just parker

the choice

If you have the time (outside your money hours, of course), catch The Choice 2008 (a PBS Frontline program).

You can watch it in 9 - 15 minute pieces over a few days or all at once. I found it to be one of the least bias pieces on the campaign I've seen.

To have this kind of content, available free and on-demand... how do the networks get anyone's attention* anymore?

All of the shows begin here.

(*i admit, i'm 30 Rock fan... okay... Mad Men, too, but that's it... seriously... no... i'm serious)

stewardship

Think about our work (contribution).

No matter if we feel lucky or not with what we've been given (or earned) as our opportunity, we're ultimately just stewards of it for a brief period in time. It will be handed off to someone else at some point.

If we thought of it as a box to be given to someone else, what would we want the recipient to think when they opened it up?

Wouldn't we want it to be something that's difficult to improve upon?

tgim

 

hillary & sarah

They came by the house last night...

Here's Sage and Sarah...

We were a little suspicious about Hillary when we noticed her legs.

(Okay... it's me and The Spaniard. We've been married a long time.)

ego & pride

Isn't it funny that sometimes both can push us to do well but then at other times each can get in the way?

Regardless of the first sometimes benefit, I don't think either is good.

Look at the definitions of both...

pride: 1. the quality or state of being proud: as a: inordinate self-esteem : conceit b: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c: delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship  2. proud or disdainful behavior or treatment  3. ostentatious display

ego: the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world

Much to much self in those meanings.

Ultimately our lives are about service to others. This is what we need to actively reinforce (with ourselves and among ourselves). It's what will make the world a better place.

We all know it. We just need to be grown-ups and hold ourselves accountable to it.

(tgim)

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

212 tenacity

A friend of mine caught 212 in the stands at last night's ALCS Game 6. Note the signs where the home run landed that set up Boston for a 4 - 2 win (pushing the series to a seventh game after being down 3 games to 1).

 

Cool.

deeper discourse

"U.S. mood plummets as crisis deepens: Reuters poll"

That's a top 10 headline from this morning's news.

You dig a little deeper in the piece and you'll also find the number of people who feel more secure in their job rose as did the number of people who feel safe from foreign threats. Unchanged was the fact that "About two-thirds of Americans said they were confident their children will have a better life."

I'm not denying things seem very challenging right now but a 10-question poll of 1,207 likely voters does not define the "U.S. mood." Who are they beyond "likely voters?" What's their age? Where are they from? Were the polling calls made during dinner? Who asked the questions? Did they lead a desired response with their tone?

Polls can be helpful but we need to look deeper.

(warning: proceed with caution... I'm a little angry)

newbie air travel advice

Always avoid taking a seat in the row in front of an exit row. They don't recline.

I learned this the hard way about 15 years ago.

Today, enjoying the exit row (which by the way, if no one's in the middle seat, is almost like first class... without the free beer, of course), I watched the person in front of me push and push until I let him know, that alas, his efforts, while noble, would reap him only an education rather than the comfortable slumber he so diligently sought.

be like rowan

A few year ago, a close friend of mine brought to my attention the classic essay "A Message to Garcia." 1500 words (a 10-minute read) on initiative and responsibility.

I blogged it a year later, published it a last year in SalesTough™ (a book I coauthored for sales people), and last week we published a website around it (BeLikeRowan.com... Rowan was the hero).

The timing with today's business environment couldn't be better. I hope you enjoy it.

If you have kid's, we've even created a version for them (from age 5 to 9, I think).

I'm ecstatic about it.

beauty & risk

When you stop seeing beauty
You start growing old
The lines on your face
Are a map to your soul

When you stop taking chances
You'll stay where you sit
You won't live any longer
But it'll feel like it

-- Bono of U2
   in the song Summer Rain

Saw the plate at Busch Gardens yesteday. A coincidental perfect match for my intended tgim post today (live or love... take your pick). Note to vehicle owner: you need your new tags.

(the song: apparently only on the B side of a UK release of the single "Beautiful Day"... couldn't find it on iTunes... great song)

Bono's humble, non-rock-elitist thoughts on the success of a Beautiful Day, after the jump.

midlife walk

First it was my joints... they started hurting a bit more every once in while.

Then the recovery time after athletic activities grew longer.

Last week, my barber casually reached into my ear with his trimmer.

And there it was on the counter... my new "personal trimmer"... waiting to be taken home... my companion to better grooming as I walk through midlife.

 

I know... a bit too personal maybe. I thought I'd share it in order to help my fellow midlifers who might not have had someone tell them they should consider getting one too. Too many wives are not having the uncomfortable discussion... hint: they're good for noses too, man.

(if you can stomach it, here's the conversation with my 11 and 8-year-old boys when they saw it)