Ernest Hemingway is rumored to have said: “There are only three sports: car racing; bull fighting and mountain climbing. The rest are mere games.”

This is not a blog about bull fighting or mountain climbing.  Or games.

The first question is “why racing?”.  There is no answer.  Since the automobile first appeared, men have been fascinated with race cars.  For me, it began with a toy model of Emerson Fittipaldi’s Texaco-liveried McLaren ca. 1974.  That white car, with its huge rear tires and massive front wings, was my prized possession (ironically, a toy with cigarette sponsorship).  And somewhere, in the recesses of my brain, I recall the Indy 500, with drivers like Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.  Rutherford in the yellow Penzoil car.  Mears in his Gould-sponsored machine.  Mario and his Indy heartbreak.  Open-wheel heroes. NASCAR was a country fair sideshow in those days; no one took it seriously north of Richmond.

On Memorial Day weekend, when the family was at the beach for the traditional opening of summer, I was parked in front of the television, watching Indy.  My mom would ask about “cars going around in circles”, but she didn’t understand.  I couldn’t articulate the awesome power of a driver flat-footing it around the Brickyard.

I don’t know what possessed an eight-year old boy to latch on to ESPN’s SpeedWorld, a weekly highlight show that featured Formula One, IMSA sportscars, and other exotic delights. This was the early days of cable, when ESPN struggled for viewers and gave a home to sports that coulnd’t make it on the network shows.  ABC had the 500, with great commentators like Chris Economacki and Jackie Stewart.  ESPN had Canadian football, and the more obscure forms of international racing.  Through SpeedWorld I learned about F1 legends like Mansell, Piquet, Prost, and later…Senna.  I loved the cartoonish IMSA cars, with their streamlined bodywork and ridiculous power, hoofing it over road courses like Mid-Ohio and Lime Rock.

I drifted away from the sport, but my passion was reignited during a summer following F1 in Europe.  It was the summer that Damon Hill won the world championship, only to find himself out of a drive at Williams at the end of the season.  You would be amazed at what  you can learn about racing from a broadcast in a foreign language.  And when Hill lost his seat at the end of the year, I learned what a fickle business racing can be.

And so it’s come to this.  The retired sportswriter without a venue, starting a blog about racing.  F1, Indy, Nascar, Le Mans – anything that goes fast on four wheels.  This is not about horsepower, or tire pressure, or computers mapping out gear ratios.  It is not about whether the car is too tight through the middle of the corner, or whether it needs a ride height adjustment during the second stop.  Leave that to the techies.

This is about deafening engines, the smell of burning race fuel, and the smile on your face when the green flag comes down.  It’s about the feeling you get watching a driver control his car on the limit of adhesion.  It’s the speed of the field as it blows past your seat, the knife-edge heartbreak.  It’s about the politics and the personalities and the business that drives racers to the limit, pushing against gravity itself in a mortal contest of speed.

Hemingway (if he really said it) was right about one thing: this is no game.  This is life, death, and conquest at 230 mph.  This is about being on the limit.

Let’s buckle up that five-point and go racing.

Als alles onder controle lijkt, ga je gewoon niet snel genoeg.

- Mario Andretti

Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities.

Seize common occasions and make them great.

Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them”

[Orison Swett Marden]

While preparing breakfast earlier this week, one of those super-hyped pitchmen came on the TV proclaiming the endless benefits of some fantastic new vegetable peeler.

“It is THIS! It is THAT!” the overly enthusiastic announcer proclaimed, as the actor on the screen could barely contain his delight to be shredding, slicing, and dicing his way into “As Seen On TV” history.

And, just as I was becoming bored with the antics of the fake cook in the sound stage kitchen, the announcer boomed, “But WAIT, there’s more . . . ” as he offered to add unending gifts and benefits to orders placed within the next 10 minutes.

Although I have heard that phrase many times before, this time it really caught my attention.  I wondered who he was speaking to, exactly?

Those of us in TV land who thought the product was an exceptional I-can’t-believe-my-good-fortune value, were already dialing the phone.  Everyone else was waiting. (Was he actually addressing those folks who were waiting, and asking them to wait some more? Was he rewarding bad behavior?)

Have we become a society who believes that waiting is preferable to taking action?  Convinced that someone will sweeten the pot, throw in a travel size, include a second set, up the offer, lower the price?

I think we may have become a society of waiters!

