Briefly

Phase 1 of our realty company’s renovation starts tomorrow and I made a quick video promo Sunday night to use on the company’s Facebook page and website. I don’t have approval for it yet, so it might still change a bit, but here’s what I’m currently planning to use. It’s amazing that just a 60-second video with stills, narration and music takes a couple of hours to put together when you count finding the right pictures and going through stock music and editing everything together. You wouldn’t think it would be so time-consuming. Here’s where you’ll find the video if you’re interested.

I love college football and I’m eager for the 2019 season to kick off for my alma mater in three weeks. But as much as I enjoy Alabama football, I would strongly encourage a child not to play the sport. If I’m fortunate enough to have a son, I hope to steer him in the direction of something safer. We’ve known for years that serious injuries are common in football, but the evidence is piling up that the sport does long-term brain damage, even for those who never had obvious injuries. Evidence of brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been found in 99 percent of the former NFL players whose brains have been studied after their deaths. And now a new study shows that playing even one season of college football causes hidden long-term brain damage, even in players who never suffered from a concussion. I still love the game, but I can no longer doubt that it’s too risky for people I care about.

When I was younger, I cared a lot about other people thinking I was impressive. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. I had already started making inner changes before I saw her talk in 2012, but watching Brené Brown’s TEDx presentation about vulnerability was a profound turning point for me (I wrote about this in 2012.) A friend shared a link today which reinforced the idea that it’s far more important to be authentic than it is to be “impressive.” That would have made me nervous 10 years ago, but I’m able to live it now. I’ve made a conscious effort to unmask myself as much as is reasonably possible and that has had one positive effect I didn’t anticipate. Since my father was a narcissist, I’m vulnerable to falling into some of his patterns if I’m not careful. But being very open about such fears about my failings helps inoculate me against doing that, because it’s hard to have a sense of grandiosity if you’re vulnerable about your faults and struggles. Being authentic, open and honest with each other can be transformative. It can save your soul.