TRAINING FOR

THE GREAT OBSTACLE RACE

OF LIFE

Greetings from the great Pacific Northwest. Once again I’m on a swing out of New Jersey and into a part of the country where much of the time life is lived, it seems to me, with a distinctly different attitude.

That’s not meant to sound critical or snarky (although on re-reading I can see it smacks a little of Jersey attitude. But, hey!) 

In fact, it’s kinda awesome. Amazing vistas, quite a different climate, a mindset (especially among the folks I’ve been hanging about with) that embraces the unique opportunities the area affords them.

Like Obstacle-Course Racing. Drawing on roots in expedition adventure racing, trail running, parkour and other outdoor opportunities easily available hereabouts, a race, it seems, is not a race unless it includes obstacles, contrived Fear Factor-style challenges, and, of course, plenty of sticky, gooey, slippery mud.

Not exactly my cup of tea. But I do “get it.” (And, yes, my more athletic and adventurous NJ friends, I know this is a nation-wide phenomena and it’s also taking place locally. It’s just that out here it’s x10.) 

Social media, it seems, has been a huge catalyst for the explosion. It seems everyone wants to post photos of themselves – preferably covered in mud –

 

... sometimes in outrageous costumes 

… crawling under barbed wire

… scaling greased walls

… climbing cargo nets in order to leap from 12-foot platforms

… shivering and smiling bravely with a buddy or two after wading that water pit fed by melting mountain snow.

And that last element, it seems, is a great deal of the point.

As it was explained to me: “The camaraderie and encouragement you get on the race course is the best part of an obstacle race. It’s the most positive atmosphere you’ll ever be in. Everyone is working hard, and everyone wants to help each other through the obstacles. There’s no negativity out there at all.”

 

Ah-Ha! Moment: Even for those of us who may never choose to participate in such Spartan adventure, training for an obstacle race is much like getting through each day of life.

I had a chance to peruse a magazine titled Competitor whilst cooling my heels in a bicycle shop here as friends investigated curiously configured trail bikes. In it an avid obstacle racer named Pete Williams shared a few insights about “how to prepare for your first or next obstacle race.”

As I read his bullet points, my unlikely-athlete’s brain clicked into TGIM mode with the realization that his training tips have wide application for each and all of us by simply be adding the thought –

… JUST LIKE REAL LIFE

Read ‘em and reap: Here’s an abbreviated version of Pete’s Points plus my reminder. 

►Be a Kid Again: Children are natural obstacle racers. They instinctively climb or leap to touch anything in their paths. They attack playground "obstacles," in a non-stop flurry of running. Instead of working out in a gym, play outside to train. You might find you enjoy it just as much as the muddy obstacle race itself.

… Just like real life. Turn down your adult censor. Unleash your inner kid at every opportunity. Navigate the daily monkey bars you encounter and the ups and downs of the 9-5 see-saw with the uninhibited enthusiasm of your youth.

►Run Off Road: Obstacle races take place off road. So why train on concrete or asphalt, which is harder on the body anyway? Even in urban areas, you usually can run on the grass along sidewalks, through parks, on gravel or packed sand, and along waterways. Challenge yourself to run as much as possible off-road, leaping over sidewalks and other paved areas.

 

… Just like real life. Sure most of the daily routine takes place in the equivalent of the asphalt jungle, and sticking to the clearly marked paved path may well be the correct and most efficient way to get through many, even most challenges and achieve many life goals.

But at some time or another – in fact, multiple sometimes or another -- we bang up against a detour … lose our easier way … are tipped off to the treacherous-but-outstandingly-more-efficient shortcut to the outcome we desire. If we’re not ready or ill-equipped, those options will slow us, rather than move us forward. So it pays to be tougher than average in advance. 

►Run Intervals: Long, slow distance runs have a place in some training programs. Interval training builds speed and is especially important in obstacle race training, which combines intervals of running and obstacles. After a warm-up run, alternate between intervals of work and rest, i.e. three minutes of running at 80 percent followed by 3 minutes of walking or light running.

… Just like real life. We’ve all heard similar everyday-world counsel such as this cached in running terms before: “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” But only a few are capable of attacking a marathon full on from beginning to end. 

So isn’t the Marathon of Life actually intervals, requiring the ability to modulate and pace your performance to fit the obstacles at hand? Clearly then, when we’re not actually “racing” through our day at an adapted-to-the-conditions pace, we should prep for inevitable variables to come.

