Did you see the Clint Eastwood "It's Halftime America" video that ran during halftime of the Super Bowl?
It starts with Clint Eastwood's voice and an image of a lone man casting a big shadow as he walks down a darkened football stadium corridor.
"It's halftime ... Both teams are in their locker room discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half. It's halftime in America, too."
Well, it got noticed ... and it's causing a controversy in some circles.
So much so that SNL made fun of the issue in this spoof.
"I don't care if Obama runs the ball, or Romney throws a touchdown, or Ron Paul kicks a field goal with his tiny little chicken legs," Hader-as-Eastwood warns. "I tell you right now, though, I ain't puttin' Santorum in the game. He can stand on the sideline doin' cheers in his little sweater vest."
Sometimes it seems that we become so focused on pointing fingers and finding fault that we forget our real purpose.
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes an ad is just an ad.
And in this case, it could simply be an inspiring ad paid for by Chrysler (perhaps to say " we faced some hard times, but showed resiliancy and resolve ... and the best is yet to come.")
Buford reminds that in order to have a better second half, you must first figure-out what you want.
In Halftime, Buford focuses on 'transition'---the time when, he says, a person moves beyond the first half of the game of life. It's a time of revitalization and for catching a new vision for living the second half, the half where life can be lived at its most rewarding. Halftime doesn't have to be a time of crisis. It can be a catalyst for purpose, impact, and growth. It can be about setting a new course away from mere success to true significance---and something better.
This message applies to the market and our economy as well. What if we are half-way there? What do you really want? Where are you committed to go? What adjustments are needed? What do you want to do more of? What do you want to do less of? What do you need to start doing?
Well, the short answer is: slacklining. Or, if you want to get technical and specific, tricklining. According to California's Adventure Sports Journal , slacklining was invented in the early 1980s by two rock climbers.
As you may have guessed, the Super Bowl halftime cameo was a big moment for the young sport of slacklining—and for the talented, curly-haired slackliner who got the spotlight: Andy Lewis, aka Sketchy Andy . You've got to watch what he can really do!
Imagine what went into developing this skill. Was it thought ... or something you forgot you could exercise?
What are you committed to expecting extraordinary about ... starting now?
As you can see, the design is inspired by tropical islands, with huts, a pool ... and to top that ... a volcano guaranteed not to erupt.
Since it's a yacht, it comes packed with VIP rooms, arcades, gym, lounges, spas and even a helipad. What a great place to do business?
The back of the yacht has a retractable beach deck and dock. Why go to the trouble of getting out to sea if you can't wake-board, jet-ski, or swim; right?
If you want to know how much it would cost to fuel-it-up or operate, it's probably not in your price range.
Here’s a secret that most aren’t willing to hear or practice.
The biggest difference between where you are and the life you’ve always dreamed of is trumpeted in this video. Should you watch it? My advice, "Just Do It!"
Don't wait until all the conditions are perfect for you to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. Just Do It!
Moneyball is out in theaters. Lots of people consider it a sports movie; but, it is so much more.
Yes, it is the film version of the book by Michael Lewis (which was a pretty good read). Still, underneath the sports story, it is about finding and refining an edge (or sustainable competitive advantage).
If you've ever thought "if I'm so smart and talented, how come I'm here"? You're not alone.
This is a movie about someone who "should" have been a star player ... but never quite got there. Instead, he moved up to the front office of a pro team - and made his mark there, differently than he expected.
The big idea? Rather than following conventional wisdom, find something that gives you an edge. For example, If you ignore a lot of the obvious flaws that damage players in the eyes of professional scouts (bad legs, can't field, too thick in the middle, likes strip clubs or gets high too often), and you focus instead on a single, telltale metric — the percentage of times that they get on base — then tons of players who don't cost very much will turn out to be winners. What would happen if you built an entire team out of these green-diamond misfits?
Where there are undervalued assets to exploit, there are by implication overvalued ones to avoid. Sounds like business or trading, doesn't it? In any case, the scope and scale of the overvaluation is often so large, learning to identify and exploit those situations can be a winning recipe.
Here is a video trailer of the movie.
The underlying message is to focus a critical eye on everything you do and be vigilant about the process, reassessing, challenging assumptions and constraints to find a way that works for you.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part ... it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens ... and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video ... there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take - or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) ... but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Being Healthy, Fit, and Vital ... that's Priceless.
You never know when something like this can change your life or the life of someone else?
Every three days, more Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest than the number who died in the 9-11 attacks.
You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest.
It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help.
It was over 100 degrees, here in Texas, as my son graduated high school.
Our out of town guests weren't buying the "But it's 'dry' heat" line. So, much of the weekend was spent eating and searching for air-conditioning.
Sometimes it is just too hot to trot.
Exercise Frequency Goes Down as the Heat Goes Up.
The Economist recently printed a chart showing that people who live in colder states exercise more than those who live in warm ones.
A recent report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declares that only 64% of Americans surveyed can be described as physically active (defined as over 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or half as much vigorous activity). Almost a quarter get no exercise at all outside the workplace.
The report offers a breakdown of exercisers by state. In general, it seems that people who live in cold states like Alaska are more likely to get their weekly work-out than those in sunny Florida.
The biggest outliers from this correlation are Hawaii, where 70% are energetic, and Tennessee, which has the lowest percentage of active people despite a lower average temperature than several other states.
Why Did the Clint Eastwood "It's Halftime America" Ad Cause Such a Stir?
Did you see the Clint Eastwood "It's Halftime America" video that ran during halftime of the Super Bowl?
It starts with Clint Eastwood's voice and an image of a lone man casting a big shadow as he walks down a darkened football stadium corridor.
Well, it got noticed ... and it's causing a controversy in some circles.
So much so that SNL made fun of the issue in this spoof.
Sometimes it seems that we become so focused on pointing fingers and finding fault that we forget our real purpose.
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes an ad is just an ad.
And in this case, it could simply be an inspiring ad paid for by Chrysler (perhaps to say " we faced some hard times, but showed resiliancy and resolve ... and the best is yet to come.")
On a related note, check-out Bob Buford's book, Halftime: Moving from Success to SignificanceHalftime: Moving from Success to Significance. It is about making the second half of your life better than the first.
want.
In Halftime, Buford focuses on 'transition'---the time when, he says, a person moves beyond the first half of the game of life. It's a time of revitalization and for catching a new vision for living the second half, the half where life can be lived at its most rewarding. Halftime doesn't have to be a time of crisis. It can be a catalyst for purpose, impact, and growth. It can be about setting a new course away from mere success to true significance---and something better.
This message applies to the market and our economy as well. What if we are half-way there? What do you really want? Where are you committed to go? What adjustments are needed? What do you want to do more of? What do you want to do less of? What do you need to start doing?
It's half-time, and the best is yet to come.
Posted by Howard Getson at 11:14 PM in Books, Business, Current Affairs, Market Commentary, Sports, Television, Trading | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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