Daily Intent

Santa Barbara, CA
746%. 

The white chalk stood tall and proud on the blackboard as I entered Dr. Neal and Nicole Barry’s Chiropractic office.  Without a back story, the three digits followed by a symbol meant nothing.  They had no effect on emotion.  They propelled forward no extra brain activity.  The white was solely lines striking through darkness.

However, with a story, a reason, and a purpose these four space fillers further grounded my belief in living life healthy and well.  For 746% stood for the growth in number of human beings living past their 100th birthday between now and 2040.  Yes, not surprisingly, a portion of society will be living longer.  According to Wikipedia’s 2008 numbers, currently, 96,548 Americans are alive and over the age of 100.   There are even people living over the age of 115, despite the fact they have a 1 in 50,000 chance of living to this age once they reach the age of 100.

115 is almost unfathomable.  Consider the fact that 115 is like living until your 38th birthday three times over, or until your 21st birthday five and a half times.  It just doesn’t seem realistic.  70 or 80, sure. 

But even consider 90 years old.  I spent time yesterday with a lovely lady who will be celebrating her 90th birthday this Saturday.  Born in 1920, she was in her mid-twenties, working as a bookkeeper during the second World War!  At that time living until you were 90 was only  a tale from another town.   Surely they didn’t plan on it. 

I have touched upon age in past MSRs and often joke I’m going to live until I’m 150.  Who wants to join me?  Seriously.  What can we do now to ensure a good life at 120?  Is health to be most important?  Friends and family?  Work?  How about reading and writing, and projects and start-ups, keeping your brain active?   Crossword puzzles?  Sodoku?    Should we be in such a hurry to make money and retire? 
 
We all know the phrase, “life is short.”  But what if it were “life is long.”?  Why do so many see the latter as depressing?  Do we really want to get it over with?   Wouldn’t it be incredible to be the first ever Great-Great Grandfather or Grandmother in your family?  How about being the first person ever to start a new business venture at 110?   For isn’t it really about keeping the mind alert and entertained, the heart connected, and things to look forward to? 

In the business context, having the longer perspective might afford us the freedom to really care for our customers rather than looking to make enough money in the next twenty years in hopes of covering our living expenses for the next thirty.  Or it may push us to see one business phase as exactly that, a phase and a cycle, that will eventually support our next “adVenture” as John Greathouse wittingly notes.  Might the choice out of high school or college be less daunting?

However this new information propels you forward, may you forever be inspired to live your days and moments consistently well…as our friend Carolyn Samuels did.

“I had the honor to be touched by Carolyn Samuels’ last moments of her life. I was one of the Firefighters that responded that day to the tragic accident. She was a courageous woman and I will never forget our conversation. I was very impressed that she started running at 50 years old. I wish that I could have met her before that tragic day. I was very touched by her beautiful soul. I got to hold her hand and talk to her all the way to the hospital. Even in her fight for life, Carolyn gave thanks to all who were there helping her when we arrived at the hospital. I never use to run in races until I met Carolyn. I just use to run for exercise only. Now I run 5K races and I hold her memory in my mind through out the run. She has become my motivation and I say “this is for Carolyn.”  - O.H. taken from http://nicholshuffles.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/if-you-love-a-runner/
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PLAN 
Catalyst for Thought.  MINDS executive lunch.  Next up, April 15th, we’ll have Wayne Rosing, Vice President of Engineering for Google from 2001 - 2005, now founder of Las Cumbres Observatories.  Register at www.CatalystforThought.org to ensure you receive the registration emails. 
Team in Training.  Tiffany’s Recruitment Party.  Chocolate, Wine and Diamonds.  What more does a woman need?  A group to run / walk a half or full marathon with?  Perhaps.  Come find out if this feat is for you.  Saturday, April 10th.  6:30pm.  RSVP to Kaitlyn.Evans@tiffany.com
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LEARN
Buzzword: Sucker Rally
“A temporary rise in a specific stock or the market as a whole. A sucker rally occurs with little fundamental information to back the movement in price. This rally may continue just long enough for the ’suckers’ to get on board, after which the market or specific stock falls.  Also known as a ‘dead cat bounce’ or a ‘bull trap’.