We wait for the news to arrive. The phone to ring. The check to come.

The tide to turn. The light to shine. For it to make sense.

The line to move. The weather to break. Someone to save the day.

Yikes!  All of this waiting is exhausting!  As Mario Andretti said, “If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.”

I see waiters, but I hear on the news and read in print that, “We are Ready!”  I can’t help but wonder . . . ready for what, exactly?

- Ready for action? Or ready for someone to intervene on our behalf?

- Ready to fund our own activities? Or ready for someone to pass a tax increase?

- Ready to take control? Or ready for someone to drive us to our destination?

- Ready to make our own path? Or ready to live someone else’s adventure?

- Ready for the winds of change to blow in? Or ready to harness our own power?

To paraphrase Garth Stein, waiting may be the easier path to travel, but it can’t possibly offer a more satisfying conclusion than taking charge of your own life.

You have the power within yourself to create the “more” you have been seeking. Stop waiting. Start living.

Whatever you are, be a good one!

Deanna

Apostar em pessoas famosas é o que todo anunciante faz, que o diga o falecido Atari, que em um dos seus comerciais do passado juntou simplesmente Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pelé e Mario Andretti. Sensacional.

É impressão minha ou colocaram o Chaves para dublar o Pelé?

Visit us this weekend at Corvettes at Carlisle (Carlisle, PA) with the replica endorsed by The Flying Dentist.

We’ll be at Booths No. 97-98 and 99 IA.

ABOUT CORVETTES AT CARLISLE

Corvettes at Carlisle, the world’s largest and most prestigious event celebrating America’s Sports Car races back to the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds. This year’s event includes:

• a race reunion, special guest icon Mario Andretti
• a street-legal, track-ready 2004 C5 LS1 Corvette giveaway
• an unveiling of the 2010 Grand Sport by the GM engineering team
• a fun field packed with over 3,000 Corvettes from all generations
• activities for kids and women
• and much more.

CARS YOU’LL SEE AT CORVETTES AT CARLISLE

• The replica endorsed by The Flying Dentist at booths No. 97-98 and 99 IA.
• A wide array of great race cars from each generation of C1 – C6 Corvettes.
• A 20th anniversary display of Corvettes that raced in the ’88-’89 Corvette Challenge Car Series will celebrate fourth generation Corvette race cars.
• This year’s Chip’s Choice Invitational Display will showcase Corvettes that have raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans, including this year’s GT Class winning # 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R, raced by Corvette Racing/Pratt & Miller Engineering.
• Free seminars throughout the weekend, including a racers’ round table that will give the audience a chance to hear war stories from various drivers, team owners and collectors.

Corvettes at Carlisle is a must-attend event for fans of all generations of America’s sports car! We hope to see you there. Stop by our booths and see The Flying Dentist!

CORVETTES AT CARLISLE SCHEDULE AND MORE

• 2009 Corvettes at Carlisle Schedule of Events (pdf)
• 2009 Corvettes at Carlisle Map (pdf)
• 2009 Corvettes at Carlisle Event Directory (pdf)
• Need a Hotel Room, Click Here!

A shout-out for Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, from President Obama.

via President Praises Rep. Welch – WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-.

This reminds me of the scene from the movie Cars in which Fred, an old and rusty dilapitated car shouts, “He knows my name!” when Mario Andretti says his name (read from the old car’s license plate).

Cars was Malcolm’s favorite movie for a long time.

Damn the luck!

Well, let me go ahead and take that back. Much as I’d like to ascribe all this to luck or chance, the truth is that I did something yesterday morning I shouldn’t have done, I got caught whilst doing it, and now I’m about to enrich my home county by several hundred dollars. And maybe, just maybe, it will help my “about to be” poor, dumb ass to write about it.

I have to get up really early to go to work each day, and must utilize somewhat rural roads and/or highways in order to get to said work. I’ll be the first to admit that I like to drive a bit fast, nothing pleases me more than to pass some blue-haired old lady or mega nerdish guy with his head stuck up in the windshield. Frankly, I’d love to zap right by them while flipping them the middle digit thrust upwards whilst simultaneously hollering, “The accelerator pedal is on your car for a damn reason, you know!” Thus far I haven’t yet taken that particular tact, but I’ve damn sure thought about it, which is at least of some solace to me as I sit her scribing out my road inspired sins to y’all.

