“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

This is how it should work. Healthy competition creates innovation. New ideas are motivating. When looking to provide the best service for your customers/clients/students, the spark may come from someone else.

“The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut down.”

This is how it often works. Jealousy, envy, and laziness threaten to bring down those continuing to move the industry forward.

What’s the Purpose of a Montage?

A montage compresses a significant amount of time into a shortened period, displaying a character’s transformation. (Montages can highlight other elements of storytelling, but for the purpose of this post, I am focusing on character montages).

Rocky IV has the greatest montage in movie history. Actually, it has the greatest two montages in movie history. Rocky completes his first training montage, Adrian joins him in Russia, and then Rocky finishes his training with another montage (the two montages are separated by mere minutes). In the video above, the first montage stops at 3:33 and the second begins immediately afterwards. Additionally, going from Vince DiCola’s Training Montage to John Cafferty’s Heart’s on Fire is akin to a Tyson right hook to the body quickly followed by a right uppercut.

There are all types of dads
Funny dads
Serious dads
Present dads
Absent dads
Encouraging dads
Destructive dads
Proud dads
Jealous dads
Loving dads
Dads sample from each bucket...some buckets more than others
No matter the dad, we never stop trying to make them proud
Riding a bike
Catching a baseball
Making the team
Cooking a meal
Mowing the lawn
Going Steady
Graduating
Landing a job
Starting a family
What we want from dads
Great job
Thank you
Impressive
You worked really hard
I see you
You did your best
That was brave
You'll get it
I'm proud of you

The Stoic philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” No one is lucky. They are prepared. When a chance presents itself, preparation enables them to find success.

Put another way:

No one is lucky. Luck is created. How is it created (if you asked Dwight or Billy Zane), through preparation (see Seneca).

Preparation is the focus of self-help books and conversations. Opportunities are often overlooked.

I was at my son’s soccer game with his mom, two brothers, and my parents. He didn’t start. Not a big deal. The league is about player development, not winning and losing. However, after a few rounds of subs, he wasn’t going in.

The fans sit on the opposite side of the field from the players. My son and I make eye contact. He looks at his leg, points to his knee, and then looks back at me. I return an annoyed and quizzical look. He starts crying.

The first grader came home from school one day
"Dad, do you wanna go outside and play?"
"Son, let me finish the game"
The first grader came home from school day two
"Dad, Jonathan called me stupid, it's true"
"Son, Johnny's genes are to blame"
The first grader came home from school day three
"Dad, the art teacher said my work's lovely"
"Son, give it to Mom to frame"
The first grader came home from school day four
"Dad, can I read you my written folklore?"
"Son, your work all sounds the same"
The first grader came home from school day five
"Dad, can we go to the museum archive?"
"Son, that exhibit's quite lame"
The first grader came home from school day six
"Dad, here's my lousy report card, it stinks"
"Son, public schools are a shame"

Oxford’s Learner’s Dictionaries – /mæɡˈnænəməs/ (formal) kind, generous, and forgiving, especially toward an enemy or a rival

I hadn’t heard magnanimous in years, but then it popped up while I was reading (brag). It’s a tremendous word. If I ever do an “Adjectives That People Would Like to be Described As” bracket competition post (need to workshop the title), it’ll be one of the top seeds.

When I rolled magnanimous, and its definition, around my head, it got me to wondering if a word describes you based on your extrinsic actions, intrinsic thoughts, or both.

We love stories about people overcoming adversity.

Michael Jordan – Cut from his high school basketball team, but went on to become the greatest NBA player of all time.

Lionel Messi – Diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, but went on to become the greatest soccer player of all time.

Anthony Robles – Born without a right leg, but went on to win the 2011 NCAA wrestling championship at 125 pounds.

Serena Williams – A black woman in a white male dominated sport, facing racism and sexism, goes on to become the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.

You look good
Alright
I wanted to drop this off
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It was great to see you
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Thanks for stopping by
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Enjoy the rest of your weekend
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We'll talk soon
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Take care of yourself
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Catch up next week
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Bye
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I love you pop
Alright

There are dozens of opportunities in life where a person’s skills are judged by others: a job, an assignment, a promotion, a roster position, a contest (essay, baking, etc.), subjective sports (gymnastics, figure skating, diving, etc.), just to name a few. The judgement results in one (or more) winners.

When we don’t get the result we want, we say, “How did so and so make it?” “I know I was better than…” or “They already knew who they were going to pick.” While these comments may or may not be true, ultimately, it doesn’t matter. If you are not undeniably the best, you leave the decision in the hands of others.

In boxing and mixed martial arts they say, “Don’t leave it up to the judges.” That means finish the fight before the final bell dings. That ensures that there is no opportunity for someone else to determine the outcome. The same is true in any of the competitive scenarios I mentioned earlier.