simple. For the next 24 hours, you can do it the rest of your life if you want, but for the next 24 hours is every single time you think of something you “have to” do, shift it to a “get to” and just notice how it affects your behavior and consequences.

You can even call each other out if one of you says, I “have to” do this. No, no, stop. Schulman said switch it to a “get to,” because I want you to experience the difference. For some of you, it will be subtle. For others, it will be absolute game-changing like it is for me. But either way, the only way I can support you and you can support yourselves is to write down these experiences. I told you I'll be your own rock ‘n’ roll, your personal rock star. You think I was only talking about today? How committed do you think I am? How committed are you? Are you guys ready to rock? Let's do this.

(Video of Billy Idol played while Mr. Schulman plays the drums.)

MR. SCHULMAN: Are you a Billy Idol fan?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: Billy would say, yeah. Are you a Billy Idol fan?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: Excellent. So now, my friends, we are going on a journey. Oh, yes, we're going to time travel all the way back to the '90s. Does anybody remember the '90s? Does anybody not remember the '90s? That's OK, too. I'm taking you back to 1993, when I got called to do a recording session. I've done a lot of recording sessions in my day, but this was for Billy Idol, and Billy is just cool. I was called to play on the titled theme for the movie “Speed.” Remember that movie – Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper? As a matter of fact, it was so much fun, if you go online and you look on YouTube, you look up Billy Idol and “Speed,” you'll see Billy, the band and me all doing “Speed.” That was horrible. Just check it out for yourself.

(Video of the movie “Speed” playing.)

I can always tell what year it is by my hairstyle. Anyway, the recording of the video went so well that for the next eight years I was Billy Idol's drummer. Oh, yeah. We did some recording, some touring, and some writing. The only reason why I even considered leaving the Billy Idol camp is that work slowed down to a standstill. And right then I got an offer to do a world tour playing drums for both Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow sharing the stage. Decisions, decisions. I chose the ladies. But Billy and I shared some special moments together. As a matter of fact, we were in my studio writing a song one day and Billy started talking about his early performance experiences. And right then he shifted my attitude in a way that affected my performance forever. He looked at me and said, "You got a minute? I used to get on stage and used to sing every single note as if it was the last note I would ever sing." And you know what I said?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: Yeah. And then Billy said something else. He said, "I used to play every single note like my life depended on it." You know what I said?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: And what that did is that confirmed for me that when the rock star performs, it's truly not about what we play, but it's about how we play it. I know you can all relate, because some days it's about how you do it and other days it's about what are you doing and what the hell is going on today? You know, the days where you're not engaged, you're not smiling enough, you're not having fun, you're not communicating, you're definitely not performing at your best. And then there's those “how” days where you got the groove, you got the swagger, you got finesse, you got panache, you have greater attention, greater intention, you're more engaged and I bet money you're performing at a higher level. What I'm going to do right now is I'm going to demonstrate the difference between these two approaches on drums. First off, for an example of what I play that I'll play nearly the same thing and that will be the example of how I play it. Are you ready to rock?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: Let's do this. This is what I play.

(Mr. Schulman playing the drums.)

This is how I play it.

(Mr. Schulman playing the drums.)

Now, which drummer would you want playing in your band? Drummer No. 1 or drummer No. 2? If you said drummer No. 1, you are watching the wrong presentation. And which drummer do you think that P!nk, Cher, Billy Idol, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Foreigner, Simple Minds chose for their band, drummer No. 1 or drummer No. 2?

AUDIENCE: Two.

MR. SCHULMAN: Of course, No. 2. If I get asked you to define the difference between these two performances in just one word, any word but the word attitude, that's too easy, what might that word be?

AUDIENCE: Energy.

MR. SCHULMAN: Scream it out again.

AUDIENCE: Energy.