Now, let’s get down to the gist of our story and that which makes me amongst the most currently convicted here in Georgia. A tad before 6 am yesterday morning I was driving down a little stretch of road which leads out towards the main highway that I utilize to get to work. It’s not a very long stretch of road, maybe two hundred yards or so, and it happens to pass right by a convenience store. And that’s right where my personal tale of woe begins….

I was driving through that little piece of road, not even twenty yards away from the convenience store turn-off, when this guy pulls out right in front of me. He was driving an old white Ford Escort, and just slowly waltzed himself right in front of my truck. It was enough to make me lay down on the brakes a bit, and then recover just in time to experience the pleasure of driving a whopping 15 mph until we both got to the end of the road and our subsequent left turns.

As y’all might deduce, I was already madder than a stockbroker with diaper rash from all this, and when I got out on the highway it didn’t get any better. The guy who’d just taken such pains to pull his azz right out in front of me soon amped up his Escort to its full cruising speed of 40 mph. That’s right, 40 mph. He was driving so slowly that I thought I might have to prop up a stick next to his car to see if he was moving or not. As y’all might guess, I was cussing him for pretty much all I was worth, as I’m definitely a type-A driver, and after about five minutes of going slower than a constipated hippo I knew that I had to do something. So I did. I soon found myself on a stretch of road that headed downhill, over a bridge, and then upwards following another big hill. In fairness, the road itself was yellow double-striped, so I wasn’t supposed to pass anyone there. Practically, it was six am, I was going 40 mph behind a human turtle, so I gunned my engine and passed this slug in about five seconds. Felt pretty proud of myself for doing it, too, until I topped the hill and saw Mr. Smokey Bear sitting there, radar gun firmly in hand.

There’s really not much to say after this. The officer was polite and courteous, I was exactly the same, as I believe in being respectful to law officers. He handed me two citations, one for driving 74 in a 55 mph zone, and one for passing someone in a non-passing zone. I have no idea what the fines will be, both he and the Monroe County Probate Court Office informed me that it’d be seven to ten days before the tickets are posted and the fines are set. Seven to ten days worth of pondering my own stupidity and the unfairness of life. Both subjects well worthy of lots of ponderance, I suppose.

Well, I’m glad I got this article done before my impending convictions and perhaps prison time. Do y’all now wanna know what I’m really thinking? What I really want today from y’all, my dear readership? If y’all do, then please give me really extreme comments this week as I’m mega miked – if y’all wanna sympathize with me regarding this situation, sympathize with me like hell, really kiss my twin pink apples and then pat them! On the other hand, if y’all wanna tell me I’m a dumb ass, then God, tell me I’m dumber than a cow grazing outside a LongHorn’s Steakhouse! By God I can take it and I want it, the adrenaline is flowing today!

Gimme!

Motorsport is a dynastic sport, at least racing drivers are often followed by their children into the sport. I have made a research on sons and daughters of famous or less famous F1 drivers and where are they with their career progress.

What’s up with other “sons of”?

Michael Andretti: The classical example of failing to live up to a great name – at least in F1, because in IndyCar he was successful.

Marco Andretti: Michael’s son. Already the third generation of the Andrettis. He is still only 22, so who knows, maybe he will get his chance in F1. In IndyCar he has won a race and took a pole position.

Marco and Michael Andretti

Greg and Leo Mansell: Nigel Mansell’s sons. Greg is 21 and Leo is 23. Theoretically they still would have time to make it into F1 but I will be very surprised if they do. Last year they were racing in the Atlantic Championship and finished an unimpressive 10^th (Greg) and 19^th (Leo) overall. Leo is taking part at the Le Mans 24 hours race right now.

The Mansell boys with their father

Nicolas Prost: The son of Alain Prost. He is now 27, so he will hardly ever make it into F1. To be fair to him he only started to race after finishing his studies at the age of 22. He won races in the 2006 and 2007 Spanish F3 Championships and his biggest success as a driver was winning the Euroseries 3000 Championship last year, but that’s hardly something that will catapult him into F1. Like Leo Mansell he too is racing in Le Mans now.

Alain and Nicolas Prost

Mathias Lauda: He is also 27, last year he was racing in DTM, scoring only one point. His manager is his brother Lukas.