A sucker rally is a buzz word describing a rise in price that does not properly reflect the true value of the stock. For example, suppose that two high-tech companies, ‘A’ and ‘B’, see an increase in stock price due to reporting strong financial statements, and a separate high-tech, company ‘C’, sees a rise in stock price. If the real reason for the rally turns out to be because of potential acquisitions of A and B, then C will have had a sucker rally, rising along with A and B.”  -Investopedia.com

  Six Points to Ponder:
1. 4.1% Q1?  The Dow has continued its climb toward 11,000 this week.? The Dow, now at 10,928. The S&P 500 is up, 1178.  The Nasdaq up, 2404.  Oil is $85/bbl.
2. Collider Commences.  “The world’s largest atom smasher” renewed its attempt at understanding the universe and its smaller particles. 
3. Sunni’s Surprise.  Ayad Allawi has won Iraq’s national election dethroning the seven year reign of the Shiite’s.  Concern over riots escalate. 
4. 34.1 MPG.  By  2016 all new vehicles will need to meet a 34.1 miles per gallon standard.  Who was the one that negotiated in the “.1″?
5. American JetBlue.  American Airlines and JetBlue are aligning efforts to offer greater value to their customers in the form of new flight connections.
6. Baloncesto and Beisbol.  And then there were four.  The Final Four kicks off Saturday with the National Championship game taking place Monday night.  …And then there were thirty.  Thirty Major League Baseball teams swing for the fences this weekend to begin a new 162 game marathon to the playoffs.     

Positives:
• The markets continue receiving positive news in the form of jobless claims, corporate profits and Greek debt dealings.  It is hard to believe that we are nearing the 11,000 mark.  The big question becomes, is this a “sucker rally”?
• The Hadron Collider, after a year and a half of being idle (previously it overheated and needed multi million dollars worth of repairs), it is back to crashing science forward.  The information learned is expected to lead to dramatic breakthroughs in how we see the universe, black holes, atoms, Adams and Eves, etc…  This is an experiment worth following. 
• Might American per capita dependence on oil be lowering with the latest 34.1 mpg regulation?  We’ll have more people in this country come 2016.  I would like to see the breakdown of overall usage and how this will impact business, pocket books and the environment.  Moreover, I do find it rather peculiar the exact mpg in which they agreed upon.  The politics and negotiations involved would be an intriguing story to follow.  I’m learning that government is often last to the party.  In short, it is a step in the positive, but by how much? 
• For those that love JetBlue, but only use it for New York to Seattle flights, their new alliance with American Airlines will help.  Smartly, they’re teaming up with an airline that can offer regional flights upon arrival to the major cities.  Expect to be able to arrive in Boston via a JetBlue booking.  2011 Boston Marathon here we come. 
• Butler, Duke, Michigan State and West Virginia Men’s NCAA basketball all Saturday.  Then we have the Yankees vs. Red Sox Sunday.  You may even enjoy watching history continue with the ladies of UConn and their dominance in women’s NCAA basketball. 
• The way Carolyn Samuels lived her life and touched thousands will inspire others to do the same, rippling outward across the globe.  The courts have concluded their case, but her greatness will live on.

Negatives:
• Crude oil has hit a 17-month high.  Gas prices will reflect these highs. 
• Iraq has to be concerned about violence over an election.  Though if all goes smoothly during the transition, it is a huge step for their stability and our ability to slowly retreat our troops. 
• Justice is never served when a man takes a women’s life.  No matter the penalty for the man, the penalty for the victim and their family and friends is always worse.  
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GET INVOLVED
Local:

The Bowl Season Begins w/ Alicia Keys
Where: Santa Barbara Bowl
When: Wednesday, April 7th
Cost: Varies
Why:  Beautiful venue.  Beautiful voice.  Fantastic community.  And “New York” song.
For other fun ideas, go to www.lovemikana.com

Live and Be Good on this Good Friday,

Jeff Bochsler