The Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 12 We’re the Stories We Tell

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

inchwormWe’re the stories we tell.

I was reminded of that this morning as I was inch-worming across the football field. When I participated in my first bootcamp, the inch-worm was my nemesis. I just couldn’t do them. I knew I’d never get any better at them. And I didn’t for a long, long time. You know why? I was convinced I sucked at them. So I did.

Then I changed my story I was telling myself — and now I’m one the fastest inch-wormer on the field. One thing doing PLS has taught me — once you get your mind out of the way, your body can do amazing things.

Let me repeat that: Once you get your mind out of the way, your body can do amazing things.

But you have to change your story. And that’s hard. First you have to figured out what your story is going to be. Then you have to attack it will gusto. That’s even harder. Change is scary. I know first hand.

I caught up with a couple of friends lately. Both had been laid off from their dream jobs a few years ago. One has recovered and is thriving. The other, well, he’s not doing so well. I listened to their stories about how the past seven years have treated them. The one who is failing was still a martyr. He got screwed. It’s not fair. He’d given up hope. I’d put my kids’ meager college fund on the line to say his life won’t get better.

Why? His story is that he is a victim. Being a victim won’t take you very far.

Do I think he has a right to be angry? Hell, yes. I have a few scars myself and I get where he’s coming from. But being pissed off won’t do him any good. He has to change his story.

My second friend struggled at first but eventually found a new job. It wasn’t perfect for him, but he busted his butt and other doors began to open up. I asked him about his layoff and he said. “Yeah, it sucked. But quickly realized it was a blessing in disguise. It forced me out of my comfort zone and got me busy.” He did get busy and his life is better than it was seven years ago.

I felt myself sitting up straighter as I listened to him. That’s the story I want to hear. It’s the storyI want to tell.

I look back at my failures over the past few years. They are all mine. I own them. I didn’t cause some of them initially — but my poor reaction to them allowed them to fester. I’ve succeeded when I owned up to my mistakes and attacked. I’ve failed when I became a martyr.

That was food for thought as I inch-wormed across the football field at 5 a.m. I have stories I need to change. I will do just that. One inch-worm at a time.

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Social Media Campaign

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

The secret of promoting on social media is creating a campaign that doesn’t seem like a campaign. You have to have the classic advertising maxims involved (three to five insertions of an add to get attention — something I learned back in the stone ages). But you also have to give your target market content that is relevant and engaging. How does what you post matter to them?  If fact there are several others you must ask yourself before you begin (and during your campaign):

  1. Is my content engaging?
  2. What platforms would be the most effective?
  3. What content would work best on each platform? (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, YouTube, SnapChat — you get the point.)
  4. What frequency should I post?
  5. What hashtag should I use?
  6. Should I mix in traditional media?
  7. How long will my campaign need to last?
  8. How can I get people to share my content?
  9. How can I engage my audience?
  10. Who is my market?

In the old days, you’d try to raise awareness.  Today, you have to engage people or they won’t pay attention.

11011937_10156002822140721_722444481967717199_oIn 43 days, I launch my book, Chainsaws & Casseroles. Not only am I the audience, but I am also the publisher (I own a small company that publishes my books). That means I have to all the work before I can reap the rewards. I will share with you my social media marketing plan.

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

For me, the process of planning is what makes the difference. Like war, once we started, things change. But today, I will work through my plan and help you set up yours.

Be thinking about what you are going to promote. We will do this project for four weeks and it will be a big part of your participation grade.

Also, on  Sept. 29, we will have a field trip to the Mississippi Museum of Art for a social media/MPB event.  I am also working on getting details put together for a quick visit to the Clarion-Ledger. I’ll give you details on Thursday, Sept. 24.

 

 

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The Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 11 The secret of success.

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

Woody Allen, the famous director and husband of Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, once said “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” I will add an addition to that — “One hundred percent of failure is not showing up.” (Unless you were late to board the Titanic of course).

Last night, I drove in from Atlanta. It was a long, emotional day and I was exhausted from the seven-hour drive (thanks Atlanta rush hour). I finally fell asleep at midnight. When my alarm went off at 3:55 a.m., I felt dizzy from my lack of sleep — but I got up anyway. I went to my PLS bootcamp and pushed myself through my fatigue.

I could have slept another hour. I’m not sure it would have done me much good, though. But I know the workout did. Because it proved to me that I can push through fatigue. And it shows me that I can show up on time and get the job done — even when I’m exhausted mentally and physically.

That’s huge.