Mathias Lauda

Christian Jones: 29-year-old son of 1981 WDC Alan Jones. It has to be noted that he is an adopted child. As a teenager he was a fairly successful kart racer back in Australia. He also had some good results in feeder series like the Australian Formula Ford Championship where he finished 2nd in 1998, the Asian Formula Three Championship which he won in 2004 or in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia where he finished 3rd. But of course his age makes it not very probable that he will ever end up in F1.

Christian Jones

Joshua Hill: 17-year-old son of Damon Hill. He finished 3^rd in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Series and won the Ginetta Junior Winter Championship.

Damon and Joshua Hill

Alex Brundle: 18-year-old son of ex-driver and commentator, Martin Brundle. Currently he is racing in the new Formula Two series. He was born on the 7^th of August, 1990. He started his career in 2006 in the British T Car series where he finished 8^th with two podium finishes. Later that year he participated in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy. In 2007 he moved to the Formula Palmer Audi championship and later in the year returned to the Autumn Trophy. 2008 saw his second season in the  Formula Palmer Audi championship where he finished sixth overall with three podiums and his very first pole position.

Alex and Martin Brundle

Max Verstappen: 11-year-old son of Jos Verstappen. He is racing karts. Currently he was in the news for finishing 2^nd in his first international kart test in Spain.

Max Verstappen

Mick Schumacher: 10-year-old son of Michael Schumacher. Although Michael is always trying to downplay the chance that his son may follow his footsteps, but that’s probably just to take away from the pressure that might be on him because of his name. In fact, little Mickey does race karts regularly! 2009 is his second season in the Bambini class of the famous Kerpen Club Championship. He has made great progress since last year and he is often on the podium and sets very fast laps but he is yet to win a race. Last time he was close sencond twice though.

Mick Schumacher

I came across some of the B case Race O Rama short cards really by accident in K Mart. I saw a Sally cone short card hanging by itself then no other ROR short cards. I set out on a mission and found them on a lonely center aisle stand by the electronics section. So I picked a few up that interested me. The RED RIMMED Mario is probably the best out of the bunch!

Again we pick up on my 6 month big trip with me now arriving in Illinois with my brother and cousin and then heading off to the INDY 500, The World’s Greatest spectacle in Racing!

Roscoe, ILLINOIS 

Roscoe, Illinois a small town towards the border of Illinois and Wisconsin, A lovely little place and of course my cousin was there, so it was lovely. I met lots of his friends and even got to go to the local ROCKFORD T.V. station to watch the filming of the morning show, very interesting indeed. Also briefly visiting a wonderful friend Wayne in his little town of Warren where he has just become the Mayor. Yay. James came a day after me and then we were off to a thrilling weekend at the INDY500.

INDY500

My first cousin twice removed is actually my Grandma’s direct cousin. He is 86, has been doing magic for 65 years and has been working in the pits, garages and suites at Indy for 41 years. My brother James and I were blessed to go with him to the Qualifying weekend, receive an all areas and all access pit and garage pass as well as hang out in the suites when we weren’t down there.

So many stories from only 4 days but a lot of them involve the names of drivers and friends which a lot of people wouldn’t know. But we were very fortunate to meet some of Cuz’s good friends and race legends A.J Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Johnny Rutherford and Mario Andretti just to name a few. Indianapolis itself is a lovely quiet and clean city and Speedway is a very cool place to hang out at in the month of May.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

When I arrived at the HowStuffWorks.com office today, I had my daily High Speed Stuff blog post pre-built in my mind. I really did. It wasn’t going to be focused on any of the recent doom-and-gloom news out of Detroit. In fact, it wasn’t going to be bad news at all. It was supposed to be about a small car show that I recently attended here in the Atlanta area.

However, that’s when I saw this headline: “Mario Andretti’s RARE Lamborghini Countach wrecked street racing.”

Let’s get this out of the way right now … world-renowned race car driver Mario Andretti was not behind the wheel of the car when it went out of control. According to the eyewitness that posted the photos, that “honor” goes to one of the Lamborghini technicians who happened to be delivering the car to its new owner. Allegedly, the tech was street racing a Dodge Viper that also ended up in a nearby ditch. The photos of the Lambo at the scene of the accident are a little grainy and kind of far away, so it’s a difficult to gauge the full extent of the damage. However, if it went sideways over the nearby curb in the first image … the news is probably bad.

