A Work in Progress

Won't You Consider a Career in Modeling?

When I looked up, there was a 6’5” furry, red Elmo, a guy in a duck suit, a man-size Gumby, and someone totally encompassed head-to-toe in bright blue spandex.

No, this isn’t the set-up to a funny story or a confusing dream I had.  This is just a sampling of the fans at Marietta’s opening game of the OAC Tournament last night. People-watching was fun – the row of guys who spelled out M-A-R-I-T-T-A on their bare chests with paint, anxiously waiting for the “E” to show up; the guys in Marietta football shirts who stood along the rail at the elevated walkway above the court at one end, appearing to all the world as if they were just “happening by” the big game and stopped to watch; and the townspeople of Marietta who came out to support these college kids in full force.  The row of elderly gentlemen to the left of me leaned over and asked me “who my player was.” After I basked in the reflected glory of being the aunt of one of the starters, I returned the question to them, “Who is your player?” They sat back with huge smiles – and proudly said, “Well, all these boys are our players.”

The outcome of the game was still in question when a Marietta player stood at the opposite sideline waiting to inbound the ball.  A few steps behind him stood a middle-aged guy with an adorable little boy wearing bright yellow boots.  Well, the little boy must have said something to the player.  The Marietta player turned and smiled and gave this little boy a high-five before turning back to refocus and inbound the ball.  I didn’t see the rest of the play, because I was struck by the expression on the face of this little boy – he was absolutely beaming.  Following the Marietta victory (yay guys!!), the players stayed out on the court, each surrounded by their own little group of fans and well-wishers.  Time after time, players were interrupted by moms and dads with young kids, and by seniors who just wanted a quick word or two – to a man, I saw these young players graciously accept the interruptions, reach out to shake hands and greet the elders, crouch down next to the youngsters.  Young and old, I saw the same beaming expression on the faces of these fans after interacting with the players. And, I heard parents tell their youngsters, “When you’re older and go to college, maybe you can play basketball too.” And, I realized just how important these little moments can be, like drops into a puddle, expanding to make a huge impact on these kids, parents and seniors... now, and in the future.

Years ago, when I chaperoned local parades with my sons’ marching band, I found myself regularly telling the students to steal a glance at the faces of the children standing along the route.  The younger ones looked at these band kids as if they were gods, and I could hear parents telling their children that “someday they could play in the band” and then ask them what instrument they might like to study.  If you’ve explored colleges with your kids, you’ve been introduced to current successful students – college kids who are generally approachable, welcoming and friendly.  You tend to remember those colleges most favorably where the students you met treated you politely and with respect.

There’s a Liberty Mutual Insurance ad that I’ve seen recently that I really like that goes along with this thought of modeling kindness and inspiration. It first shows a mother pushing a child in a stroller. The child drops a toy and a man walking by picks it up and hands it back to the child, and the mother looks grateful. In the next scene the same mother is walking out of a coffee shop and when she sees a coffee cup perched precariously on the edge of a table, she quietly pushes the cup away from the edge. Someone happens to see that act and offers a hand to a man who has fallen. And so on and so on. As someone sees an act of kindness, they are inspired to act kindly to another. Now I know it’s an ad for an insurance company, but I still like the thought. And what I like about it is that it reminds us to do the right thing – to walk the talk – and that when we take that opportunity to be a model for others, it impacts the person right in front of us, and inspires them to model good things for others, and so on and so on.

You CAN be a model on the runway of your life. And you can create a ripple that will affect others in ways you cannot imagine.

The Super Bowl Through the Eyes of a Bitter Cleveland (Browns, Indians, Cavs) Fan

Red Right 88 (Browns)

The Drive (Browns)

The Fumble (Browns)

The Shot (Cavs)

Jose Mesa (Indians)

The Decision (Cavs)

Such short phrases – encompassing such great sports agony.  You realize you’re old when you were alive for all of these. If you are a younger Cleveland fan, you are no doubt aware of these anyway as the entire list is revisited every time a sports show needs an example of defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory.