►Run Hills: Unlike the steady, paved inclines of road races or the run portion of triathlons, obstacle races feature short, steep, off-road climbs. Here, too, your local park can be a perfect training ground. Sprint uphill and take twice the time to walk down. Repeat several times. Be sure to keep your stride compact to prevent hamstring pulls.

… Just like real life. If we’re not prepared to confront the variety of hills (and maybe mountains, maybe even Rocky or Himalaya-sized mountains) we’ll confront in our lives, we’ll struggle more mightily at the first little incline and battle from that deficit for the rest of the life run.

But anticipating the range of uphill battles we’ll face and meeting them having prepared should ease and speed our way over them, unencumbered by that physical or mental charley horse.

►Mix It Together: Obstacle race training is not just about running, of course. Simulate the rhythms and challenges of a race by stopping every half a mile to do a dozen pushups, pull-ups, or Burpees. The key is to make it continuous, mimicking a non-stop obstacle race.

… Just like real life. Ah, Burpees. Begin in a standing position. Drop into a squat with your hands on the ground. Extend your feet back in one quick motion to assume the front plank position. Do a pushup. Return to the squat in one quick motion. Return to standing. Throw up your arms and jump as high as you can before beginning the next Burpee.

Q: Does that sound somewhat like your day from rising to returning to bed at day’s end?

Point made. If you aren’t prepared for the mix of challenges, the struggle’s all the harder. And all you'll be able to do is throw up your hands at the end. 

►Choose Your Own Adventure. Safety is always the primary concern, of course. But there’s no reason you can’t run up and down that mountain of mulch available to the public at your local park. Those huge concrete culverts along your running trail waiting for installation? Why not bear-crawl through them as you will in a race? Instead of avoiding muddy trails after the rain, embrace them. Use whatever you find: Hop up and down on a fallen tree, straw bale or stair steps.

 

… Just like real life. Are you more poet than athlete? While they’re not mutually exclusive, you can sense the aesthetic dissimilarity. So if you can’t relate whole-heartedly to Pete Williams, embrace the counsel of Robert Frost:

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

And now I’ve overcome the “obstacle” of writing a meaningful motivational message for today.

 

Hoping with Robert Frost that today’s TGIM makes a difference.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. More familiar with “Slurpees” than Burpees? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the exercise was named for American physiologist Royal H. Burpee. He earned a PhD in Applied Physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the Burpee Test as part of his PhD thesis as a quick measure of agility, coordination and strength. The exercise was popularized when the US entered WWII and the Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #410

PATRIOTIC CHEESECAKE & CUPCAKES

“Guard against the impostures

of pretended patriotism.”

George Washington shared that caution in his 1796 “Farewell Address” -- a letter written by the first American President to "The People of the United States.”

 

 A broadside of George Washington's
Farewell Address,
from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division
of the Library of Congress

Washington wrote the letter near the end of his second term as President, before his retirement to his home Mount Vernon.

It is a classic document of democracy, certainly appropriate for considering – albeit briefly – on Memorial Day 2013.

Its basic purpose: To warn Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.

Thumbnail history:  The first draft was originally prepared with the help of James Madison in 1792 when it appeared Washington would serve only one term as President. 

Four years later, as his second term came to a close, Washington revisited the letter and, with the help of Alexander Hamilton, prepared a revision of the original draft to announce his intention to decline a third term in office.

The letter’s still relevant. It’s all about the Constitution and political factions … unity and sectionalism … checks and balances and the separation of power … credit and government borrowing … foreign relations and free trade … education and morality. 

I think it’s an interesting document worth reviewing for a number of timely reasons, starting with “original intent.”

But why today? Today’s Memorial Day observances are forever linked with the battles our country has endured since the founding, especially the so-called Civil War. The underlying “governmental” causes and concerns of that nature are just the kind of issues that the forward-thinking Founding Fathers intended to address in this, well, Address.

Clearly the issues have not abated, even in the 21^st Century. 

They span levels both trivial and consequential. Compare and contrast the recent tempest-in-a-Tea-Party cup/IRS/tax-exemption brouhaha to the ongoing discussion of limits on personal freedom being exercised in the name of national security.

But what really put me in the mood for this TGIM Topic of “pretended patriotism” is the synthesis of the trivial with the timely in the pre-Memorial Day supermarket insert that arrived in my recent newspaper.

