A Renters World

Think about the last time you actually bought a CD. What about a DVD? A book? Computer software? Did you get something physical like a disc or a book or did it have a file extension like .mp3, .mov of .exe? In the digital age, we we actually own is shrinking believe it or not. I know we feel like we buy a lot of "stuff," but how much of it do we really own? I remember when music came on a cassette and you could take that cassette from the house to the car. Movies were on VHS, Nintendo had cartridges and every book I had was colored in courtesy of my sister.

Now I am older, a bit wiser and richer? Do I have anymore? Well lets see. I have a nice tv thats connected to the internet. And look what I have here.

With my TV, I can connect to VuDu, Youtube, Pandora and Netflix. The sounds and images all come steaming into my living room with a slight buffering icon. I enjoy what's on the tube but do I own that movie I am watching? Do I own that song I am listening too? Well..... not really. I pay for a service or its already free but the files are hosted elsewhere. So if I wanted to share a movie with a friend lets say, I'd have to hope they had the Netflix streaming service. Gone are the days where waiting for the latest video release ment going to the store at midnight to by the DVD. Now, we anxiously wait in our cleverly built and expensive "home theaters" for the movie to come through the internet.

Same way with music. Tower Records was once the leader in music stores. Getting a Tower Records in your neck of the woods as akin to finally getting that Olive Garden or Target if you live in Lawton. It was a BIG deal. However, as musical downloads progressing, these stores could not keep up . In 2001, the giant had over 200 stores in 21 states and one billion in annual revenues. three years later, they entered chapter 11 bankruptcy court. The culprit? Discount stores, music piracy and digital downloads. Here's the full story

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/09/entertainment/main599008.shtml

Another example? Blockbuster video. Blockbuster was the video leader and now they have filed for bankruptcy and are still trying to figure out how to compete with segment leader Netflix.

As we continue to use our phones and mobile devices, the downward spiral of traditional media

will only accelerate. The cost is less than having to produce real physical items. But what happens if you lose your device? Your computer crashes? You have no record, no trace of all of this media. It can cause quite a frustration and embarrassment

So what are your thoughts? Are we too dependent on this technology or is the money and resources saved worth the risk of losing it all?

Perfection

Have you ever found yourself busier than you can ever imagine, aimlessly wading through a sea of work, school, family, friends, relationships, extra curricular activities, and finally our free time. I can't speak for everyone one but sometimes I just feel like I'm on auto pilot. Most of the time, I strive for perfection though. Who wouldn't want to be the person that pulls of everything with ease? 20 page paper due by Friday? Spending an entire weekend of un-interupted time with family, friends and others? Learn a new skill over a long weekend?

It all sounds amazing and something that I think all of of think about from time to time. Anymore, our lives have become less about what we get out of things and more about how many things we can CRAM in.

For some I think the reason that we do are we are looking to fulfill or prove ourselves. A person whom is busy and accomplishes a lot can feel that sense of accomplishment because they have a list of tasks that they can point too. Another reason could be competition. We want to prove that we can do as much if not more than someone else. There's a third party that kind of melds the two and these people are the weirdest of all; those who simply like being busy. I fall into this category. I enjoy the rush of always having something to do and sometimes I measure myself against others that way. What does this have to do with perfection you might ask?

When you do all the things you do, you naturally strive for perfection. You want to do everything right. Here's the issue though. Aside from a few rare group of individuals, we can't get everything right. Somethings will fall through the cracks. Yet we will tear ourselves up over trying to get everything right. We are afraid of failing in anyway.

The sad thing is, that the harder we try some times, the more we go backward. I'll admit it, I'm a perfectionist. I want things to go perfect everytime, say the perfect thing and so forth. I learned a valuable lesson this past weekend. You can't make everything perfect. That perfect time, response, place or setting. In every day life, we may get that moment once in a life time. In movies in happens all the time. The group in a disaster movie is spared at the last moment, the drama movie has that perfect line and who can forget the couple where one opens the door after a fight and the other has come back, its raining and they make up? See, we are conditioned to believe that life can lived this way and we try amazing hard to do so. But you can't, you just have to live life. You can drive people, opportunities and real life away by this pursuit of perfection. I did.