We are the sports city that is perennially waiting to take that “next step.”  And, then when we do, we invariably step in “#%&@”.   Just last night – the Cavs set the dubious record for most consecutive losses in a single season. Sigh.

And, so, like the starving child with their face pressed against the glass outside an all-you-can-eat buffet, we Cleveland fans will watch our rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, head back to the food line for their 7^th helping.

Am I bitter? Yes, I guess I am.  But my bitterness stems more from how the Cleveland sports scene is used as an excuse to make uninformed, ignorant comments about the Cleveland community.   I live near a city which has been struggling since before I can remember.  Like many areas that relied on the steel industry, Cleveland faces the challenge of redefining itself in a landscape ever-changing with each new technological discovery.  To some, our torturous sports history is synonymous with the ups-and-downs of the Cleveland economy. I guess I can accept that.  But, where I see the resiliency of a community whose spirit endures despite each challenge that comes our way, others feel the need to ridicule continued attempts as futile.

So, when we talk about sports, let’s stay on the topic shall we?  No more cheap shots please.

The Cleveland sports fan is just as deserving as those waving the Terrible Towels and those wearing triangular Cheese-hats. And so, at some point in time today, I will feel some empathy for the fans of whichever team loses (yes, even Steeler fans).  And, I will share with them the eternal mantra of the Cleveland sports fan: Wait until next year!

Too Much Technology?

After a day like today, I’m not sure there is such a thing as too much technology.

Somewhat of a CNN-buff, I’ve watched the rather frightening events in Egypt unfold today -- live.  How did this uprising get started – how did it gain momentum? It seems that Facebook and other social media outlets played a huge part in spreading the word in real time.  Even when Egypt basically “shut down” the Internet, enough streams were able to get out, that audio and video continued to leak out to the rest of the world.  It wasn’t too long ago when news events from the other side of the world took days to get to the public, with plenty of opportunity for censorship before it hit the airwaves.

I spent much of my day setting up an online shopping cart for a client where her videos on children’s nutrition will be available for download.  She will be able to reach a global audience easily; no inventory, packaging, shipping. Customers can order, pay and have the video in their hands in a matter of minutes.

While I write this (and actually the realization that led me to write this blog entry), half of my screen is running live video of my nephew’s Division III basketball game. And, although it’s not an important enough match-up to be on national TV, it’s important to me. 

Earlier today, I downloaded an application so I can access local weather radar on my phone. I already open my smartphone before I hop out of bed each morning, and scan through the national news. And, yes, when I can’t sleep, I’ve been known to check my email at 4 in the morning.  Gee, maybe that’s one of the reasons I can’t sleep well!?

I’ve had quick conversations with both sons through g-chat today.  Just a quick “how’s it going?” – but that connection sure made me feel a bit closer to them.

I used to enjoy listening to stories from my grandparents-in-law. I marveled at the “history” they had witnessed – I’m just realizing that my (future) grandchildren will have the same experience.  They’ll ask, “Tell us what it was like when you only had 4 television channels and could only talk on a phone or work on a computer when it was plugged into the wall.”  Oh geez – maybe there won’t even be television, telephones or computers by then!

Oh… .and by the way.  Marietta College (my nephew’s team) won by 2 points with a buzzer-beater.  I’m so glad I was “there.”

 

My Year of Living Purposefully - Step 3 (Out of Bounds!)

I have to admit that I love the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.  It is basketball played in its purest form.  After months and years of hard work, for some of these student athletes it comes down to the games played in these last few weeks.  I'm impressed by their dedication and passion for the game. 

Yet, despite the importance of the moment as they give the game their all, when they hear that referee's whistle blow, they all stop. Why?  Of course, there has been a violation of the rules: a foul, a ball going out of bounds, a time violation.  They all stop because they acknowledge the established boundaries of the game.