In the midst of touting all the stuff they were encouraging we stock up on for today’s ceremonial launch of the cookout season (and let’s be clear, I don’t object to that), they featured –

►Patriotic Cheesecake

 


►Patriotic Cupcakes

Call me a curmudgeon, but: Calling baked goods “patriotic” does not make them so.

Worse: It erodes further the most attractive parts of the idea and ideal of patriotism. 

Not to make too much of it, but: If we’re talking patriotism on Memorial Day, an annual commemoration of folks who did what they believed was their patriotic duty, then it’s probably best exemplified in the standard articulated by Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965):

“The noble kind of patriotism …

aims at ends that are worthy of the whole of mankind.”

Today as we give an extra thought to those we perceive have done their patriotic duty, don’t let a burger and beer and colorful cupcakes or cheesy thoughts about sinful cheesecake distract you. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Love our country, but not because it’s easy to parrot U.S. naval commander Stephen Decatur’s 1816 toast, “Our country! … may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.” 

Think about Washington’s cautionary farewell. Guard against impostures. Love our country and stand patriotically for it, not simply for the sake of loving one’s country, but for what it stands for and by the ideals of truth and justice and caring for humanity. 

Carl Schurz did. Nearby my home in New Jersey is a park dedicated to his memory. Memorial Day will be commemorated there. He’s buried across the Hudson River in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  There are many other monuments to him around the country (and in Germany) although you probably know little of him.  

Carl Schurz
in 1877
(Photo by celebrated
19th Century photojournalist
Mathew Brady)

Schurz, (1829 – 1906) was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Union Army General in the Civil War, and Secretary of the Interior. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869, became the first German-born American elected to the U.S. Senate. His wife, Margarethe, was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten system in the United States.

During his later years, Schurz was perhaps the most prominent independent in American politics, noted for his high principles, his avoidance of political partisanship, and his moral conscience. 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Love our country like Carl Schurz. He patriotically revived – and dramatically revised and improved -- the words of Stephen Decatur.

 

Schurz said, “Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.”

On guard against the impostures. And trying to continue to do my patriotic duty and put things right.

Now pass the cupcakes, please.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility ... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) said that in a speech to the American Legion Convention, August 27, 1952.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #409

LET THE COMMENCING COMMENCE

 

'Tis the season. So let’s start by defining our terms:

 

Commencement [com•mence•ment (kəˈmɛns mənt)]

1. A beginning; a start.

2. a. The ceremony of conferring degrees or granting diplomas at the end of the academic year.

2. b. The day this ceremony takes place.

Etymology:  [1225–75; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French]

What’s kinda interesting to me in this “graduation” season is that there’s a Janus-like quality to this time of passage, ending and beginning anew; looking both forward and a glance or two back at the significant time that precedes it.

So, gathered together for arguably the last time as a coherent group with whole layers of education and tradition in common, students and their preceptors attempt to summarize the experience with words of wisdom and set individuals off on the next phase of their voyage of self-discovery and experiencing life with words of inspiration.

What a crock! (OK, maybe not quite that angry but …)

 

• What life lessons more powerful than those of the life of its founder, Thomas Jefferson, will Steven Colbert impart to University of Virginia graduates?
• Can you imagine that whatever Oprah Winfrey shares with Harvard grads will really matter to them collectively in the span of their careers?
• While it’s no doubt thrilling for Ohio State, Morehouse and the U.S. Naval Academy to get visits from the sitting President, how many will look back from the, say, 20-year-distant future and be able to say their response to that 20 or 30 minutes of “address” redirected their lives completely?
• Maybe, just maybe, the message the Dalai Lama delivers at Tulane will change more than a few lives.

It’s a tough world after all. If they’ve been paying attention members of the Class of 2013 probably know that authoritative sources report nearly half of the Class of 2010 hold jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree and that 38% have taken jobs that don't even require a high school education.

And the upcoming newly-minted grads need not be business school alumni to know these trends have helped drop the median wage for college graduates significantly since 2000.

And if they’ve been job hunting they don't need scholarly experts telling them that 284,000 of the grads who came before them are making minimum wage.

Just a little more “rant.” My cynical take here has been narrowly focused on a vision of high-achieving grads from noteworthy post-high-school institutions. The “cream of the crop” if you will.

 

What about students from lesser programs?

What about punishing student loan obligations?

What about newly minted High School grads?

 

As the 2013 commencing commences we all need to comprehend the lessons of learning.

