Top of Mind Thursday – September 5, 2024: A Hole in the Universe

Last weekend, the IDF recovered the bodies of 6 hostages from a tunnel in Gaza,Leverage2Market Logo including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents have spent the last 11 months aggressively advocating for his safe return.

Mainstream media headlines noted that the six had died, but that’s not accurate. They were murdered—executed at close range when their captors realized the IDF was close to recovering them from a tunnel under a child’s bedroom.

These were young people who had been attending a music festival. They were advocates for peace who were brutalized and terrorized for nearly a year without the International Red Cross, the UN, or much of the world paying attention to their plight.

We got to know Hersh because of the efforts of his parents, but there are still 101 hostages being held in Gaza, not all of whom are still alive.

Bringing them home is not a simple task. Negotiating with terrorists is a losing proposition. Recovering these people and corpses may involve releasing thousands of convicted murderers and terrorists, who have sworn to repeat the massacre again as soon as they can. There is no right answer that does not include pain and sorrow.

In Judaism, we believe saving a life is like saving a whole universe, because of what will come from that single saved life. That means we lost six whole universes last week, and more than 1200 since the October 7th attack.

Right now, we feel the loss as a hole in our universe, but life goes on. Jewish babies are traditionally named for family members who have died. In just the last few days, babies have been named in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Palin and Carmel Gat. While neither of these children are directly related to Hersh or Carmel, all of Israel and Jews worldwide consider them to be family and we remember them accordingly.

From the depths of our pain, we focus on repairing the universe for those still to come. It’s all we can do.


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Top of Mind Thursday – August 29, 2024: Dog Days of Summer

Yesterday, we trekked over to the East Bay to pick up our newest family member—a 60 lb. 2-year-old Siberian Husky we’re calling Kozmo.Leverage2Market Logo

Before this week, Kozmo has spent nearly half his life in rescue shelters, having been picked up last December in a small town in the Central Valley near Modesto. He is a beautiful boy, full of spunk and energy who just wants to hang out with people and be loved.

Why did it take so long for him to be adopted? The Norsled rescue folks told us many of their dogs wait months for new homes, because so many dogs are either surrenders, or, more likely, abandoned.

Most of these dogs are perfectly healthy, but their owners chose not to keep them. Maybe they adopted during the pandemic and now are back to in-office workplaces and can’t manage the transition.

Maybe they watched Game of Thrones and decided they wanted the closest thing to a dire wolf, which is a Husky. But they didn’t realize how much time and attention Huskies require.

Maybe they saw social media videos of Huskies doing cute things and didn’t stop to think what it might take to properly raise one of these intelligent but stubborn animals.

Whatever the reason, the shelters are busting at the seams. There are literally dozens of dogs waiting for forever homes.

This is why it’s so important to only adopt a dog if you’re willing to accept responsibility for it–today and for the rest of the dog’s life. Do you homework and know what to expect from each breed.

Spay or neuter your pet to avoid adding to the problem. And before going to a breeder, check the rescue group for the breed you like to see what great dogs are waiting for someone like you.

No one loves you as unconditionally as a dog. We need to be prepared to return the affection.


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Top of Mind Thursday – August 22, 2024: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

This week, the Democratic National Convention is being held in Chicago, with Kamala Harris accepting her party’s nomination for president this evening.Leverage2Market Logo

The slate of speakers during the week has been jam-packed with the full range of politicians—up-and-comers that are new to most of the audience, current officeholders, two former presidents and first ladies, and of course, the current president, Joe Biden, and his family. There are performers galore, family members, and speakers who tell their personal stories, such as women who suffered from restrictive abortion laws when their much-wanted pregnancies went off-course.

All-in-all, the message is upbeat and hopeful. Harris talks about how much has been accomplished so far, how we can unite the country, and how she can help us continue to move forward.

It’s a very different approach than the Republicans took in their convention last month. With fewer celebrities and a much less raucous crowd, Donald Trump and JD Vance told us how bad the country is doing. They focused on what’s wrong with America now and what terrible things we might expect in the future if he is not elected.

Are these two candidates even running for office in the same country? How can things be simultaneously so bad and yet so good?

Reality is likely somewhere between these two poles. Things aren’t as bad as Trump would like you to believe and, for many, they aren’t as good as the Harris team is portraying them.

But elections are won and lost on emotion, not on logic. Which candidate will be able to persuade the electorate their view of the world is more correct? Which candidate will be able to get out the vote and convince the undecided they offer the best alternative for America?

Take your seats, strap in tightly, and get prepared for a wild rollercoaster ride for the next two and a half months. This is not your grandfather’s presidential race, and it’s no longer two old white men battling among themselves.

Pass the popcorn.


Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.

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linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
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Top of Mind Thursday – August 15, 2024: A Little Curry Sauce in Paris

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This past weekend, both the US Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams took the gold in the Paris Olympics.

There was a time when the US teams were just expected to roll over the competition. But not any more. Professional basketball has expanded to be global, and teams from European countries are filled with NBA and WNBA players.

The men’s team is loaded with outstanding talent–from LeBron James and Kevin Durant to Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid. Yet, the US nearly lost the semi-final game to Serbia, then ran into the same situation in the final gold medal game on Saturday.

What saved them? A Curry flurry.

Steph Curry, playing in his first and perhaps only Olympics, took charge and pushed his team to victory nearly by himself. The holder of the record for most made three-point shots in history hit his stride in the two games that counted, scoring 60 points, while making an incredible 17 of 26 3-pointers. His teammates, the competition, and the crowd were all amazed.

Curry hadn’t shot as well in the first few games of the Olympics. Perhaps that was because the 3-point line is significantly closer in European basketball and this appeared to throw off his shot. But he adjusted and stepped back to sink one shot after another, making it look easy and effortless—and clearly enjoying himself as he did it.

No matter what the competition throws at him, Curry stays calm. When conditions change, he adjusts his game accordingly. And he does it while cheering on his teammates and respecting his competitors.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could throw a little Curry sauce into the rest of our lives?


Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.

Marketing Above the Noise.

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What are people saying?

Buy now.

 


Let us help your business rise to the top.

linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com

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