Joes Garage

I joined some work friends old and new at an incredible place generously rented by Tim G., the instigator of the weekend. Vail remains in all its glory; posh, a little Russian, a little Jersey Shore, local, and truly world class in its runs. It manages to keep its deep 10th Mountain Division and European Village heritage.

A couple of the guys were not skiers and wanted a little different experience. So we went off to Meadow Mountain for a hike in the snow. It was hard. 1k ft of elevation gain in 1 mile in the snow. The first part of the climb was brutal, but as we climbed to a side hill ridge in the aspen, the divide came into view, jagged white against the blue sky day. Other people were skinning up, and we had my dog Blue to keep us company.

It’s hard to explain the simultaneous peace and aliveness that effort brings you. The aspen grove broke up the bright sun and brought depth to the the view and the day. It gave the guys an experience you don’t get on the ski hill. These times remind me that I still want to start a “camp” that my corporate pals can come to once a year, to see nature on its terms and spend some time thinking about how we impact each other and our businesses.

I took, would have dragged, my wife to Dune 2 last week. My daughter was a last minute addition. I realized I have been fully addicted to SciFi and some Fantasy novels for more than 45 years. I read Dune in 1977 when I was 11. It changed my life. But I could not reliably tell my daughter if Dune 2 took us all the way through the first book. It looks like the Dune series will go back on my book to read list for the first time in decades.

Every once in a while I succumb to a sports analogy. Apology in advance. Several companies I’ve worked for and consulted with had “Jason Kelce” like employees. They were part of the bedrock. Often you didn’t know of the personal life challenges and pain they had at home. They were part of the machine but sometimes single handedly kept the machine running on weekends, when your had a deployment gone bad or that network ate…..! Some, had a vocabulary like Jason, where I wished at times they had better competency with the hold button. But most of all they defied the adage that your company will forget about you a month after you’re gone. Think about recognizing your “Centers” as much as your fancy players. They are the ones that get you to championships in real life.

I recently turned 58, on Jan 4. Lots of nasty statistics go up in your 60s. Already between 55 and 64, 69.5% of us have at least one chronic condition- aka the artherosclerotic diseases, cancer, some diabetes/insulin production related conditions and neurodegenerative disease…over 65 the percentage goes to 85.6%. There is an entirely different end of the spectrum if you want to be in the top percentiles of health and well being. Most important in that end is a combination of maintaining muscle quality(ultimately to stop falling and reduce injury risk as we all inevitably fall), and cardiovascular fitness, which I religiously avoid until just recently.

All of these statistics along with our average weight continue to get worse. White male-200, Black male 204, Asian male 165.-CDC. I was recently skiing with a bunch of guy friends who are close my age and one of them mentioned “now is that time” we have to take care. Yes its true. While a lot of our future health is effectively baked in by 60, there is a lot we can do and cannot afford to remain anything less than diligent and professional as to our wellbeing.

As I said, while I have been in good shape, one of my priorities for this year is to do a physical reboot and bake in more consistency into my habits for the coming decade of my 60’s. While I have several pressing issues in my life, I am trusting that by placing this as the number one priority for the year, it will pay off. I have had colleagues and clients over the years, gain weight and stop moving due to work and life pressure; the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Stay tuned. I’ll give a quarterly update on how its all progressing. In August, what I call Camp, a small group will spend a week backpacking in the Wind River Wilderness so the reboot will include prepping for that effort and also enjoying finding the pristine still available in nature.

The reason AI won’t kill all the artists, writers for example, is that we, in general, are driven to create. For a long time music, books, photography, etc. have been commercially driven toward formulas. Artists have experimented for centuries with technology in the macro. There’s plenty of good enough, sugary art that has already been created by formula and AI might proliferate that. But the writers and other artists I know are compelled to create. They are expressing a truth, or themselves in some manner and, for the most part, we want to “know” our artists. AI will have a place. It’s a tool and maybe it can help some create, where they would not have otherwise or want a starting place or improve. But we are not in danger of ceasing to create.