“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.”
— Sir Colin R. Davis,
London Symphony Orchestra Conductor
Sir Colin Rex DavisCHCBE (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.
As a teacher, Davis held posts at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and the Landesgymnasium für Musik “Carl Maria von Weber” (preparatory school for music) in Dresden. He made his first gramophone recordings in 1958, and his discography over the next five decades was extensive, with many studio recordings for Philips Records and a substantial catalogue of live recordings for the London Symphony Orchestra’s own label.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
— Winston S. Churchill,
Politician, Army officer, & Writer
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill[1] (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965)[2] was a British politician, army officer, and writer. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led the country to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, Churchill was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, as leader from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.
In honor of all the wonderful fathers that have impacted our lives, we are sharing thoughts from our own dads. These small pieces of wisdom were often repeated in our homes as we grew up and still serve as valuable reminders of lessons learned.
“You can be right, or you can be dead right.”
-Kristen Dyson’s father
“My dog ain’t in that hunt.”
-Eric Poerschke’s father
“Let it ride.”
-Tara Lockhart’s father
“The difference between a good day and a bad day is…attitude.”
-Eric Poerschke, father of three, coach of many & founder of NextLevel Thinking
— Muhammad Ali, Professional Boxer, Activist, and Philanthropist
Muhammad Ali born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
This is just one of many Muhammad Ali quotes. For 29 more of his most popular quotes, head over to USA Today.
On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In 1965, he helped organize the Selma to Montgomery marches. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty, capitalism, and the Vietnam War. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover considered him a radical and made him an object of the FBI’s COINTELPRO from 1963 on. FBI agents investigated him for possible communist ties, recorded his extramarital liaisons and reported on them to government officials, and, in 1964, mailed King a threatening anonymous letter, which he interpreted as an attempt to make him commit suicide.[1]
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
— Mr. Rogers, American TV Personality
At NextLevel Thinking, our team aspires to be helpers during this difficult time. Please let us know how we can serve you. We are lifting our colleagues, clients, country and world up in prayer as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Below you will find a list of resources to help you adjust to teleworking and to keep your children engaged as most schools have been cancelled:
Work Resources
Webex is offering free use of their online meeting platform.
Monday.com is hosting a Live Webinar on Remote Work.
“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser, salesman and photographer
What opportunities are you creating for your business and clients in 2020? Nextlevel Thinking can help position you to reach your goals this year and beyond!
“A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”
-John Wooden, Former UCLA Basketball Coach
Many of the players Coach Richardson impacted were on hand to celebrate the naming of the Nolan Richardson Basketball Court at the University of Arkansas last weekend. Next Level Thinking’s Founder, Eric Poerschke, played under Richardson his junior and senior years at Arkansas.
Congratulations Coach Richardson!
Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketballhead coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. Elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014,[7] Richardson coached teams to winning a Division I Basketball National Championship, an NIT championship, and a Junior College National Championship, making him the only coach to win all three championships. During his 22 seasons of coaching in NCAA Division I, Richardson made a post-season tournament appearance 20 times. Click here to read more about Coach Nolan Richardson, Junior.
Digital Advertising should be a focus of every strategic marketing plan due to the unprecedented growth in the industry. “This year will mark a major milestone in the world of advertising. For the first time, digital ad spending in the US will exceed traditional ad spending, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. By 2023, digital will surpass two-thirds of total media spending.”
Click here to read more on the subject via Emarketer.com and to find out who the surprising, “big winner” is in taking ad share from others in the US digital ad market.
Evan Esar (1899–1995) was an Americanhumorist who wrote Esar’s Comic Dictionary in 1943, Humorous English in 1961, and 20,000 Quips and Quotes in 1968.
“Easter is the only time when it’s perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket.”
We hope you have a blessed Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ with your loved ones. While we love Esar’s quote and it brings a bit of humor, we would be remiss if we did not share the most famous quote of The Bible for the Gospel of John:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Herb Kelleher, Co-Founder of Southwest Airlines, passed away on January 3, 2019. He was considered a pioneer in the aviation industry and one of the most transformative business leaders of all time. The tributes have poured out from employees, friends and other business leaders over the past month. The NextLevel Team “luvs” everything Kelleher stood for and is paying tribute to the great leader this month.
While there are several Herb Kelleher quotes that motivate and inspire us, we chose to feature the following as this month’s Thoughts the Count.
“It is my practice to try to understand how valuable something is by trying to imagine myself without it.” -Herb Kelleher
“Thousands of requests for speaking engagements, presidential commissions, legislative issues, and business meetings related to the airline industry all vied for Herb Kelleher’s time. But Herb’s priorities were always the people of Southwest Airlines. Ask Vickie Shuler, Herb’s executive assistant of 30 years, and she will tell you that Herb would not change his schedule if a business meeting came up that interfered with an employee event he promised to attend.”
“If you want to know what someone truly values watch the way they spend their money and their time. It’s easy for executives to say ‘people are our most important asset,’ but reallocating their time to support that statement is yet another story. During the filming of a customer service video, Tom Peters asked Herb what advice he would give other executives. Herb said, ‘Stop spending so much time with other CEOs, spend more time with your people.'”
This month we challenge you to consider where you place value and “luv” in your life. Consider both your personal and business relationships and take a moment to reflect on the legacy of Herb Kelleher.
“I once heard it said of man that the idea is to die young, as late as possible.” — {Former President George W. Bush in the eulogy for his father, President George H. W. Bush}
Former President George W. Bush delivered an emotional eulogy about his father, former president George H.W. Bush, during his funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington on December 5th.
