Archive for category Personal Insights
Formula 1 Friday: in four words, go see this movie
Posted by LoisMarketing in Formula 1, Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on August 12, 2011
Writing for F1B — better known as www.Formula1Blog.com — has left “Formula 1 Friday” a bit neglected here. I bring it back to life today to do something I rarely do: recommend a movie.
Several of my friends are true movie aficionados, champs of movie trivia, followers of the stars, the Oscars, the latest releases in theaters and on Netflix … but that’s not me. I enjoy catching a good movie — or even a so-so movie for a great “escape” — every once in a while but I’m not a regular moviegoer.
With that in mind, I have a hard time recalling the last movie I absolutely had to see. And I certainly cannot remember the last time I told anyone that I had discovered a movie they should see. Then along came “Senna”.
Those of you who know me through social media, or have roamed around this blog a bit, know that I am a Formula 1 racing fan. For those of you who know me in real life, that thought brings a chuckle and a shake of the head, I know. Speaking of great escapes, during Formula 1 season you’ll find me perched on the arm of my couch with coffee in hand watching a race from somewhere clear around the world at o’dark thirty on a Sunday morning.
Many of you know that I will always carry a torch for a Formula 1 driver who, sadly, the world lost too soon: Ayrton Senna. Not only was he a great escape to follow as a racing driver, I came to appreciate him as a cute and quirky personality — and also a generous and caring young man — off the circuit and outside the car.
In many totally unexpected ways, I’ve come to know several of Ayrton’s friends and family. It’s interesting how life happens. In writing for Formula 1 Blog I have had the honor to come to know Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey, the director and producer of “Senna”. Asif and Manish chose to tell Ayrton’s story in Ayrton’s own words, and in those of his contemporaries, as well as in actual footage of races and family films. For you Formula 1 fans, it’s classic F1 on the big screen and more. For you film ‘ficionados note that it won a major award at Sundance. There’s plenty of action for those who want action, and there’s something much deeper for everyone. I watched the film with a critical eye, not so much as a Senna fan but as someone watching for a more meaningful, not-just-vintage-footage, capture of a special life.
Friends, go see this movie.
“Senna” premieres in the USA today and opens for special engagements in many American cities throughout the month. Check out www.sennamovie.com for the trailer and theater information.
I’ll warn you of one thing: tuck away a Kleenex or two. Or grab an extra napkin or two — or three — with your bucket of popcorn. You’ll need them.
Go and discover — or rediscover — classic Formula 1.
Go and be inspired.
Go meet Ayrton.
Formula for success: the power of your doormat
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on August 8, 2011
A doormat is an amazing thing. Put yours to good use.
For more than to scrape off the literal mud, sand, grass clippings and general unwelcome stuff of your yard and neighborhood as you step inside each evening.
Use it — and take time — to scrub off the unwelcome stuff of your business day before you put key into lock and enter.
Also use it to scrape off the distractions, quarrels, bills and other mindless — or very mindful — stuff as your head out each morning.
Keep the two very separate. Don’t mix business with home life. And don’t mix home life with business.
Your doormat is your best barrier. Scrape it off .. each time you step there. Brush off what will distract you from being the best for your family. Then brush off what will distract you from being the best for your company.
Doormats are the best sole — and soul — cleaner for life’s journey. “Welcome” home … and “welcome” world.
Make it a great day … in every way!
The entrepreneur’s tool box: a gift that keeps on giving
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on April 15, 2011
You have a heart for something. If you have a heart, you do. Is it your son’s Little League team? A wish for new programs at your daughter’s school? Is it your church or synagogue? Has your family been touched by cancer? Or perhaps another serious illness or rare disorder? Have a heart for Haiti, Japan and other areas hit by disaster?
As you give money and volunteer your time to the causes you care about, remember to also lend your voice .. or at least your fingers .. too. Volunteer more time and promote fundraisers, share news and commend efforts through social media. As you chat with friends, post family photos or promote your business, don’t forget to promote other things that are close to your heart.
Suddenly “lending a hand” will take on a whole new meaning!
A great way to start the day …
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on April 14, 2011
This morning I opened an email from my aunt and immediately wanted to share the message with my friends. Rarely does she forward a note that she’s received so I knew it would be good. It was. I’m sorry I do not know the original author of this as I would like to acknowledge them.
I hope this touches you and starts your day in the special way it started mine …
“As I woke up this morning I lay in bed wondering ‘what are the secrets to success in life’?