MR. SCHULMAN: Yeah, energy. I heard power play. I think the one I heard the most is passion, passion, passion, passion. Do you think I'm passionate? Of course, I'm passionate. We are all passionate. Passion is the activator that motivated the generator. Passion is what inspires you to do what matters the most to you. What happens if the passion wears down or completely wears off because passion is fleeting. There's a lot of attention paid to passion, but the truth is there's an expansion of passion that can bring that passion back, and that is purpose. Passion may be how you play it, but your purpose is your why, that's why you play it. What is your intrinsic motivation for doing what you do? What gets you up in the morning? Because the more attached you are to your why, the more engaged you are, the more fun you have, the higher level in which you perform, but unfortunately some of us, so many of us, get detached from our whys. So, I want to help. I'm going to share my why with you.

After Billy left after our conversation, I made a decision, remember cutting off all other possibilities, I decided that every time I sit down to that drum set that every single note I play matters, where I hit the drum, how I hit the drum, the combination of rhythms, the dynamic levels, the space between the notes. What I don't play is as important as what I do play. Just like what I don't say, do and think is as important as what I do, say, and think, because of my drummer brain, I finally got it.

If I play every note like it matters, what I’m actually doing is I'm actually attaching a sense of purpose to every note, every thought, every word, every action. You get the metaphor. At the moment you attach a sense of purpose to every note, thought, word, action, guess what magically happens? You become more passionate about that thought, word, or action. And the passion feeds the purpose, the purpose feeds the passion. We call this a cycle of empowerment.

I'm going to be really honest with you, how else do you think I was able to play, "So what, I'm just a rock star. I got my rock" over 800 times? And have the 800th time be just as purposeful and passionate as the first time, because I'm always aware of my why that every single note does matter. And it becomes more purposeful and passionate, because truthfully, that is my job – like that is your job. I'd be remiss if I talked about the first time and didn't talk about my tenure with the band Foreigner. I played for Foreigner on and off for 20 years. We had so much fun. I played for Foreigner 20 years, P!nk for 20 years, Simple Minds, Billy Idol, Cher.

At one point, I was playing with Foreigner, Cher, Billy Idol and Simple Minds all at the same time. I can’t tell you how I navigated that schedule, but I managed to. A couple of tours I had to get a sub, but that's OK, that happens. At least they didn't like the sub more than me because that happens, too. But anyway, I was out with Foreigner. We're about to go on stage one night. We're in the middle of a tour. I'm thinking to myself, I must have heard that song "Feels Like the First Time" hundreds of times. Talk about irony. That's more ironic than Alanis Morissette. Little Irish joke. Thank you, the two of you laughing there.

A couple days later, I was on stage, we're about to start. I looked at the audience just like you, and I have this epiphany. For most of these people, it really is their first time. So how dare I have a substandard attitude, which leads to a substandard performance when I can shift my attitude, have as much fun as they're having, and everybody wins. Just like with you, so people dealing with clients, you might be their first time. It could be your 2,000th time, but you have the ability to shift your attitude, and everybody wins. I've done over 2,000 speeches. But every time I do a speech, oh, my gosh, every single word matters. Every inflection matters, every little body language matters, every pause …

AUDIENCE: Matters.

MR. SCHULMAN: Thank you. And a friend of mine, Bruce Turkel, is a marketing branding expert. He's been on television 200 times. He's brilliant. He said, "People do not choose or buy what you do; they choose or buy who you are." And I know I touched on that earlier, but I finally made the connection that who you are is a direct result of why you do it. So why you do it is who you are being or whom you are being. My dad was a grammar and composition college professor, so he's rolling over in his grave. And then Billy said the same thing at the end of our conversation. He said, "You know, man, that's just who I am."

And I realized my last performance, it is who we are. When I sit behind those drums, I don't just play the drums; I am the drums. When I get up to give a speech, I don't just give a speech; I am the speech. What about you? Who are you? Who do you want to be? I've given you a formula how you can have a luster attitude, have more fun with your life by using your attitude to shape the outcomes of your life. And you can create behaviors and consequences you never imagined possible. And what are you waiting for? Part of having a rock star attitude is rock stars live in the moment, right?

