Podcasts. I love podcasts. I've been thinking about things I've heard over the past couple of weeks.
***
Kenny Mayne has two daughters, and married a woman with two daughters. On Trey Wingo's podcast, Mayne said he was talking to Bill Walton, and mentioning doing this with "my daughter" and doing that with "my step-daughter" or "my wife's daughter."
Walton interjected. "Kenny, you have four daughters. It's not where you've been, it's where you are."
Wise words.
It's about presence.
***
Former NFL executive Andrew Brandt's advice to those who want to break into the business side of sports: "Go narrow, go deep." Say what you want to do, and what you can do. Find what you love and go for it.
You can't just want to work for the Lakers because you love the Lakers, or because you love basketball., You have to be passionate about something in the operations of an NBA team.
I imagine this would apply to all industries.
***
Sasha Ravitch, on Mana Aelin's podcast, said that Sigmund Freud didn't venture as far as Carl Jung into the stranger or more mystical aspects of the psyche because of the public perception. A Jew in Vienna, as Freud was, couldn't be as intellectually adventurous as Jung, who had a Christian upbringing and worked in Geneva.
Freud knew that what he wrote could reflect on all Jews: "See? THIS is what Jews believe." Jung didn't have to worry about being representative of an ethnic or religious minority, and therefore had more academic freedom.
May we reach a point where everyone will be representing only themselves. We don't need groups.
***
Speaking of Jung, on the podcast of the same name Michael Marsman spoke of an alcoholic who visited Jung after several relapses. Jung told him that some alcoholics are hopeless cases, and can only be helped from the spiritual realm. Marsman explains that the "Spirit" or the Higher Power, or the True Self, is what alcoholics are searching for when they chase the "spirits" in the bottle.
On the same day I listened to that episode, I read about the last days of former Hawaii star quarterback Colt Brennan. It's a sad tale, and we don't know if brain injury made recovery from addiction even more difficult for him than for others. Perhaps the human flesh is no longer an obstacle for Brennan in finding himself.
***
I hope you're having a great weekend!
James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy his articles, subscribe and exchange value for value. You may contact James for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.
For sports-only content, subscribe to The MVP Chase.