The Lambo was a low-mileage, pristine condition, 1989 25th Anniversary Edition Countach. So we’re talking about an extremely rare car to begin with, but when you consider that the prior owner was Mario Andretti, well, that really takes the loss associated with this accident to another level, doesn’t it? I’m really hoping that it can be saved and restored, but so much for the original condition, right? Speaking of that, Lamborghini Houston has a few photos of the car prior to the accident — and of course, it was a beautiful car. In the ad, they call the car “irreplaceable” and “as close to brand new as possible.” Check out the photo where Andretti has signed the rear wing.

If you have an appreciation for rare exotics, anytime there’s news like this, doesn’t it make you feel just a little sick to your stomach? I know that’s how I feel, anyway.

A little more Lamborghini stuff:
Lamborghini Sports Cars
How to Draw a Lamborghini
HowStuffWorks Videos – “Meet the Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe LP560″
New Lamborghini Prices & Reviews
2013 Lamborghini Estoque Review and Prices

I kind of have this thing about celebrity involvement in wineries. If you tell me a celebrity is involved in a winery, I pretty much lose any interest in tasting the wine. Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe’s “Vince Vineyards Sonoma Chardonnay” comes to mind, as does Mario Andretti’s “Napa Valley Merlot,” or Mike Ditka’s “Kick Ass Mendocino Red” to say nothing of Dan Aykroyd’s Ontario Cabernet Shiraz. (Vomito.)

So it was with mixed feelings that I discovered that this great bottle of $15 Feuille de Garance Côtes-du-Rhône comes from French screen legend Jean-Louis Trintignant (who got his start opposite Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Women). But after tasting the wine, I forgave all. It’s an intense, alluring wine with maturity and mystique, and much like the actor, a bit of a thrill!

Articolo trasferito sul nuovo sito! Article moved!

CLICCATE SU QUESTO LOGO PER LEGGERE L'ARTICOLO

Marco Andretti with Danica Patrick. (Getty Images)

By Jenna Fryer (AP Sportswriter)

The founders of a new US-based Formula One team plan to hire a pair of American drivers, and Mario Andretti believes his grandson is the perfect choice to fill one of the seats.

Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, the principals behind the team they call USF1, officially announced their intent to run the 2010 schedule. The motorsports veterans said they’ll base the team in Charlotte, home for most NASCAR teams, and scour the market for young American drivers.

“Who they are … your guess is as good as mine,” said Windsor, a former team manager for Ferrari and Williams. “But two American drivers, that’s what we intend to do.”

Windsor rattled off a prospect list of relatively unknown open-wheel drivers currently competing in lower ranks, the most notable being Jonathan Summerton, a 21-year-old racing in Europe in the A1GP Series.

Then he and Anderson turned to their dream list, which included former F1 driver Scott Speed, NASCAR star Kyle Busch and IndyCar glamour girl Danica Patrick. But Speed has said he has no interest in leaving NASCAR for an F1 return. Busch and Patrick both are willing to discuss the opportunity, but neither has been contacted by USF1 representatives.

Neither principal mentioned Marco Andretti, the budding IndyCar star and grandson of 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti.

But Mario Andretti called into the news conference to  pitch his 22-year-old grandson.

“Everytime I mention Formula One, he says ‘I’d give anything to have this opportunity,’” Andretti said. “If I were to design a Formula One driver today, I would design Marco. We’ll see what the future brings for him.”

Marco Andretti signed a contract extension last year with Andretti Green Racing, the team co-owned by his father, Michael.

After Andretti hung up, Windsor added Marco Andretti to the list of potential hires, as well as Graham Rahal, a 20-year-old IndyCar driver.

“I’ve got to focus on the task at hand,” the younger Andretti said. “I mean, obviously, Formula One is my ultimate goal. But I’m not sure that’s the way to go, on a first-year team. But, having said that, I’m definitely willing to do whatever it takes to get over there.”

First, though, Andretti has another goal.

“I’m ready to go for a championship,” he said. “I don’t see a weak spot in the schedule for the (No.) 26 car. So that’s going to be the goal.”

Rahal, son of longtime open-wheel star and Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, said he too has things to do before considering a shot at F1.

“Obviously, Formula One was always of interest,” he said. “I cannot deny that it is. But, at the same time, to leave IndyCar racing, to leave the US, it needs to be the right opportunity. I understand they’re saying they’re going to run it out of Charlotte or something like that, but that’s very tough to do in the Formula One world, and that’s going to be very hard to make it work properly.”