 

Commencement Day -- and the words of wisdom that will be shared in the course of it -- are no substitute for an understanding that we – each and all, no matter our “class” or level of formal education – live lives that require dedication to life-long learning.

TGIM Takeaway: The beginning and ending parts of the seasonal exercises now commencing are –

One day only. It’s a reward. A (presumably) well-earned celebration to mark a passage in life. And what folks tell you that day, while (again, presumably) well-intended and meant to motivate –

 

Isn’t “gospel.” It’s a road sign … directional arrow … a bit of useful, motivational information for a brief part of the journey ahead.

 

That it comes from a celebrity source, and may have been crafted for them and with them by a highly skilled and well-compensated team of presentation preparing professionals,  does not necessarily imbue it with any power greater than a “lesser” origin.

 

So today’s TGIM ACTION IDEA is a commencement message sourced from one of these lesser places.

One of the more intriguing commencements I have attended over the years featured an address by a great southern state university’s law school’s class valedictorian.

My memory of his brief presentation to the students, faculty and friends and family assembled goes like this:

Travis had a reputation among his classmates as a hardworking student, but socially quiet.  What he would say at the ceremony was a mystery. So when, after several typically musty speakers, he rose to deliver his address, attention was a bit sharper.  After properly opening with the obligatory acknowledgments, he promised to take only two minutes of everyone's time and got to the heart of his thoughts.

 

He started by acknowledging that he had had difficulty deciding what “wisdom" to impart.

• For inspiration he consulted quote books and speaker's guides but came away uninspired.
• He reviewed the cases and law he had studied and found nothing he felt appropriate to the moment.
• In fact, he said, he had no idea what hard-gained understanding-born-of-study he could share until that very morning when he sat at the kitchen table, having a student's breakfast of made-from-packaged-dough biscuits.

There, on the newly opened roll of refrigerated biscuit dough, he spotted the lesson he knew he and his fellow graduates had in common and, he felt, was worthy of the occasion.

 

The package, he said, cautioned –

 

"KEEP COOL."

 

This advice, he was sure, would stand them in good stead all the rest of their lives. 

And, he continued after a dramatic pause, it went this succinct wisdom one better by advising –

 

"BUT DO NOT FREEZE."

And with that he thanked all assembled and returned to his seat.

Me too.Carpe diem coolly. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “Education. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.” Writer and wit Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) provided that definition in his oft-quoted work, The Devil’s Dictionary.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #408

SHARING SECRETS OF THE DEAD

Día de los Muertos -- Day of the Dead – takes place on November 1 and 2 in connection with the Roman Catholic observation of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. 

So why is TGIM bringing it up in the Merry Month of May?

Because the corporate folks in the wonderful world of Disney recently made headlines by attempting to secure Día de los Muertos name rights for merchandise such as snack foods and Christmas ornaments as it partners with Pixar Animation Studios Inc. to create an animated movie inspired by the holiday.

This attempt died fairly quickly once social media got involved. IMHO rightfully so. Any Disney Day of the Dead primacy is pretty farfetched. 

Thumbnail background: It’s a “holiday” celebrated primarily in Mexico but it and commemorations similar to it occur around the world. 

In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations happen in many Asian and African cultures.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl.

Candy Calaveras

The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos is a national holiday, and all banks are closed.

But, getting to the TGIM point, for me, all this brings to “top of mindness” –

The Grateful Dead

You don’t even have to be of a certain age or musical sensibility to be aware of the Grateful Dead and their lasting influence on popular culture. At the minimum, in their heyday, the group was the world’s biggest concert draw.

Now before we get deeper into this, let me establish that, compared to many, my Dead knowledge is sparse.

I wasn’t a Deadhead. So please, if you’re an authority, I know I’m not. I appreciate your expertise and if my take is a bit less than accurate, be cool, man. Unless I’m grossly off the mark, thanks, but we don’t need to dialogue.

 

That said, I was and am an interested fan of their eclectic musical style. And, for our TGIM purposes, today I’d like to connect the Disney … Día de los Muertos … Grateful Dead dots and explore --

 

The Grateful Dead business model. Yup, if your vision of the Dead is ‘60s, hippie, Haight-Ashbury, street-party psychedelic, Woodstock, love & peace, think again.

