This week I heard what I thought was the best book statistic ever. I know that Harry Potter is a huge phenomenon. In fact, I joked around with people saying that this past weekend JK Rowling and I averaged 4 million book sales each. Still, this took me by surprise. There was a study released in a British journal of medicine that said that on weekends following the release of a Harry Potter book children’s admittances to emergency rooms in England fell by 50%.

Wow. Very cool.

We should all pay close attention to the lines that formed outside bookstores leading up to 12:01 this morning. Hordes of fans across this country and others have been impatiently waiting for the release of the final book in the Harry Potter series. It has already been noted in many places that Ms. Rowling (the author) has accomplished a remarkable feat by getting so many kids this excited about reading. I’d like to take this moment to just recognize and appreciate the passion that causes people to wait so long in lines like these.

In my youth I did this for concert tickets. I remember showing up at 2 AM to get on line for Billy Joel tickets when I was 17 years old. The line was already around the block, but right before tickets went on sale a guy walked by and yelled to the line that there was another ticket office a block away with no line. We ran over and discovered he was right. We got great seats.

I remember camping out overnight at Boston Garden for Billy Joel tickets and meeting a guy with six toes (on one foot). I camped out overnight at Madison Square Garden for Phish (the band) tickets and almost broke up with my eventual wife as a result. These were great times (not counting the fight with my wife which is a whole different story).

I remember showing up 6 hours early to be first in line to see the movie Batman in 1989. It was about 5 hours and 45 minutes before the next person got in line behind me. But that’s not the point.

The point is that in each of these cases I was tremendously excited and passionate about what I wanted to see. The kids (and adults) in lines outside bookstores last night are filled with passion. We can all learn a lesson from them. I believe it’s incredibly important to be in touch with what you are passionate about. Make a point of spending time on your passion. If you don’t your life will fill up with other stuff. Our time is too short for that.

They say that there are no new ideas. If that’s the case, it’s a good thing there are so many good old ideas for us to recycle. Last week I spoke at the annual conference for the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. It was an honor to be one of the speakers and a thrill to see Stephen Covey, one of the keynotes. His talk covered many topics, but one that was particularly interesting was the use of the Native American Talking Stick.

The Talking Stick was a device used by Native Americans to resolve disputes. Only one person, the holder of the stick, was allowed to speak his mind. In order to gain the stick another speaker had to convince the holder of the stick that he understood the holder’s point. It was the stick holder who determined whether or not the next speaker sufficiently understood him. When he felt understood, he would pass the stick along to the next speaker.

All of this is based on an agreement by all parties that they will work to first understand one another and then to find a solution that is more agreeable than any other solutions so far suggested. This is a terrific device, and it is definitely not new. But unless it is widely used in your world, this is an idea that is worth recycling.

The Talking Stick concept can be used in disputes over politics, business, religion, even whose turn it is to take out the trash. So on this Independence Day, I invite you to join me in honoring a tremendous idea from the natives of this country. I hope we all experience a year ahead with less conflict and better solutions.