We are entering an economy where no one cares if you are tired. They don’t care if you don’t feel like being there. If you aren’t there one time and ready to go, the person hiring you will replace you with someone who is there and ready to go. I try to stress that to my kids. And I try to stress that to my students.

If you are a dreamer, you have to learn how to perform when you are half-asleep. This morning I did. I showed up. And I’m thankful for it.

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Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 10 — The Long Run

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

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Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 10 — The Long Run

The alarm went off at 5:30 and I hit the road at 6:15 for a leisurely long run. My legs and body felt strong but I had a slight burn in my left IT Band. That’s from tight back and leg muscles — mainly from sitting on my butt all day. I stopped and stretched a few times. I also took a bunch of pictures because the sunrise was particularly stunning.

I did something today that I couldn’t have done 30 years ago — I ran 13.1 miles. That’s worthy of note. Getting old is in the mind. Yes, there are days when I feel my chronological age. But for the most part, I feel better now than I did when I was 25.

So here are a few of the things I saw today:
1. An alligator. He probably was eight-feet long and was floating out near the boat docks near Cock of the Walk. I waved. He smiled back.
2. The sunrise. I mean the exact moment when the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. I caught a photo of it as it winked at my favorite oak tree.
3. Several friends out on the trail. Jackson has a great running community.
4. An egret.
5. A man sitting on the shoreline meditating and praying.
6. More of the shoreline. The Reservoir is down quite a bit because of the drought.
7. A lone sailboat sail toward the sun.
8. A deer running through the woods.
9. The world slowly wake up.
10. My smile from the satisfaction that I ran a half marathon in training today.

13.1 miles. Not bad for an old man. Not bad for a guy who’s going to stick around for the long run.

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Smooth Stones

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

179196622_XSI sat this morning and talked with a good friend about bad times. We both have a plateful of challenges; the discussion was a cathartic experience for both of us.

Look around. Everyone around you has trouble in their lives. As they say, the only people who don’t have problems are in the graveyard. It’s what you do with the challenges that makes the difference. Do you whine about them? Do you face them head-on like a mariner would a storm?

I choose to allow my problems to change me for the better. Stones don’t become smooth in calm waters. I also promise to find joy and pay it forward.

I can only control what I can control. And my attitude is right at the top of the list.

It’s all about smooth stones.

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The Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 9 — The Endurance Run

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey
I feel a certain pride in this field. It's where I bust my butt every morning.

I feel a certain pride in this field. It’s where I bust my butt every morning.

The Endurance Run is one of my favorite things we do at my PLS bootcamp. It’s 50+ minutes of perpetual motion. You start with quick-three foot ladders laid out over 100 yards down the football field. Then you go back down the field doing high knees, crab walks and hopscotch. Then you go back up the field shuffling through dummies, then bear crawling for 20 yards. Then you sprint forward and backwards through a zig-zag of cones to the end zone. When you’re done on the field, you run the stairs of the stadium. When finished, you run past the stadium and do 20 pushups. Now this is where is got interesting: We then ran the loop road around Madison Central High School (we only did it once). I don’t know how far it was but it was probably 3/4 of a mile at least. We then reentered the stadium and lifted 25 lb. plates over our heads and in front of us. We then ran to a set of hand weights and did 20 jumping jacks. We then did a lap on the track (1/4 miles), stopping once to do 10 burpees. Then we started it all over again.

There is no stopping. There is no resting. I completed it three times.

It was a perfect metaphor for today. I taught my class, wrote four ideas, drew one of them, taped a radio interview and then went to a photo shoot for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. I also returned several phone calls and sent some invoices. I’m about about to head to my son’s soccer game.

There is no stopping. There is no resting. I’m still trying to complete it.

One thing I learned when running a marathon is that you have to learn how to rest while you are moving. There are those moments — like when you are headed downhill — when you can allow your heart rate to lower a bit. Today, after my radio interview, I went outside and sat down on the curb of the radio station and made some calls. It was the first chance I had today to catch my breath. I took several deep breaths and felt a moment of peace.

Today’s Endurance Run was tough but excellent training for what I had ahead of me. Sometimes life is like that. You just have to learn how rest on the fly.

I’m just thankful I didn’t puke.

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Class Notes: September 16, 2015

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

On Tuesday, we’ll get our tests back, go over them and talk about an upcoming project. I’m planning a field trip for the 29th and will talk about what we’ll do on that day.  Also, We’ll start talking about the various platforms.  Our project will involve creating a Social Media campaign to promote something near and dear to us.  We’ll start with Twitter.

 

This is a great article from Mashable about the basics on Twitter.

Forbes gives us 31 tips for using Twitter.

