Rhythm Dance

Back in the day I created quite a few sports videos set to popular music for the various television entities where I worked as a producer. Two of my favorites were Kenny Loggins’ “Run for the Roses” (before the Cowboys played in the NFC Championship game the year the Super Bowl was to be at the Rose Bowl) and The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Thank God for Kids” (which, amazingly, will have its 29th airing this holiday season).

The key to setting sports to music is to combine the right beat with the perfect words and the best highlights. For some reason that came naturally to me during my television days. I’d hear a song every so often and would immediately envision how to use it. The amazing thing is most people – my musically inclined children included – would say I am not blessed with the gift of rhythm… at least when it comes to dancing or keeping a beat.

Yet in my daily life – both personally and professionally – I find rhythm to be one of my greatest strengths. Whether it’s sitting down to write my monthly e-newsletter, working in the yard, or participating in my latest hobby, I easily fall into the rhythm of the moment.

The words for my e-newsletter flow through my hands, as if magically, each issue. I simply sit at the keyboard and type. Mowing, gardening and the things that go with them allow me a few hours of escape, during which all kinds of inspirational ideas flow through my mind. During my hours each week in the pool, the silence sweeps me away to an almost meditative state. As the water flows around me, I find the rhythmic strokes much more relaxing than all the years running was my passion.

So, if you’re looking for peace, tranquility or inspiration, think about the rhythm in your life. Are you in sync? If not, look at where the interference is happening… and seek out that quite place inside you where alignment rests. You’ll find yourself more relaxed, more productive and, best of all, you’ll really like the feeling of harmony – and that could be the inspiration for a wonderful video of your life.

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Keep Churning

A coaching axiom in sports is to always play through the whistle. You see this all the time in football: a running back is thwarted at the line of scrimmage, yet keep his legs churning as the linemen gain traction and forward motion plunges him into the end zone. Meanwhile, frustrated defenders plead with the officials…having ‘Why didn’t you blow the play dead?’ looks on their faces.

The last many months have drained your emotional (and perhaps financial) resources. Your team is dragging, having picked up the workload of departed peers. The grind and frustrations of ‘Just when will this recession end and things pick up?’ are probably starting to wear on everyone.

Winston Churchill said it best some 68 years ago this month as England struggled to survive: “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large of petty – never give in…” Your role as leader is to keep everyone believing that tomorrow will be better. Perhaps it’s time for a pep talk?

If you need a story to share, consider the Minnesota Twins.

In September, they trailed the Tigers by seven games. A week ago, they were three back with four to play. Yet by winning 16 of their last 20, these never-say-never believers forced a one-game showdown for the division title. Yesterday, down three runs early, by two in the middle and a run late, they – fittingly – took the game to extra innings. They tied it for the third time after the Tigers scored a run in the top of the 10th, before finally winning on a base hit in the bottom of the 12th.

Whether the Twins have enough comebacks left to beat the New York Yankees in the first round of the postseason playoffs is to be determined; however, it’s clear Ron Gardenhire’s squad lives and breathes Churchill’s mantra. Your team would benefit by doing the same.

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