Making music out of popped balloons...

A group of Middle school children are invited to the gymnasium to play a game that involves a balloon, a long string and one leg. The goal is to run, race, chase and or be chased until only one balloon remains. Twenty five little people instantly become products of survival. Words are tossed, fists are thrown, a few laughs are heard and in the end someone new will be crowned king or queen of the balloon pop.



Take the same game…invite 25 new children into the gymnasium and explain to them the same rules and expectations. The end result won’t be a vibrantly out of control mind that scientifically pulled away from a large number of stomping feet and tiny egos requiring to be named best…the second game of survival takes an interesting twist of fate—rather than bee bopping and hopping toward that wall and this exit…group number two takes a different look at the process turning the game into a less personal victory and more of a group effort to protect fun. By games end, everybody is standing in the center of the gym cheering.



Keeping score…who wins and who loses?



During last nights American Idol Andrew and Katie’s balloons were popped. Which group of balloon poppers did they belong? Does being one of the top ten left standing with a summer tour planned make them more interested in the groups overall appearance or has a completely natural inner instinct located disappointment within the game called best versus least favorite?



Over on ABC its Kate Gosselin versus Pamela Anderson versus Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger…cat fight or the person blowing up the balloons has the best seat in the house? Basically meaning, is there room for more than one winner?



Learning the fine are of keeping score involves making a personal decision of accepting the idea that today might be the single twenty four period where your name might come in third or fifteenth place.



Try telling that to a group of Tae Kwon Do multi colored belts who’ve been trained to kill or be killed. Once the Olympic sparring ref drops his or her arms…you better be wearing a game face. I can still hear my Karate Sensei shouting at the top of his lungs, “Mr. Radio man! You aren’t here to have a great time! If I see you making friends in my class one more time you’ll be doing pushups until each arms falls off.”



Monday night TKD black belt classes are supposed to be silent. Can you imagine me sitting in such a place? The voices in this noggin are so loud people three city blocks away can’t figure out where the volume is on their remote control.



My biggest weakness is more mental than physical—nobody loses. If popping my balloon is going to make you feel like a winner so be it. I don’t collect trophies…I choose instead to surround myself with winners. I can’t stand the idea of keeping score.



Maybe it’s a bowling thing…it once served as my passion driven heartbeat. Growing up in the American Junior Bowling Congress wasn’t a cool place to hang out in the 70’s. Kids my age were throwing footballs and stuffing basketballs into nets. For some untold reason I couldn’t get enough of rolling a round rock toward six innocent pens. I didn’t sleep at night because my tortured dreams were fed by a decision to make money as a teen in the adult leagues—holding onto it meant getting kicked out of the AJBC at 15.



How did I get this way? The bowling teams I performed with. Parents pulled me aside and sternly said, “Get the girls off your mind and start playing for real.” Once locked onto the adult leagues, accepted betting forced me into a challenge to be better than the best or be like Tiger Woods and start throwing my tools at anything and everything other than having a fun.



Who’s winning when you’ve stopped keeping score?



It’s totally affected the career. A trick I picked up from former NBA standout and now Bobcat announcer Del Curry…it’s perfectly fine to be the 6th man. Always be ready to be unexpectedly called into action. Once on the court shoot to win then go sit down again. You won’t sell the most jerseys nor will your baseball cards be worth more than ten cents in a two dollar pack. Doesn’t matter…surrounding your self with winners has a bigger payoff.



Some recent changes have me pulling off some wickedly weird hours and it seems the only concern offered by others is based on whether there’s a balloon popping pay off. Not a single word based on how strong the team remains.



If a bowling ball is dropped on the foot of the strongest player on the team…where does your attitude sit? Do you council the nearly shattered foot or find yourself worried about the end result of the unfinished game? How do you keep score?



If your current place of employment opens the door for Game Show Friday’s…what reason if any do you participate? Is it a loser leave town approach or a cut loose laid back friendly game of darts? Are you the coworker who takes an extra hour for lunch knowing going back affects your end result more than what being absent might do to others striving to achieve higher marks not for themselves but the company?



Who’s keeping score during a down economy? Maybe the makers of little people T-Ball are onto something when deciding not to count runs—walking away with an everybody’s a winner attitude paints a single outlet of peace until you come face to face with Kevin the Brawler who wastes no time to grind you up and spit a positive attitude into a tobacco chew cup sitting near the door.



