Y’ better slow down…

Baby, now y’er movin’ way too fast!

It happens every year at this time. The tall, exotic, Japanese Magnolia trees in my neighborhood imitate Mother Superior…and jump the gun.

A few warm Louisiana days and nights seduce the silly trees, and right in the middle of January (or at the beginning of February), they explode into mad, delicate, pink blossoms.

“Noooooooo!” I scream at them through the picture window. “Noooo, it’s only February! It’s going to get brutally cold again! Any minute now!”

And sure enough, the frost and ice rush in unannounced. And the delicate magnolias are violently frozen, their lovely premature blossoms seared – falling wilted to the ground, a spectacle of poor planning.

You see, timing matters.

Brian Epstein knew this. He refused to let The Beatles set foot in America until they owned a Number One record. In January 1964, when the boys trekked off to Paris with an excursion to America only a few weeks away, Brian was outside his comfort zone. He was truly gambling. Capitol Records had assured him the Number One slot would be The Beatles’, and he believed the Powers-That-Be. But scheduling the U.S. trip ahead of his target goal was a huge risk. Everything hinged on that one phenomenon. Without the Number One under their caps, Brian knew that The Beatles could flop in America, just as Cliff Richard had done when he “crossed the pond.”

Well, you know the familiar story. While in Paris, The Beatles and Brian received that fortuitous phone call from Louise Harrison (yes, it was Louise…read that part of She Loves You, Vol. 3 in The John Lennon Series for detailed documentation) telling them that I Want to Hold Your Hand had just topped the charts in the United States. And in that jubilant instant, the tipping point was reached. Brian’s gamble to prepare for departure had paid off. The moment was right for conquest!

Journeying to America before this pinnacle had been grasped might have been disastrous. Waiting prudently for the name recognition the lads needed was vastly important. It mattered.

Mark Lapidos, too, can tell you about the importance of waiting, about the need for dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” When Mark devised the idea of “Beatlefest,” he could have plowed ahead on the surging crest of his youthful enthusiasm. He could have moved, full speed ahead, to make his exciting idea into reality, no matter what!

But Mark didn’t. He waited.

He summoned up his courage and went to see John Lennon in person, asking for John’s blessing on the concept of the Fest. Mark wisely asked for an endorsement that would make The Fest something of which The Beatles approved and of which they would be proud. And John saw that it was good. And it was. And 40 years later, it’s even better!

So what does that say to us? To you and me – owners of sure-fire schemes? It whispers, “Wait.”

Don’t jump ahead. Plan. Seek counsel. Ask for opinions. Question everything. Move slowly.

If the Japanese Magnolias would follow Epstein’s and Lapidos’s examples, they would be lovely for months during the spring. They would enjoy a season of beauty unequaled by any other vernal tree. Instead, they spring ahead ruthlessly…and time and again, they fail.

I don’t know what you’re planning or writing or preparing or creating, but know this: If we would pay attention to detail as we plan, practice, hone, revamp, investigate, seek counsel, and keep working, we would see our dreams come true. The Beatles, Brian Epstein, and Mark Lapidos all knew that this is the way forward. Successes one and all, they could tell you:

Ladies and Gentlemen, timing is everything.

Slow down.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.