Counterculture -- but not. No doubt a great deal of the Dead’s counterculture image was legitimately earned. Among many other things the band –

• Maintained that all the members were equal (although Jerry Garcia was perceived as the leader and spokesperson).
• Gave 4-hours-+ highly improvised shows from no established set list.
• Allowed fans to record and share tapes of shows as long as no profit was made on the sale of the show tapes.

But … the Grateful Dead also transcended the laid-back vibe that made them attractive to many. 

In a Disney-ish way, Uncle Walt might have been proud.

Unlike many other artists of their era, they kept the rights to their intellectual property and merchandising. (And every pint of Ben & Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia” ice cream still earns a royalty payment.)

And while the Disney lawyers were considering locking up the rights to Día de Muertos, Phil Lesh, original Dead bass player and reportedly the motivating force behind recent revival tours, provided some insight into an mirror-image source underlying their operative business philosophy. 

Like the traditions associated with days of the dead, “Grateful Dead” appears in folktales of a variety of cultures.

So here’s the Lesh version of how the band took on the name.

 

 “… Jer [Jerry Garcia] picked up an old Britannica World Language Dictionary… [and] …In that silvery elf-voice he said to me, ‘Hey, man, how about the Grateful Dead?’” The definition there was “the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial.”

And it was done.

Coincidence? Perhaps not. Speaking of acts of charity, in their early career the band also dedicated their time and talents to their community making free food, lodging, music and health care available to all comers. According to Lillian Roxon’s Rock Encyclopedia the Grateful Dead were “first among equals in giving unselfishly of themselves to hippie culture, performing more free concerts than any band in the history of music.”

Guitarist Bob Weir recalled: “The first gig as the Grateful Dead was a benefit. It always seems to us that you get some, you give some back.”

And they continued to do so. Even a half-dozen-or-so years ago when the band reformed to tour the Dead put aside a number of tickets for top-notch seats and auctioned them off online for charity. 

Weir explains: “It makes good sense. It’s just something we’ve always done, and this latest round is, I think, a well-conceived, somewhat newer version of it.”

While this Día de los Muertos debacle in the Disney world of business seems insensitive or estranged from that operative philosophy, corporate Mouseketeers too probably know –

The Secrets of the Dead: If you want to be (more) successful, help someone else become successful. You get some and you give it back. Better yet, you give some first and you get it back.

Pay it forward pays. While sometimes, especially in hard times, it may seem life doesn’t happen that way, The Law of Reciprocity is called a “law” for a reason.

It’s derived from practical experience and observation. Like laws in chemistry and physics, maybe we can’t quite get the concepts or see stuff happen at a molecular level. Still, it happens. Action begets action; doing “good” triggers more good deeds. The more you help others get what they’re looking for, the more likely you are to be helped.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: The sooner we each start to make our “Pay It Forward” payments, the sooner we’ll have banked some “reciprocity” to draw on. Begin today.

Success? It’s dead ahead. If you get confused, listen to the music play.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “It’s not somebody’s idea about the way things might be, or the way things could be or should be. It’s what it is.” “Bear” Owsley, legendary 1960′s Grateful Dead soundman (and more).

Thank Goodness It's Monday #407

FIDDLING AROUND

AND GETTING INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS

In my early childhood our family physician was also a family friend. 

Exactly how that came about I don’t know precisely. But even when I was in grammar school in suburban New Jersey I was encouraged to keep in mind that the man I called “Uncle Max” when he came to “dinner parties” with his wife “Aunt Nina” and other friends of my parents was to be called “Dr. Perlman” in public settings.

Such were the complications of my childhood in the 1950s.
 

What brings this to mind for me now is that this weekend, at our Bergen County (NJ) Performing Arts Center, another Perlman of note from that era – violinist Itzhak – performed with great charm and skill and enthusiasm.

However, although he is my age, the “complications” of his childhood were quite unlike mine. 

Itzhak Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, then in the British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel. His parents were natives of Poland and had independently immigrated in the mid 1930s before they met and married. 

The very young Itzhak first became interested in the violin after hearing a classical music performance on the radio. The story goes that, at age three, being too small to hold a violin, he was denied entrance to the high level musical training that was sought for him. So, instead, he taught himself how to play using a toy fiddle until he was old enough to study at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, where he gave his first recital at age 10.

Soon thereafter his family moved to the US so he could study at the prestigious Juilliard School, now associated with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. 

Itzhak Perlman was introduced to the wider American public in 1958 when, at 13, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show -- twice. 