“I’d like to certainly see what I can do here. With (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing), I’ve got a great chance to win a lot of races and championships. That would be hard to walk away from.”

There has not been an American driver in F1 since Speed was released from Toro Rosso in the summer of 2007. Speed was the first American driver since Michael Andretti in 1993.

The list of potential drivers was one of the few details revealed, as Windsor and Anderson had nothing concrete to offer about their planned race team.

They are looking at a building in Charlotte to house the operation, and plan to hire roughly 100 team members and operate with an annual budget of about $64 million. They also plan to have a “logistical base” in Europe to house transporters and equipment.

Beyond that, they would reveal little else.

Windsor said they’ve secured four private investors, but declined to reveal their identities and said their stakes in USF1 are small enough that he and Anderson will remain the primary owners.

Anderson, who worked for the Ligier and Onyx F1 teams in the 1980s before turning to designing and engineering IndyCars, said the team will rely heavily on American technical support.

“Most of the technology in Formula 1 comes from the United States to begin with,” he said. “The cost of doing business in the United States is significantly cheaper than Europe, and there are a lot of good people here.”

Windsor said the duo has been working for several years on forming this race team, and waited until they felt it was actually a reality before revealing their plans. He recognized their timing coincides with the worldwide recession, and getting off the ground will not be easy.

“We’ve set some unbelievably steep hills to climb in the recession,” he said. “We’re now two guys that can say we’re going to do a Formula 1 team – because we’ve got the capital to do it. For those out there who say ‘Where’s all the money? Where’s the huge facility? Where’s all the money falling out of the sky?’ that isn’t ever going to happen with USF1.

“We’ve always had a very different approach and that approach will become visible as time goes on and this year unfolds.”

It’s Hardware.com’s Year End on March 31st. This means there is a certain amount of reflection, looking back at some of the successes and failures of the year.

Has Hardware.com taken risks, changed, innovated and created opportunities?

The Financial Year has been a roller-coaster ride, I joined Hardware.com as the Marketing Director in June 2008, October 2008 was Hardware.com’s most financially successful month, the global economy has gone into recession, and now there are fears but also opportunities.

Hardware.com is in a unique position, being a reseller in the IT hardware marketplace means that it is extremely competitive, pricing has become at the forefront of people’s mindset. However, we have a broad range of products and services delivered in innovative ways that no other reseller can match. These are divided into Capex and Opex; new and refurbished equipment, a free design service, network audits, installation and project management. And in terms of operating expenditure we have a competitive maintenance and support programme, a repair centre and leasing and buy back options.

Our offering is based on providing the best solutions for customers’ IT hardware requirements, creating value for money and developing trusted relationships, these are the three pillars that make Hardware.com tick.

Now is this enough to create a platform whereby we can increase our market share?
“It is well documented that brands that increase marketing during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, it can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”
Harvard professor John Quelch

We intend to increase marketing in certain areas of the business, the strategy to develop new geographical markets is working well, with a new French website, a Spanish one in production and a real focus on Hardware.com in the USA, with a market the size of Europe to exploit.

We have a new strapline, that is more about introducing us to new customers in new territories and is therefore descriptive – Your Network Resource. I believe that this answers Seth Godin “If you can’t state your position on eight words or less you don’t have a position”.

I also think that being flexible and nimble enough to take on change and develop the business and marketing strategy and tactics is important. Social media is an exciting new immediate communication tool; from reddit, digg, Linked-in Groups, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogging and hundreds more; and Hardware.com are embracing these, as well as looking at mobile, guerrilla and viral marketing.

Here are some of my favourite quotes to do with change and innovation:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
General Eric Shinseki, retired Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
Mario Andretti

And finally something that I try to do on a daily basis, but don’t always achieve:

A man approached JP Morgan, held up an envelope, and said, “Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for success, which I will gladly sell you for $25,000.” “Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the envelope, however if you show me, and I like it, I give you my word as a gentleman that I will pay you what you ask.” The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the envelope. JP Morgan opened it, and extracted a single sheet of paper. He gave it one look, a mere glance, then handed the piece of paper back to the gent. And paid him the agreed-upon $25,000.

What was on the piece of paper?
1. Every morning, write a list of the things that need to be done that day.
2. Do them.

Mark Cadbury
Marketing Director