A friend in my church sent me an email today with a link to a video.
The video was of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David just hanging out together and talking about their masterpiece, Seinfeld.
Watching how the two of them interacted, laughed at one another and fed off of one another it was easy to see how they worked together so successfully on Seinfeld.
What struck me though was the thought that Jerry Seinfeld could not have created Seinfeld without Larry David. There was a chemistry between them whereby they were catalysts for one another’s humor. Amongst the general public, Jerry Seinfeld generally gets the credit, but I bet he knows better.
I used to live under the mistaken impression that for me to achieve something that really mattered, I had to do it on my own. In the words of Pee Wee Herman, “I was a loner, Dottie, a rebel.” I would try cases against companies who would bring two or three lawyers to court and inside I would think they weren’t really good trial lawyers if they couldn’t try the whole case on their own. Now I know better.
I’ve had young attorneys work for me in the past, but the attorney who works for me now is different. We recently finished some litigation that had lasted about year. We literally won on every issue in every motion we filed, got the best of every witness in every deposition, resulting in the other side sending up the white flag and agreeing to a judgment that was even better than we could have achieved if they had contested it. It was the litigation equivalent of a perfect game, and when it was over, I saw clearly that I could not have done it on my own.
It wasn’t just that this lawyer performed work I didn’t have time to do; he made me better. He thinks differently than me. He approaches problems differently. He sees things I don’t see. As a result, we make a great team, and he makes me a better lawyer.
I think this is the way the Lord intended it. Life is a team sport, and we are at our best when we are at it with others.
Solomon said it like this:
Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Ecclesiastes 4:9-11.
Who makes you better than you could be on your own? GS