Roger Federer. I Am Over It. A Funny Hour. The Spinners + Queensryche. Tell Us Your Talent. Layla.
- Quote of the Week: “There is no way around hard work. Embrace it.” – Roger Federer
There can be no doubt that Roger Federer was one of the best to ever play tennis. At one time he was the world’s number one ranked player and held onto that ranking for an amazing two hundred thirty-seven consecutive weeks. Federer won twenty Grand Slams, including eight Wimbledon titles.
The question is how did Federer embrace hard work? His ability to work hard and garner positive results are reflected in the following ideas:
- Always break down big goals into smaller tasks.
- Surround yourself with motivated people. Jim Rohn’s famous quote: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
- Treat and reward yourself. Doing so creates further motivation to push through and achieve your big goal.
- Take a break. Continuous non-stop work leads to both mental and physical burnout.
- Always be cognizant of the “why.” Stay focused on what is motivating you to do the hard work.
- Start your day with an important task. When you populate your schedule for the next day, put the toughest tasks first providing a sense of accomplishment right from the start of your day.
Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth tells all of us about how hard he worked to become one of the greatest of all time.
- I had no idea that in June 2025 a Covid variant had returned in China. Now mid-August, and NB.1.8.1, also called Nimbus, has reached the United States. As much as I do not want to see anyone fall sick from Covid, I am totally ‘over it.’ The more I read about viruses, the more I am convinced that different strains of Covid are here to stay, similar to strains of the flu. Again, I am not pushing back on the fact that Covid has resulted in ‘long-term’ sickness and the deaths of many, but according to the CDC, from October 2024 to March of 2025:
- There were thirty-seven million influenza infections
- 480,000 hospitalizations due to the flu
- More than 21,000 deaths occurred due to the flu
All we can hope for is that this new strain of Covid has limited impact on the health of people here and abroad. With all of that said, there are viruses around the world that we can never wish for including Marburg and Ebola. Note: Ebola is the deadliest, with a mortality rate of 90 percent.
- I saw Nate Bargatze at Orlando’s Kia Center last night. An hour of straight laughing due to his content and delivery. Bargatze is different in many ways, with his story telling so relevant with no mention of politics and religion, and he completely stays away from bad language. I strongly recommend that you take in his show.
- According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a music mashup is a creative piece of music that combines elements from two or more pre-existing songs into a new, blended composition. It often involves merging different musical styles, tempos, or keys to create something unique and unexpected. Mashups are a form of musical remixing that can be achieved by layering vocals over instrumental tracks or by combining different instrumental sections.
Here are The Spinners and the metal band Queensrÿche with one of my favorite mashups of all time. The combination of soul and metal never done better with a mashup combining Queensrÿche’s “Jet City Woman” with The Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around” (a Motown classic).
- Question of the Week: There were great responses to the question of your favorite breed of dog. Here are some of your answers to this week’s Question of the Week: What sports team, college or pro, is your favorite and why?
- The Philadelphia Eagles are in my blood.
- Pro: Tampa Bay Buccaneers – grew up in the area and was at one of their very first home games. College: Duke Blue Devils – because everyone should be a fan!
- NY Yankees. Great tradition & unmatched success.
- Atlanta Falcons. Great plays and great decision making in filling the Quarterback position. 🙂
- Pittsburgh Steelers…Grew up as a fan and can’t stop waving the terrible towel.
- Prefer college football- and any team in Florida.
- University of Georgia- my daughter attended.
- Growing up within an hour of Athens, with due allegiance to the country’s first land grant University (thanks to Benjamin Franklin) and homage to my native state, listening to Ed Thilenius call UGA football weekly on WSB (Welcome South. Brother) long before TV got the call, attending UGA during Vince Dooley’s second through fifth year of head coaching, winning two SEC titles and NEVER losing to the hated bumblebees, er GA Tech, in those four years, how could the Dawgs not be firmly embedded in your DNA?! And also, living in Atlanta in the seventies and eighties, who wasn’t a Falcons diehard? Everyone always wanted the Falcons to be their pallbearers, to let you down one last time.
- Uhhh….Man U…sort of, ain’t giving up hope of a return to 2005 thru 2013.
Here is this week’s Question of the Week, which should generate some interesting responses: What is a talent you have that not many people know about?
Pure Talent. Bobby Whitlock, the co-founder of the rock-blues band Derek and the Dominoes, passed away last week at the age of seventy-seven. In 1970, Derek and Dominoes embarked on their first U.S. tour, with Elton John their opening act! I know some of you have tired with my continued diatribe regarding the music of the past so please reply with a song and level talent better than this live version of the song Layla.
Just for your reference, this performance of the song Layla included Bobby Whitlock, Nathan East on the bass, Phil Collins on drums, and Eric Clapton on guitar. This video was from the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert. Bobby Whitlock and Derek and the Dominoes were Pure Talent.