(My musical influence at about that same time and age was more along the lines of the Elvis Presley appearances on Sullivan and the like. My musical ability was limited to playing the radio.)

Having studied violin abroad for eight years with a formal Russian teacher, he was not quite prepared for the looser pedagogical methods of the US – or at least, of his earliest teacher here, Juilliard’s Dorothy DeLay.

"Sugar Plum" Perlman
with Ed Sullivan
in 1958

"She was from Kansas," he recalls. "I would play for her, and if she didn't like certain things and thought I could do better, she would say, 'Now Sugar Plum, what do you think about that?' 

“And I would say, 'Don't tell me what to think — tell me what to do, and I'll do it.' 

“But she insisted on asking me, and involving me in the process. And it's very funny, at the time I didn't like it. 

“But today I teach exactly like she does. To this day, when somebody plays something for me, I say, 'What do you think of that? How do you think you can fix that?' Involving the student in the process."

TGIM TAKEAWAY #1: How open are you to learning in a way that more experienced “others” employ but seem disagreeable to you in their unconventional-ness? 

How hard do you fight against what you don’t comprehend easily? Might that effort be better employed, at least in the early going, trying to “get it” and get involved in the process rather than get past it?

TGIM TAKEAWAY #2: How do you teach? Are you aware of the capabilities of your “students” – those coworkers, subordinates, family members, networking friends in your inner circle – and take their capacity and competence into account when you try to help them accomplish more. 

Not everyone has prodigy-level skill sets or drive. Different strokes may be more effective for getting folks of a different mindset involved in the process. 

And speaking of capability, capacity, competence and complications. As you may know, Itzhak Perlman contracted polio at the age of four. He made a good recovery, learning to walk with crutches. Today, he uses crutches or an electric scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated.

But that’s not limiting for him: Perlman may get around on crutches or scooter but does he get around: Warsaw, Budapest, Moscow, India, China, South America. His travels began at an early age. 

And as Jim Beckerman, a columnist for our local daily paper observed –

Perlman is not only a great classical virtuoso, he's also a great popularizer. 

Since the Sullivan Show appearance, Beckerman continues, Perlman has been a fellow after Rudyard Kipling's heart: The man who walks with kings without losing the common touch.

In fact he’s played for queens (Elizabeth II) and presidents (the 2009 Obama inauguration). He's appeared on "Sesame Street" and "The Tonight Show." He's played jazz with Oscar Peterson. 

And he played the Oscar winning score to Schindler's List, the multi-award winning Holocaust epic. To this day, it may be the music with which he's most identified.

"I feel so lucky that I was able to do that," Perlman says. 

"It's like I got a present, being involved in that film. I play the theme from Schindler's List and no matter where I go – and I'm talking about, no matter where I go – that's what people want to hear. Last time I was in China and Japan, the first thing they said is, 'Can you play the theme from Schindler's List?' Can you imagine that? It's almost become like my anthem. The people always want to hear it."

Here’s an ironic twist: My family-friend/physician connection “Uncle” Max proudly claimed a true family connection to Chaim and Shoshana, Itzhak’s parents. Maximilian Perlman was also sent to this country from Poland before he could be persecuted. My memory is that his parents did not immigrate and perished as a result. 

TGIM TAKEAWAY: We are all related. We are all connected. Our histories are intertwined in complex and amazing ways and, if we are to successfully move forward in this world we must realize that we all must do it together. 

That’s at the heart of my sharing this “brush with greatness” tale. Being open and sharing our stories and making them personal helps make them more real. Learning from and teaching one another is essential. 

I don’t mean to tell you what to think. But I’m not just fiddlin’ around.

I just wanted to involve you.

 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. So isn’t it a bit embarrassing that maestro Itzhak Perlman was once identified as Sugar Plum? Well, in the spirit of telling our stories to better our understanding, you’ll note that he shared the moniker and he doesn’t mind if we know it. In fact, he adds, “When I was younger, it was more appropriate. Now you can call me Sugar Watermelon.”

Thank Goodness It's Monday #406

FABLES FOR OUR TIME:

USING STORIES

TO TELL YOUR STORY EFFECTIVELY

It’s an idea of legendary proportions. Most philosophies and religions use illustrations and parables to grab attention and help make a complex ethical/philosophical message more concrete.

Aesop’s Fables, originating in the 5^th Century BCE come immediately to mind.

 

The Ant and the Grasshopper. The Fox and the Grapes. The Lion and the Mouse. 
 