And if 31 tips isn’t enough for you, here are 20 more tips.

Aw heck, here are even more Twitter tricks.

Let’s keep it under 200 — here are 50 more tips.

Adam Brown, former Social Media head for Coca Cola and Dell Computer, is a good follow. He’s now teaching at Carnegie Mellon University and is a consultant in Social Media. Here’s his Twitter Account. 

20 Twitter accounts to follow. 

 

Our hashtag is #jsusocialmedia. Use it so we can all see your tweets.

 

Last night, the CNN GOP Debate was a Twitter Event. Here are my Tweets from last night.

The Delta State Shooting was another example of the power of Social Media. Here’s coverage done right.  And here’s a powerful photo from the Delta State Instagram. 

Project:

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Bert the fighter

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

2Bert FordiceJust read that Bert Case’s body is free of Sepsis. That’s very good news and frankly, the miracle people have been hoping for. He is doing the medical equivalent of walking away after being hit by a freight train. He’s (obviously) still very, very weak and has a long journey ahead of him. But the fact that he has come this far shows his will to live is nothing short of amazing. My friend Angie Jordan, who’s dad happened to be Kirk Fordice, said in a comment on my page that Bert got to the Pearly Gates and Kirk threatened to whip his ass if he tried to come in. I believe that.

I continue to wish Bert, Mary and everyone else who loves them well. I pray for continued healing. And I chuckle at what a tough so-and-so Bert Case truly is.

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The Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 8 — the oil change.

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

 

My car has 123,000 miles on it. When it was six-months-old, it was shot while I was driving in Baton Rouge. The radiator was destroyed and the engine overheated. I got a new engine with less than 800 miles on the car.

Since then, it has been bulletproof. It’s a Honda CR-V, which is a very reliable car. But a big reason why it has served me so well is that I go the extra mile maintaining it. This morning, I got the oil changed once again. I will drive it to 200,000 and then it becomes my son’s car.

This morning, Coach Clark did another of his famous Clarkapalooza’s on us. We started with the Four-corner drill:
1. Run from the end zone . 2. Go 40 yards and then do two ladder drills. 3. Run to end zone. 4. Do 10 Burpees 5. Shuffle the width of the end zone 6. Do 20 mountain climbers. 7. Run. 8. Bear crawl 25 yards. 9. Run to next end zone. 10. Do 20 squat and touches. 11. Shuffle the end zone. 12. 20 jumping jacks. 13. Repeat. Then we went to the middle of the field.

There we chopped our feet and shuffled and retraced. Then we did high knees, jumping jacks and more chopping of our feet as we shuffled some more. Then we did a straight arm plank and did various leg exercises and moved sideways. We stayed in that position until our arms planked. And then we did a regular plank. From there we did core work and continued to sweat in the middle of the field. Then we ran up and down the stadium.

I did that twice. When we were finished, we went to the end zone and did one jumping jack on the five. Then we added one until we got to the next end zone — 100 yards away. From there, we did a wall-sit and waited as a medicine ball was passed up and down the line — twice. Then we turned around and ran against the wall. From there, we did motion drills (right, left, forward, back, hit it!) and we were done.

That was an hour of constant motion.

Why would I subject myself to such torture? If I want my body to last 200,000 thousand miles, I have to maintain it, too. It’s funny how we’ll fix our car but feed ourselves junk and sit on the couch. This morning was an oil change. And I’ll do it again tomorrow.

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The Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 7 — Get Your Mind Right.

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Marshall Ramsey

IMG_1202For me, my bootcamp is more than just getting stronger physically — it’s about training my brain. My 5 a.m. journey is a battle between the ears. It’s about shaping my motivation, will and attitude.

Somedays I fail. Somedays I succeed. But I’m fighting.

The Mayo Clinic’s website spells it out in black and white: “Research on anxiety, depression and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help reduce anxiety and improve mood.” How awesome is that?!? This morning, I felt my endorphins surge. By the time I ran off the field at 6 a.m., I felt 100% better than when I woke up. That improvement in mood is still with me an hour and a half later.

Plus, exercising to improve your mood has some awesome side effects: Stronger heart, better lungs, less fat, better sleep, more self confidence. And you look good. Well, you would look good. I look like a thinner version of me. But you get the point.

When I am out there challenging myself, I’m learning that my body can do things my mind thinks it can’t. I learn to push boundaries. I learn to overcome obstacles. I focus on what I need to do and learn to shut out the chatter in my brain.

And I get those endorphins. I love those endorphins.

Exercise is my drug and I’m an addict. But that’s OK. Like my late high school coach always said, it helps me get my mind right.

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