Till death do us part

by Damian | Mar 29, 2016 | Deep Thoughts | 0 comments

The wife and kids are out of town for Spring Break and I’m left holding the bag… it’s a bag filled with doggie doo-doo because I have to take the family pooch (her name is Hope) for a walk every damn day while they’re having fun in the sun. (I’m not bitter.)

There’s a cemetery near our house and it’s a good place to walk the dog. (Does that sound too Tim Burton?) While Hope is sniffing every tree, leaf and blade of grass, I have a bit of free time to ponder my own mortality (the cemetery is a great place for that too). I found this headstone intriguing:

Seems like maybe the Spears family went for the “buy one engraving, get one free” special when David bought the farm, but either Jennie is the oldest living person in the world or she wound up somewhere else. Probably not that surprising when you consider Jennie was nearly 20 years younger than her hubby. She had a lot of living left to do. And David wasn’t really in a position to complain.

Side note: I wasn’t sure if I should use till or ’til in the title of this blog post. “Till” is the correct one, and actually has been around longer than the word “until”. The abbreviated ’til is “etymologically incorrect” according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. You learn something new every day… at my age though you’re lucky if you still remember it the next day.

Tim, Take 2

by Damian | Mar 9, 2016 | Deep Thoughts | 1 comment

Two years and one day ago, my old¹ college buddy Tim Condron nearly bought the farm, at a father-daughter dance at his kid’s high school. Ventricular arrhythmia took him down, but not out. Now he’s spent two years and one day making the most of what is literally a second lease on life.

Tim has written a great blog post about it on his “Second Takes” blog. Please take a few minutes to read it, as it has some wonderful food for thought, including these tasty nuggets:

• I’ve learned that stress is self induced, and that I can have more control over how I respond to adverse situations

• I’ve learned that negativity is too much of a downer for me, and that I can remove complicated situations and people from my life

• I’ve learned that I don’t need position or money or stuff or friends in high places to create a life of fulfillment

• I’ve learned to appreciate every single day and the experiences that come with each

Amen, Brother Timothy. That faulty ticker of yours is a precious gift to all of us who’ve had the pleasure of meeting you.

¹ I’m using the adjective “old” as in “long time” not as in “senior citizen”

They’re called “people”

by Damian | Jan 26, 2016 | Deep Thoughts | 1 comment

Saw this quote in a business story in the Cincinnati Enquirer and had to laugh to keep from crying:

Chad Summe, Quotient’s central region vice president, will lead the Sycamore Township office. The company’s Greater Cincinnati office launched with three senior executives in 2012 and now has 60 full-time employees.

“We took a hard look at where we wanted to do expansion,” said Summe, who is also a member of the Kenton County Airport Board. “The result we’ve seen in Cincinnati has been phenomenal. (There’s) access to great human capital and I think you can see the momentum of the city overall translating to that. We’re just partaking in it. After looking across the country, we decided to double down here.”

“Human capital”? Gimme a break. Human beings yes, but human capital, no thanks.

Of course, it is a reality check… that’s how most execs at most companies see their employees – as “human capital” to be depleted, bartered, traded and degraded.

(Good) content is king

by Damian | Jan 21, 2016 | Deep Thoughts | 0 comments

If you don’t subscribe to the “Daily Cartoon” email from Hugh MacLeod, perhaps yesterday’s post will convince you to:

There’s a lot of content out there.

There’s fun content: Hey, look at this dumb cat acting goofy.

There’s info-tainment content: Hey, look at this dumb politician acting goofy.

There’s personal content: Hey look at me and my friends, hanging out on Christmas Eve.

There’s “social proof” content: Hey, look at fabulous me at the gym/fancy restaurant/corporate boardroom, hanging out with rockstars/billionaires/celebrities etc.

There’s pundit content: Why Donald Trump is evil. Why handgun ownership is evil. Why Hillary Clinton is evil. Why USA/France/China/Norway/Mozambique/Paraguay is evil.

There’s expert content: Ten things every lawyer/dentist/CEO needs to know. Why house prices are going to tank net year. Why house prices are not going to tank net year. The future of this, the future of that.

There’s news content: What happened over in Russia. What happened over at Google. What happened over at Fenway Park.  What happened during the Oscars.

There’s lifestyle content: The best restaurants in Miami, the best shoe stores in New York, the best vacation spots in India.

And then there’s what I call “Transformative Content“. The stuff that actually inspires people, the stuff that actually changes lives.

The stuff that moves us, the stuff that pushes humanity forward. 

The stuff that actually matters.

It could be a blog post, sure. But it could just as easily be a song, a book, a drawing, a film, a poem, an idea. It doesn’t matter what it is, what matters is what it does. What matters is that it changes lives, somehow. What matters is that it rocks your world.

i.e. There’s “Transformative” content and there’s “Everything Else” content. The former is what people have an infinite need for, what. The latter is merely clutter that most sane people are looking to remove from their lives at the earliest convenient moment.

And what is true for content, is also true for business. There are the businesses that change the world, and there are businesses that are just there for the metaphorical paycheck. I know which one I want to be working for.

Looking forward (not backward)

by Damian | Dec 23, 2015 | Deep Thoughts | 0 comments

I’ve posted before about my friend’s Dave and Jacqui, and how they’ve eloquently chronicled Dave’s two – count ’em, two – battles with lymphoma on their “Nashville or Bust” blog. Dave recently wrote a post with his reflections on hitting the 100 day mark post treatment and transplant. He’s feeling good, and that makes all his friends feel good too. As he put it:

Day 100. That does feel pretty good to say. In the journals and transplant literature it is a big deal. I don’t take that for granted but instead of looking back, I am spending it sipping early morning coffee with Jacqui, making breakfasts and lunches for the kids and getting them off to school and continuing to get the house ready for Brandon’s visit and the holiday…you know, the normal stuff.

It’s time to return this blog to new ideas and future plans.

Here is to love, laughter, friendship, music and adventure in the New Year.

Amen, Brother Dave… Amen!