At Least Try

In a 1975 movie called “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Jack Nicholson (McMurphy) plays a confident, vivacious guy who rebels against the rules of a mental hospital. (An allegorical setting for any powerful institution.)

In one very memorable scene, McMurphy attempts to lift an extremely heavy marble wash station, and for a moment, you get the impression that he just might do it. However, he doesn’t, and as he walks by the other patients, he shouts, “At least I tried!”  McMurphy refuses to accept the status quo, and teaches the other patients that it’s better to try and fail, than to accept this oppressive life.

In the end, McMurphy’s behavior was too much for the authorities who perform a lobotomy.  However, his inspiration was felt by inmate Chief Bromden, who picks up the wash station, smashing it through the window, finally escaping the bondage of the institution.

To me, the patients represented those of us in a life where others tell us “NO” so much, we don’t even try.

At least try……..



Are you a conformist?

Are you a conformist?

Flash back:  you’re ten years old, you and your friends all stand on the edge of the roof looking ten feet down into the leaf pile that seemed so big and fluffy on the ground.  After you jumped, you were thinking: I’m not following the crowd next time.

Today:  you’re fifty years old and you and your friends gaze at each other over a beer, sharing sad stories about pensions and 401k’s.  As the conversation ends, you’re thinking: I’m not following the crowd next time.

Now flash forward:  you’re eighty years old, having coffee and sharing your past with a new friend. Well?



Gran Turismo Omologato

On 10-31-10 all GM agreements with Pontiac dealers expire. The brand that gave us the Trans Am, the Catalina, and of course the GTO is done.  It was time, as a matter of fact, it was past time.  Holding on to the past is like boating with the anchor down. It restricts our creativity and shades our vision of the possibilities.   Pontiac died years ago, you could see it, no creativity, no love, no excitement. Getting older means we start to embrace the status-quo without realizing how damaging that is for our quality of life.  This is true whether we are talking about people or a car company.

Keep the memories, dump the ways, keep the spirit, dump the mindset.  Reinvent, change, evolve, embrace.

I loved the inspiration of the GTO in the 60s, the Gran Turismo Omologato.  “Ready to Race” was the meaning and race we did.

Come on, lets get out of the stands and back into the game.

Let’s go racing!