How do you pop your balloons? There’s no right or wrong way…but understanding how everybody plays makes it a more productive day.



arroecollins@clearchannel.com

Admit it...you sold your dreams to succeed to someone you didn't know...

Who wins when you keep trying to convince yourself you’ve lost?



Ever had one of those days? No matter what hall you walk down there’s someone waiting to pounce on you like a cat discovering a new paper bag. How can you win when the rules of the game constantly change?



To keep from getting bored, as a kid, we’d spend hours bending and reshaping the proper methods of playing Monopoly. Every roll of the dice featured a new set of plans which made it extremely difficult for newcomers. Ten minutes inside the exciting world of harnessing property then purchasing houses and hotels, a fight broke out verbally then physically.



Because it happened all the time…I assumed it was only natural.



The business world is no different…we’ve evolved into a people of multi-tasking rule breaking and creating with no hope for change. Why should we? The idea of being faithful to coworkers and bosses went out when the NBA masterminded a plan called Free Agency.



The problem is…like brothers and sisters crowded around momma’s kitchen table forking out fake money like it grows in open fields of lettuce and tomatoes fewer adults think before they speak. Words, ideas, expectations and unheard of demands pour from the nearly exploded veins on the forehead of sink or swim and the maker of the game isn’t stepping forward to construct a better path toward seeking peace.



Our idea of releasing is telling coworkers, family and friends how we truly feel. Circles and or cliques have taken shape making this part of the building ours and that corner is yours...for the moment. I’m shocked that we haven’t seen tagging on business walls! Grab a can of paint and spray your name onto a section of the bathroom that says, “Mine.”



I often wonder how Grandpa Dobrenz would’ve reacted if hadn’t been a Wyoming farmer and his boss swiftly turned and shouted, “You’re wasting my time!” Would the well decorated hero from World War I and II find enough space in his playing field to patiently wait for a better time to respond or would an old fashioned western bar brawl invite his spirits to ignite the night?



How many times can you laugh off a situation you know you’ve lost and the only way through it is to giggle or give a coworker the salt from the eyes connected to the windows of your soul? Who wins when you keep trying to convince yourself you’ve lost?



We were once motivated by a simple thought, “Can’t we all just get along?”



That doesn’t work anymore. The competition between coworkers is so high that jealousy has made monsters out of the one time meek and extremely shy. People go to work every morning knowing that today is their last day. If you didn’t get handed the pink slip you’ll lay awake all night wondering how pink is pink and will there ever be a warning sign before a simple invitation to visit a decision maker’s office becomes the color of Pepto Bismol.



The reason why people drive too fast has nothing to do with getting to the next destination ahead of time…we can’t break away from the past fast enough. If we crash, that’s ok…the insurance company will pay for it. If sniffles in the nose become a horrible cold…it’s this year’s hottest gift for Christmas to give it to the mean person in cubical number six.



Are we numb or faking a new level of motivation? Intimidation is free.



Most have no clue they’re crossing the line of demands—to do or to die requires a warriors pride and each twenty four hour period presented is nothing more than an act of bravery without the aid of scouts or medicine men who might be blessed with the opportunity to see the future…truth is, they’re relying on their memories to shower them with the outcome of what took place during the opening chapters of an event just like this a week ago.



Ronald Reagan was three decades off. The 80’s weren’t the “Me Generation.” Today we are more “Me” than a single “Me” can generate. We’ve bitten too much off the “Me” factor and expect everyone to be in me time, on me time, in place and never out or “Me is going to get angry.”



Oprah tried her hardest to convince a wobbling America that it isn’t about us but rather them. In the book The Secret the true message has nothing to do with how much you’ll gain but rather how we as a community can grow as several different notes but through a common connection there is harmony. The moment you take “Me” out of the pages printed on that once living tree…you’ll start to realize something incredibly positive begins to grow when winning has nothing to do with losing.



When you win, you’ve won…three seconds after a victory you’re now a used to be. Sean White spent years fighting hard to win Olympic gold. Now that he’s won…all that dedication and loyalty, all that determination and spirit means nothing to the common person. What was…was and when you live like you’re dying…ten minutes ago doesn’t mean anything to anyone in this Monopoly game.



We want it all and we want it all now. He or she who cheats is getting away with it in the name of doing everything in your power to keep peace. Who wins when you keep trying to convince yourself you’ve lost?

You win when you stop to breathe not once but every chance you get before you speak.



arroecollins@clearchannel.com