Tragedies often sound a clarion call that get people to band together and be their best selves.
But how long will the good behavior last? Like exercise or showers, while it is good to do ... it is better to repeat.
It is time to take an honest look at ourselves ... and take appropriate action.
The 3 minute video below highlights some tough issues. The hard truth is that progress starts with honesty.
Do you think this painted an accurate picture of the current United States?
It is kind of the opposite of one of those old Kung Fu movies where the dubbed words you hear aren't synched with the mouth movement.
Here it looks like they are saying what you hear ... it's just that someone changed the words. You could call it "So THAT'S what they were saying ..."
via YouTube
Oh well ... crazy how fast time flies. Hopefully 2012 was good for you.
Here is JibJab's take on what happened.
Long Live 2013.
Here is a clip of Jimmy Fallon and Christina Aguilera using office supplies and used them as instruments to perform Christina's "Your Body."
Here is the "Instrument" list:
stapler, iPhone keypad, coffee pots with pencil drumsticks, roll of sticky tape, water cooler jug, tissue box & elastic band guitar, spiral notebook (a.k.a. the "tear snare"), keyboard washboard, paper clip shaker, and scissors.
Innovative, talented, and pretty cool.
I was watching some of our team chat about the new iPhone 5. They shared the link for the video and said things like "Wow, dude ... I want one so bad!"
Here is a link to Apple's official iPhone 5 promotional video.
There is also a spoof of the video. It is very funny ... worth watching for a laugh and some perspective on how "big" the Apple brand promise has become.
In many ways, the spoof made me want the phone even more.
As a side-note, wouldn't it be great to design a product that was spoof-worthy?
As you think about what a spoof of your product or service would be, perhaps the bit of "truth" in the humor points at the real competitive advantage ... or at least towards the roadmap that leads towards creating one?
I spent part of last week at the Inc. Magazine GROWCO Conference.
If you're not still learning ... your dying. So, consider continuing education part of your perpetual youth plan.
Plus, there are plenty worse places to be then New Orleans ...
With that said, I know I'm getting older because after walking through the French Quarter - the part of me I most wanted rubbed were my feet. (I wish I was joking).
The first speaker was the Mayor of New Orleans. He explained that one of the key decisions they made after Katrina wasn't to re-build the city ... instead, it was to build the city they always wanted New Orleans to be.
Bill Clinton was there, too. He was articulate, charismatic and clever. But the star of the show (based on audience response and the rush of people to get his autograph) was Daymond John (of FUBU and Shark Tank fame).
Daymond talked about his five Shark Rules: 1. Set Goals; 2. Do your Homework; 3. Always do what you love; 4. Remember you are the brand; and 5. Keep moving.
He stressed that the secret to power is to be decisive.
He also shared that the money they invest on the Shark Tank show really comes from each of them; however, only about 20% of the deals actually get to a closing.
Daymond said that he invests in people, not companies. Moreover, he claims that each of Sharks know who they will invest in within the first minute of the presentation (and he suspects that is how most business-people make decisions). Interesting.
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.")
On a related note, check-out Bob Buford's book, Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance. It is about making the second half of your life better than the first.
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.
Sometimes normal isn't enough.
Playing safe is often a good strategy ... But, sometimes you have to expect the extraordinary.
Did you see the strange guy doing a modified tight-rope circus routine during Madonna's Super Bowl half-time performance.
Well, it was more than that ... did you see the guy bounce up and down as though that little rope was a trampoline?
What in the world was going on?
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?
In Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin played a venom-spewing sales manager. His performance burned "Always Be Closing" and "Coffee is for Closers" into a generation's collective unconscious.
In the spirit of the holidays, Saturday Night Live created the spoof Glengarry Christmas - Elf Motivation ("Always Be Cobbling!"). Here it is.
Here is the original scene.
Bet that puts you in a festive mood.
A Hedge Fund Dogfight Mesmerizes Wall Street
Carl Icahn and William Ackman are longtime rivals.
Last week they put on quite a show. Alerted by the buzz of social media, the eyes of Wall Street turned to CNBC. What they witnessed was verbal fisticuffs that could rival anything on reality TV.
Here is the video of a spat between two hedge fund magnates with a decade-long grudge against each other. Apparently, name-calling is fair in battles such as this.
One step above "I'm rubber and you're glue; anything you say bounces off me and sticks to you." Fun to watch if you like things like that.
Posted by Howard Getson at 11:54 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Market Commentary, Television, Trading | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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