Get the point of those illustrations?

 

Not the fine Milo Winter illustrations at the right from his 1919 edition of Aesop’s Fables. Rather the Fables themselves. Just their titles, two or three key words, bring both the stories and their lessons to mind.

 

TGIM Takeaway: The right example -- object lesson, case in point, anecdote, fable, parable; call it what you will – can be worth ten thousand words of lengthy explanation. (Up to this parenthetical point the word count here is only 120, but you’ve got a pretty big picture, right?.)

Or consider the biblical parables. All 64 of them. Those vivid illustrations gave life to Christian teachings. And, says the New Testament, these parables helped those who were responsive to Jesus “hear Him gladly.” They’ve survived for nearly 2,000 years and are routinely cited today.

Your move: Whether giving a speech or a talk or simply making an important point in informal conversation, a story that provides an example can have more impact than all the dry facts and statistics you can muster.

So here are some TGIM pointers for effectively using stories that will get you to a place where listeners hear you gladly:

► Pick your shots. Some people, when they latch on to a good illustration, use it so often it quickly loses its punch. But few “classic” anecdotes need to be told that much that immediately.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Tell your tale to make a point that’s appropriate, not simply to tell the story. Maybe even wait for the right opportunity to share your story. That means the right audience, at the right moment, in the right mood.

► Practice, practice, practice … Like shows bound for Broadway or even a celebrated comedian’s new laugh-getters, try new material out modestly before you take it to the big time.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Ask mentors, trusted advisors, perhaps friends and family members for constructive criticism. Then be guided by it. 

► … but seem spontaneous. Despite all your practice and any refining along the way, try to relate the anecdote without sounding as though you’re reciting it from memory.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Every time you tell a tale, enjoy it as much as you expect the audience to. Smile (when appropriate, of course) to help conceal the fact that you’ve committed the material to memory.

► Funny is a relative thing. Be very careful about what you present as funny. While some comedians earn big paydays with their outraged and outrageous views, unless you intend to make a career change, shun most humor as controversial. You may be surprised at how “incorrect” some seemingly innocuous tales can be.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: To insure the light touch, go for the smile, not the big guffaw. To test for offensiveness, substitute another gender, race, religion, or ethnic origin in any story you think is funny. (Aesop’s Fables substituted animals for humans and thus Aesop – a slave -- could not be accused of offending any of his human “betters.”)

Added point: If you make yourself the focus of a comical anecdote, you’re least likely to offend. Further, humor at your expense is often a good icebreaker, especially if your audience doesn’t know you well. It makes you seem more human and gives the assemblage a sense of how you view things before you begin hitting your really important points. But –

► No surprising starts. When a dialogue on a topic is firmly established or even heated and ongoing, you can probably jump in with your story to help make your case. But when you’re essentially cold, a little warm-up is probably wise.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Opening with an anecdote works best when it’s kept simple, such as how you came to be there or why you were invited to present to this particular audience.

So, about now you may be wondering –

Where do I find good illustrative stories? 

You could start with Aesop. There’s a lot to work with there. Or the biblical parables if they’re suitable for your audience. And connect with the other all-time  masters of the form such as Franklin or Twain or Emerson or … you get the idea. Histories and biographies of anyone you admire should also be fertile ground. 

And/or go more modern: Stay alert for anecdotal wisdom from the rich and famous among the living. They’re not always renowned for their bad behavior. Just be cautious that today’s celebrity hero isn’t fleeting or has feet of clay. Link to the desirable parts of their stories, not necessarily to the individuals themselves as total lifestyle role models.

Or, even better, in your search for good illustrative stories that are unique and new –

DO IT YOURSELF: Be an observer of life. Good material is all around. Watch people and how they interact with the problems and joys of daily life.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Think about what you see and use the lens of your unique experience to focus on the particular point you discover in the otherwise common events of life.

Even if you never share your observations with a wider audience, you’ll still have a story with a happy ending.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. Apollonius of Tyana, a 1st century CE philosopher, is recorded as having said about Aesop:

... like those who dine well off the plainest dishes, he made use of humble incidents to teach great truths, and after serving up a story he adds to it the advice to do a thing or not to do it. Then, too, he was really more attached to truth than the poets are; for the latter do violence to their own stories in order to make them probable; but he by announcing a story which everyone knows not to be true, told the truth by the very fact that he did not claim to be relating real events.”