I've been operating a micro-business since the early 1990s.  As much as I have learned, and as much as I love being my own boss, probably the biggest challenge for me (still!) is establishing boundaries in my business relationships and then standing by them.

See, I want everyone to like me; I want their business. I don't want to make any demands on my clients - they might think I am difficult to work with and take their business elsewhere.  It has been painful to learn that working in the "out of bounds" area can be downright unpleasant. Really, it is not a good situation for either side of the business relationship.

In recent months, as I've been working through my Partnering Process with potential new clients for my Virtual Assistant practice, I have been much more purposeful about establishing and discussing my standards...  up front, professionally, and in a matter-of-fact manner. The result? I've had more potential clients who have not gotten past the first step of my process. But, there were 2 potential clients where we worked through the entire Partnering Process together and mutually decided we would like to work together. I can already feel the difference in these relationships, even in the early stages. 

We both discussed and acknowledged what we each considered "out of bounds" in our business relationship. Certainly, amidst the moments that are ahead of us, that referee's whistle may blow. But because of the strong foundation laid from the very beginning, I have no doubt that we will stop the play, acknowledge the boundary and then resume the game.

Why We Root for the Underdog

It's March Madness time again.  For the last several years, a group of family and close friends has participated in our own friendly little NCAA bracket competition - not for money, but just for bragging rights. Actually, to us, bragging rights are more valuable than money anyway!

Over the past several days, my bracket has been "busted" so many times, I don't even know if I can find all the pieces. There have certainly been some fantastic, buzzer-beater finishes, but as often as not, it's the lower seed who pulls out the victory.

I find myself saying this is the best NCAA tournament in recent memory, even though my projected winner, Kansas, was beaten last night by a relatively unknown Northern Iowa team. By the end of that game, I found myself rooting for the Panthers. These guys fought hard, they came to win, they hadn't listened to all the talking heads that said they didn't have a chance, that they shouldn't even bother to try. You could see it on their faces. They believed that their best was worth putting out there, and that it might even be enough to win.

So, why do we root for the underdog?  The answer is easy: On any given day, the underdog is US!

Keep believing in yourself.

LeBron James and the new Shot

Cleveland has reason to celebrate this morning.  When you watch replay after replay of  LeBron’s heroic winning shot – you have only to watch the fans in the background to see the spirit of a city shift from hesitation and fear (“oh, no—not again”) to pure joy.  Collectively, we held our breath….   sparing air only for that whispered prayer…   please, please, please.

I’m old enough to remember the first “shot” – and even if I was not, every catastrophic moment of Cleveland sports history (when defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory) are so conveniently replayed every time the networks need to give an example of a “long-suffering” fan-base.  “The Shot” “The Drive” “The Fumble” – so unfairly depict our city.  We are a city struggling in so many areas – our schools, our economy, our seemingly-corrupt political leadership.  But, you cannot accuse our city of giving up.  WHY was last night’s shot so important?  Because it exemplified the spirit of a city – that when you work hard, when you keep trying, when you keep acting in a manner that supports your principles – eventually good things will happen.

 

I find myself drawn to the post-game interviews with this team.  When Cavs Coach Mike Brown begins his comments about #23 by stating that LeBron is an “amazing person first” before talking about his skill on the basketball court – that speaks volumes about both men.  It has been a week of criticism for LeBron.  In the first game of this series, LeBron chose to kick out the ball to one of 2 open shooters. The final shot was missed and LeBron was lambasted for not taking the shot himself.  Make no mistake, had that shot fallen, LeBron would be praised for his unselfishness and vision of the court.  Last night, LeBron made the exact same decision – he made the play that he thought gave his team the best chance to win – and this time it worked.  So, today he is a hero.  Too bad that many do not recognize his heroics as the same in both games.

 

Work hard, stay true to your principles, make the best decision you can, be willing to accept responsibility for the result.

 

Are there lessons to be learned in sports that can be applied to real life?  In this case, let’s hope so!