Marshall Ramsey

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.

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:

Just 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.

TUESDAY IS TEST DAY! Remember —  I don’t give makeups. You write a term paper on the impact of Social Media if you miss tomorrow. (it’s in the syllabus).  If you studied last Thursday’s post, you’ll do fine on the test. The test is 25 questions. Be on time.

And be thinking about our friends at Delta State.

People ask me if my kids draw. They don’t. They are amazingly talented young men — but not with my talent. And I couldn’t be more proud. Why? Because I am watching them chase their passions with guts and energy. And I’m watching them succeed. Oh, they’re all very creative. They just haven’t picked up a pencil. With them, it’s about music, engineering, math, writing, athletics and comedy. I couldn’t be more proud. Because it ain’t about me. I have my talent and I’ll continue to chase it. But part of my mission is to make sure my boys find theirs. That’s what being a parent is truly about.

We had our chairs in a circle, almost like they were Old West Wagons circled for our protection. Tuesday I had lectured from the podium — and I’ll admit, I bored myself. So today, I thought I’d try something different. I told my students they’d be teaching my class today.

That’s not what happened. But like good Social Media, it became a discussion. We talked about the information that will be on Tuesday’s test. And as we talked, it happened — it was a breakthrough of sorts.

I realized my students were me 24 years ago.

They’re Mass Comm students. Each has their own dream — one wants to be a PR expert. One a television performer. One a radio host. One wants to make documentary films. But what we all have in common is that crazy dream –– That gnawing itch that keeps us from being happy in a 9 to 5 job. I told them that at times I envied my friends who are doctors or accountants. Not because what they do is easy (I couldn’t do it) but because their (very difficult) path was laid out for them.

Our path is more nebulous.

My dream was a job where there were less than 200 positions in the country. Now, I probably could count the number of full-time editorial cartoonists on my digits. There was no path for me to follow. It was trial and lots of errors. I fumbled and stumbled. That’s why I worked as a janitor. But I moved and enjoyed great experiences. That’s why I worked in Texas and California.

But like a compass always finds North, I found my dream. And l like I told my students today, that dream is ethereal and always changing. People say you must always keep learning. I learned that you also much always be changing. And it has changed me for the better.

Chasing a dream will do that. And as their professor, I vow to help them find their path like I did so many years ago.