Hero's

Hero's are something most of us have. They are the people that we look up too because of the things they have done or the way they live their life. Its something strong enough that we want to emulate it. When we're little our heroes are usually people like our parents, astronauts, super hero's and the like. Some of those stay the same as we grow up but some pop up in the field that we're interested in. Since I figured out that I wanted to be a broadcaster, there have been 4 guys I have looked up too. Each one has taught me about a different aspect of the business that is key. Ironically, it's four major things; 1.Gravitas. 2. Choice of words. 3. Painting a picture and 4. Always ready.

Here are my heroes and what they taught me.


1. Gravitas: Ken Squire





Yeah the video is kinda kitchy but the voice of Squire lends credibility and a certain sense of history to the video. The voice is unlike any other. For many years, Squire was the voice of NASCAR. He called the first race that was broadcast live, flag to flag. It was the 1979 Daytona 500, the race made famous by the last lap brawl. Ever since then, he has been a part of several memorable moments on and off the track. Its the tone and pitch of the voice that always catches me and still does to this day. It makes you sit up and listen


2. Choice of words: Mike Joy





There are moments that are itched in your mind that last forever. I was 9 years old, watching my first Daytona 500 when the magical moment happened. After 20 years of trying, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. I remember many things about that day but I remember Mike Joy's words more than anything. It was the perfect way to describe what was happening. It still gives me chill's to this day just watching it. I know for many other fans, those words are also extremely memorable.


3. Painting a picture: Mitch Holthus



One of my first memories as a kid was listening to Mitch Holthus, the "Voice of the Chiefs," describing the "Sea of Red at Arrowhead." We used to listen to a lot of the Chiefs games on the radio and one thing that I always remembered was the way Holthus painted a great mental image. He describes everything and makes sure that all the folks listening on the radio feel connected. In radio, I've learned that the most important job is painting that great mental image to help the audience feel apart of what you are doing on the radio.



4. Always Ready: David Crawford



The last lesson I learned was from someone who actually gave me my start in radio. David Crawford really helped me learn the ropes and ways of radiobut the one thing I always admired about him was his ability to just pick up a microphone and go. He's an absolute pro at it. He's always ready with something to say and has a rare ability to work a crowd. It's not easy but its like a switch flips on inside of him and he just goes at it and has tremendous success with it.

So these are my heroes and this is what they have taught me. Now its time for some interaction. Comment back on your heroes and what they have taught/done for you.

Timing

Timing. It's something that affects our everyday life; short and long term wise. Yet it's something we can't change. We go about our days, live them as best we can and things just happen. You get offered a job, you fall in love, etc. etc. etc. Do all of these events occur when we want? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Most of the time, life is chaotic enough and these opportunities present even more of a challenge.

So do you take it or not? Until recently I approached this situation with the mentality that if the right opportunity came along, I'd just toss it in the mix and I'd figure out how to make it work as we go. Flying be the seat of my pants tended to work out pretty well; at least until I could come up with a plan. Recently though, I've learned the value though of timing. Whether it was a person or a job or a step in life, the time at which these things come into your life determines whether it will work or not. Think about it, you can't take a dream job while you're still in school, you can't be with a person whose on a different page than you. We all have to face it, sometimes you may have the perfect situation, but the timing says it's not feasible. No matter how hard you try to make it work, believe it works and trust in it, it simply will not work. I think it's hard for some people to understand, myself included. I'm a "fixer" by nature. If there is a problem, I want to fix it and move on. For most of my life, I have been able to call the shots and fix things accordingly on my watch. Lately, I've learned that not everything can be handled that way. It's been tough to realize that there are simply things that are beyond my control. There are beyond anyone's control. This is where timing comes in; if all the small intangibles are not aligned perfectly, then something that should work on paper, doesn't in the real world.

There's nothing you can do about it. As powerless as you feel, you have to let go or you have to learn to wait. It's a tough lesson to learn (believe me, patience is not my strong suite) but a necessary one in order to be successful. I love racing analogies so try this one on for size. You may have a car strong enough to the win the race but if you go out and use up everything you have in the first 20 of a 400 lap race, you've got nothing for the long run. What do you do? Back off, adapt to what's going on and when the race gets a little closer to the end, then you can try a little harder.

Given what I know now, there are a few situations that have occurred lately that I wish I would've handled differently but I didn't know any better. Sadly, I think somethings might be gone for good. Learning to wait for the proper timing is sometimes the most difficult lesson of all and one I wished I had grasped sooner.