I finally got to see Jacob Collier live, and I’m still buzzing. Collier is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer. If you’ve never watched one of his audience choruses, do yourself a favor and click play. He stands onstage—shoeless, beaming—and lifts his hand like he’s pulling sound from the ceiling. Then something wild happens. Thousands of strangers inhale at once. They lean in. They trust him. And suddenly the whole room becomes the instrument.
That’s the part that gets me every time: He isn’t performing for the audience; he’s inviting the audience to perform with him. He’s unlocking something we forget we have access to—this instinctive, collective ability to create beauty together.
Author, speaker, and leadership expert Simon Sinek talks about how humans are wired for cooperation, and how our nervous systems calm when we feel part of something larger than ourselves. Watching Collier direct a crowd proves the point. There’s no ego. No “look at me.” Just this magnetic belief that everyone’s voice matters. No matter how they sound. It feels like medicine. People are down right now. Tired. Spinning. Bracing themselves for whatever comes next. But there’s something healing about standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers and making a single chord—there’s something spiritual about being in unison with others. It reminds us what the body knows before the brain catches up: We’re not meant to go it alone.
Here’s the lesson I carried home: We don’t need a stage or a spotlight or perfect pitch to create harmony. We only need willingness. We need someone brave enough to raise a hand and say, “Let’s try this together.” And we need a moment of courage to add our voices—cracks, nerves, and all.
Find one place to add your voice: one conversation, or one idea you’ve been holding. Offer something simple, such as a question. a compliment, or a truth. Choose to be part of the chorus.
The magic Collier pulls from a concert hall isn’t really magic. It’s human connection amplified. It’s what happens when ordinary people decide to make something beautiful with what they already have.