I found the answers right there in my room …
the Fan said ‘be cool’,
the Ceiling said ‘aim high’,
the Window said ’see the world’,
the Clock said ‘remember every moment is precious’,
the Mirror said ‘reflect before you act’,
the Calendar said ‘be up-to-date’,
the Door said ‘push hard for your goals’,
and then
the Carpet said ‘kneel down and pray’.
“Carry a Heart that never hates.
Carry a Smile that never fades.
Carry a Touch that never hurts.”
Have a wonderful, purposeful and successful day!
Hope, kindness … and a connection
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on March 23, 2011
Early this morning, our world lost a beautiful, generous and spirited person in Elizabeth Taylor. Not only glamorous in her earlier years as an actress before the many illnesses and heartbreak set in, but beautiful in spirit and commitment as she battled her health problems — and battled for the causes she found important and valuable.
One of her lasting quotes will be “It’s all about hope, kindness and a connection with one another.”
Again, a reminder of the importance of real — and lasting — connections.
Thank you, Elizabeth. For what you gave us. In oh, so many ways.
What a difference a few moments … and two letters … can make
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights on March 12, 2011
Along with many throughout the world I’ve tried to wrap my head, heart and thoughts around the emerging tragedy and scares in Japan. I awoke to rattling windows in my condo Friday morning — thankfully it was only due to a gust of wind — then turned on the TV to see the first feeds and cell phone captures of Japan’s strongest earthquake on record.
Soon after came the amazing and chilling views of the tsunami wiping out homes and an airport, leaving a tangled mess of shattered homes, cars, trucks, boats and aircraft several miles inland.
We are hearing initial reports of the dead, the missing, the townships that were there but now gone. To add to the tragedy and the fright, we are hearing tonight of a possible meltdown at a nuclear power plant.
Yes, a meltdown. On top of that the thought that tens of thousands are dead and missing.
Wow.
The reports from the regions, the towns, the communities. Better known as they translate to English, the “prefectures”.
Tonight a popular celebrity on Twitter posted that she was watching a movie and enjoying a “prefect Saturday” with her brother. I could not help but smile at the typo, understand it — and embrace it.
After all, many of us are experiencing and sharing a “prefect” Saturday with her.
It causes us to think back to Saturday a week ago … when life was — or seemed — perfect.
If it wasn’t perfect at least we could deal with it. Or were trying to.
Then suddenly “perfect” became “prefect” … for the entire world.
A snow day …
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on January 10, 2011
There is nothing quite like snow and ice to cause Atlantans to slow down, relax and “chill” (pun intended). My home city is closed today due to winter weather — and I must say that it is a good thing.
I have tried to work but there is a beautiful winter wonderland outside my window. I am distracted and it is okay. I will stop, enjoy the view and stretch a bit creatively. I cannot remember the last time I wrote Haiku — perhaps the most challenging yet relaxing form of writing that exists. This is a day for Haiku.
Here is my celebration of today, of snow, and of God telling me that I should take a break from my everyday world to enjoy His world:
Snow and hungry birds
Gather outside my window
- I watch, sipping soup.
I open the door
My dear feathered friends have food
Scattered now on snow.
Many birds gather
As the snow is now ending
Winter can be kind.
A holiday wish …
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on December 20, 2010
It is amazing how this year has flown by. Christmas 2010 is here and it seems that Christmas 2009 was only yesterday. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season. Whatever your beliefs or circumstance may be, I hope you will take time to rediscover yourself. Yes, I am going to enjoy my Christmas tree, fireplace and favorite music. But my favorite tradition is to venture out one evening, escape city lights and go to a wonderful spot where I can become lost among the stars ….
As I take a holiday break from my blog I leave you with a special message. The lyrics of a beautiful song, “My Grown Up Christmas List”, by David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner. It is my letter to Santa — and my wish for all of us — this year:
Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee,
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies ….
Well, I’m all grown-up now —
Can you still help somehow?
I’m not a child, but my heart still can dream
So here’s my lifelong wish,
My grown-up Christmas list,
Not for myself, but for a world in need.
No more lives torn apart,
And wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end —
This is my grown-up Christmas list
What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth ….
No more lives torn apart,
And wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
Everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win
And love would never end —
This is my grown-up Christmas list.
This is my grown-up Christmas list –
This is my only lifelong wish —
This is my grown-up Christmas list.
This Thanksgiving …
Posted by LoisMarketing in Personal Insights, Sales/Marketing/Public Relations on November 24, 2010
I will hug and love my Mom and Dad .. and think of those spending the first Thanksgiving without their Mom. Their Dad. Their child.