The truth is, my friends, all we have is now. They coined the phrase, "Life is a series of nows." The past is gone; it's gone. How you live your life now, the decisions you make now, the attitudes you choose now, you're literally living into your future. And after being a cancer survivor and after watching my precious mama on her deathbed take her last breath, I realize every moment is precious. Can you ever get it back? So, what are you waiting for? Stop. Celebrate the now. OK? Smell the now. Taste the now. You can have rock ‘n’ roll swagger. You can take a bit of what the rock stars know about having more fun, about shifting your attitude, about experiencing every single moment, and have a better life. That's the best I can do for you. I tried to share all the greatest information I have because it's helped me become who I am. I have studied these rock stars, but you know what, I've taken it a step further. I decided so you really remember how cool you are, you unsung heroes, you're still rock stars. So, I've taken it upon myself to bestow upon you your very own rock star name. You are the NBBI Beats. Hit it.

(Mr. Schulman playing the drums to music.)

Thank you very much. We're just about out of time. I have a couple questions for you. One is how many of you play drums or have ever sat behind a drum? Let me see a show of hands.

A few of you. If you're really good, let me see. All right. A few of you. You're my comrades. You're my people. I love you, but I'm not talking to you. I want to know from anybody else. I've been very forthright with you about my life. How many of you ever just wanted to sit behind a drum set and just play your heart out? Let me see a show of hands, come on. That's what I thought. So, if I told you I could teach one of you how to play a P!nk song in three minutes or less, who would want to come up here right now and rock? Let me see? Come up.

(Mark Mooney goes on the stage.)

Come over here. This is my office. Have a seat in my office. So, is Mark sitting on a seat? Is Mark sitting on a chair?

AUDIENCE: No.

MR. SCHULMAN: Mark is sitting on a throne. Let's do this very, very quickly. Are you a little nervous? That's fantastic. See the attitude shift works. OK. What's very important is you count to four. I know it sounds silly, but it's one, two, three, four.

MR. MOONEY: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.

MR. SCHULMAN: Start with the right hand.

(Mr. Mooney playing the drums.)

MR. SCHULMAN: OK. Now you're going to use the bass drum or the kick drum. If you know any drummer friends, call it the kick drum. They'll think you're really cool; that's the industry standard. So just play the kick drum a little bit.

(Mr. Mooney playing the drums.)

MR. SCHULMAN: That's really great. Here's where we get a little more challenging. This is tougher than it looks. All right? The left hand is only going to play beats two and four on the snare drum. The snare drum is the cooler of the drum set. So just two and four. Try it, one, two, three, four.

MR. MOONEY: One, two, three, four.

MR. SCHULMAN: I'll make it as easy as I can. You rode a bike, right?

MR. MOONEY: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: I just want to make sure. When you rode a bike and they held on to you, when they thought you were ready, they let you go. So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to have you focus only on the right hand and the right foot. I'm going to play the left hand for you, until I feel like you're ready, then I'm going to let go. I'm going to sing for you poor people. Ready for it?

MR. MOONEY: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: I love this crowd, man. Focus on that, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.

(Mr. Mooney playing the drums.)

MR. SCHULMAN: Yeah, he's doing it.

(Mr. Mooney playing the drums and Mark Schulman singing.)

MR. SCHULMAN: You get the snare drum.

MR. MOONEY: No way.

MR. SCHULMAN: Just please remember the concept of A times B equals C, attitude, behavior, consequence. I'm going to end with a P!nk medley. I need you to be ready to perform with me. Are you ready?

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

MR. SCHULMAN: You're a phenomenal audience. You were so awesome. Now, we get to rock together.

(Video of P!nk playing while Schulman plays the drums.)

Thank you so much. You were wonderful. Give yourself a round of applause.