The following is a transcript of his remarks, as distributed by George W. Bush’s office and lightly edited by The New York Times.
FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Distinguished guests, including our presidents and first ladies, government officials, foreign dignitaries, and friends: Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I, and our families, thank you all for being here.
I once heard it said of man that “the idea is to die young as late as possible.”
At age 85, a favorite pastime of George H.W. Bush was firing up his boat, the Fidelity, and opening up the three-300 horsepower engines to fly — joyfully fly — across the Atlantic, with Secret Service boats straining to keep up.
At 90, George H.W. Bush parachuted out of an aircraft and landed on the grounds of St. Ann’s by the Sea in Kennebunkport, Maine — the church where his mom was married and where he’d worshiped often. Mother liked to say he chose the location just in case the chute didn’t open.
In his 90’s, he took great delight when his closest pal, James A. Baker, smuggled a bottle of Grey Goose vodka into his hospital room. Apparently, it paired well with the steak Baker had delivered from Morton’s.
To his very last days, Dad’s life was instructive. As he aged, he taught us how to grow old with dignity, humor, and kindness — and, when the good Lord finally called, how to meet him with courage and with joy in the promise of what lies ahead.
One reason Dad knew how to die young is that he almost did it — twice. When he was a teenager, a staph infection nearly took his life. A few years later he was alone in the Pacific on a life raft, praying that his rescuers would find him before the enemy did.
God answered those prayers. It turned out he had other plans for George H.W. Bush. For Dad’s part, I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life. And he vowed to live every day to the fullest.
Dad was always busy — a man in constant motion — but never too busy to share his love of life with those around him. He taught us to love the outdoors. He loved watching dogs flush a covey. He loved landing the elusive striper. And once confined to a wheelchair, he seemed happiest sitting in his favorite perch on the back porch at Walker’s Point contemplating the majesty of the Atlantic. The horizons he saw were bright and hopeful. He was a genuinely optimistic man. And that optimism guided his children and made each of us believe that anything was possible.
He continually broadened his horizons with daring decisions. He was a patriot. After high school, he put college on hold and became a Navy fighter pilot as World War II broke out. Like many of his generation, he never talked about his service until his time as a public figure forced his hand. We learned of the attack on Chichi Jima, the mission completed, the shoot-down. We learned of the death of his crewmates, whom he thought about throughout his entire life. And we learned of his rescue.
And then, another audacious decision; he moved his young family from the comforts of the East Coast to Odessa, Texas. He and Mom adjusted to their arid surroundings quickly. He was a tolerant man. After all, he was kind and neighborly to the women with whom he, Mom and I shared a bathroom in our small duplex — even after he learned their profession — ladies of the night.
Dad could relate to people from all walks of life. He was an empathetic man. He valued character over pedigree. And he was no cynic. He looked for the good in each person — and usually found it.
Dad taught us that public service is noble and necessary; that one can serve with integrity and hold true to the important values, like faith and family. He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver’s soul. To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.
In victory, he shared credit. When he lost, he shouldered the blame. He accepted that failure is part of living a full life, but taught us never to be defined by failure. He showed us how setbacks can strengthen.
None of his disappointments could compare with one of life’s greatest tragedies, the loss of a young child. Jeb and I were too young to remember the pain and agony he and Mom felt when our 3-year-old sister died. We only learned later that Dad, a man of quiet faith, prayed for her daily. He was sustained by the love of the almighty and the real and enduring love of our mom. Dad always believed that one day he would hug his precious Robin again.
He loved to laugh, especially at himself. He could tease and needle, but never out of malice. He placed great value on a good joke. That’s why he chose Simpson to speak. On email, he had a circle of friends with whom he shared or received the latest jokes. His grading system for the quality of the joke was classic George Bush. The rare 7s and 8s were considered huge winners — most of them off-color.
George Bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. He honored and nurtured his many friendships with his generous and giving soul. There exist thousands of handwritten notes encouraging, or sympathizing, or thanking his friends and acquaintances.
He had an enormous capacity to give of himself. Many a person would tell you that Dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. He listened and he consoled. He was their friend. I think of Don Rhodes, Taylor Blanton, Jim Nantz, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and perhaps the unlikeliest of all, the man who defeated him, Bill Clinton. My siblings and I refer to the guys in this group as “brothers from other mothers.”
He taught us that a day was not meant to be wasted. He played golf at a legendary pace. I always wondered why he insisted on speed golf. He was a good golfer.
Well, here’s my conclusion: He played fast so that he could move on to the next event, to enjoy the rest of the day, to expend his enormous energy, to live it all. He was born with just two settings: full throttle, then sleep.
He taught us what it means to be a wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was firm in his principles and supportive as we began to seek our own ways. He encouraged and comforted, but never steered. We tested his patience — I know I did — but he always responded with the great gift of unconditional love.
Last Friday, when I was told he had minutes to live, I called him. The guy who answered the phone said, “I think he can hear you, but hasn’t said anything most of the day. I said, “Dad, I love you, and you’ve been a wonderful father.” And the last words he would ever say on earth were, “I love you, too.”
Digital Advertising should be a focus of every strategic marketing plan due to the unprecedented growth in the industry. “This year will mark a major milestone in the world of advertising. For the first time, digital ad spending in the US will exceed traditional ad spending, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. By 2023, digital will surpass two-thirds of total media spending.”
“How willing you are to make changes is directly dependent upon how motivated you are to get where you want to go.”