I will be grateful that my Mom and Dad are a drive away .. and think of those enduring body scans, pat downs and other unpredictable adventures at the airport — just so that they can travel to see their Mom and Dad.
I will pray for wisdom and sensibility for our President. Our national, state and local leaders. The Homeland Security Administration. And the TSA.
I’ll pray that we can flash back to this post during Thanksgiving 2011 and laugh. Laugh because we overreacted. I pray that we will not cry because we missed true threats and real opportunities to protect our country and our world. God help us.
I will pray that — above all — He will guide us as we guard our freedom. And the freedom of others.
I will treasure time with my sisters and brothers .. and think of my friend who will hold vigil at the beside of her sister — a young woman left in an endless coma and vegetative state by a drunk driver — and I’ll think of their parents as they seek peace — and a quiet Thanksgiving lunch — somewhere.
I will thank God for the dear men and women we have lost in Iraq and Afghanistan — and pray for those with empty seats at their dinner tables.
I will thank God for those who have sacrificed limbs, eyes — and perhaps so much more.
I will celebrate those who are cancer-free and remember those who have just received the dreaded news.
I will pray for children battling cancer — and their families — spending Thanksgiving where they would have never dreamed: in the wards of hospitals.
As I carve a cold turkey breast, I’ll celebrate with a friend who walked away from cigarettes ten years ago .. as she and I say prayers for those who cannot break the chain and quit “cold turkey” — under their own power.
And I’ll pray that those who cannot break the other chains in their lives will meet the One who can.
May we each pray: For where I am now and where You will take me … Thank You. And thank You for filling my life with family, friends and blessings beyond measure.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Formula 1 Friday: one season, one word — amazing
Posted by LoisMarketing in Formula 1, Personal Insights on September 16, 2010
Early one Sunday morning in September 2008, I made coffee, then — after hesitating for just a moment — turned on the TV and settled in to watch the Italian Grand Prix.
It was my return to a sport and the wonderful weekend escape I had once loved. On the night of May 1, 1994, I had shut off the TV and shut off Formula 1. I did not watch it, read about it or care to know anything about it — until that morning in 2008 when I realized something.
I missed Monza.
That morning I watched a blond kid named Sebastian Vettel become the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix. I fast-forwarded through the previous fourteen-plus years, trying to take in all of the new technology and car design as well as the new stars and new rules. I felt like I had caught a ride in a time machine. Then the fixtures of the FIA appeared along the way, with glimpses of Bernie, Flavio, Ross and Sir Frank on the grid. All a little grayer. Another reality check.
Yes, it was 2008. And I realized I was ready to follow Formula 1 again.
After thinking that I must be the only Formula 1 fan living in NASCAR country I found a community of friends and fellow fans around the world through Twitter and Facebook. Adding to my renewed love for all things Grands Prix, I enjoyed chatting with my “Formula 1 friends” on Twitter during race broadcasts. I was reminded that nothing brings the world closer than love of sport, whether it be Wimbledon, the World Cup, the Olympics or Formula 1.
Here I am — or I should say — here we are on the home stretch of the 2010 season. No matter how long you have followed Formula 1 you must rank this as one of the best seasons ever. We are a week away from the Singapore Grand Prix, one of only five races remaining on the calendar. Five races to go and five drivers are within 24 points of each other. McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari battling for the Constructors’ Championship. 2010 is already epic — and no doubt will conclude that way.
I am glad I turned on the TV that morning in 2008 and came back to Formula 1.
In my chats with fellow fans I’ve discovered that we all carry that feeling. It’s “that” twinge. Whether you are 16 or 60 you enjoy the Formula 1 of today and yesterday. There is that small ache of sadness for drivers and moments that have passed into history. But it is quickly overcome by the sounds and the spirit of another showdown. My wish is that the moments always be there but may there never be another driver, team member or fan lost.
With the new technology I appreciate that safety now blends with speed and excitement. As fans, we catch a collective breath and life moves in slow motion when tires break from tethers and cars go airborne. When “Red Bull gives you wings” takes on a whole new meaning. We laugh about that later. But, at the moment, we gasp. And we realize the sport does not come without that measure of risk and danger.
May the new generation of Formula 1 fans enjoy the sport’s nostalgia and history as I do.
But may “that” twinge not come from loss of life.
May it instead come from realizing there was never a season quite like 2010.
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Sales and marketing diva, avid Georgia Bulldog football and Formula 1 fan, writer, artist and gardener.
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