Super Bowl Sunday: Lucky or Plucky?

It’s Super Bowl Sunday as I write today’s post, and I’m Super excited and getting the wings and the nachos ready! However, I have zero interest in football. I’m tuning in today not to watch the game, but to watch the commercials and the halftime show! My attention will immediately be on the commercials, as my girl, my forever starlet, Maddie McCormick, made it into one of the most highly touted Super Bowl Commercials for Downy sharing their new product, the Unstoppables. (How apropos?!)

I’ve always loved watching commercials during the Super Bowl as it’s the highest echelon of creativity and marketing genius in the world. Companies pay a pretty price to be shown during the most celebrated game of the year. Why am I still talking about the Super Bowl and commercials? It’s not just about being a proud Mama! What you may not know is that much of the filming, especially for commercials like this, ends up on the cutting room floor.

Now, stay with me, as I’m getting to the juicy part and what all of this has to do with YOU!

My girl is a plucky one. She’s always been able to find a way to stand out in a crowd. As a wee one, she would hop up on the stage at Christmas parties, grabbing the microphone and belting out song after song, like a little rockstar. Mind you, at that age, she couldn’t really sing. At least, not well … but that never stopped her! That confidence has served her well in life, particularly in the world of acting and the land of LALA, where confidence and a plucky nature have a lot to do with who ends up in the final cut of any commercial or film versus occupying space on the cutting room floor.

On a little aside, her three cousins also shot a commercial for the Super Bowl. (3 gorgeous cousins who were spotted on a beach by a talent scout and cast in short order!) Alas, they didn’t have the decades of plucky training like my girl and they did end up on the cutting room floor.

How did Maddie avoid that?

Walking into the filming set, Maddie encountered a director who had one of those personalities that might terrify most of us. He was firm, direct and tough as nails. He was abrupt. He said what was on his mind. He didn’t give positive feedback. He barked his orders at the young actors and actresses. He tested them. Fortunately, Maddie has decades of experience and training under her belt, so she rose to the occasion. He asked if anyone could catch. Maddie piped up immediately, I can!

Maddie found herself having a can tossed to her to catch in swift order. Now, the crew yelled, “Don’t drop it! It’s extremely expensive!” They weren’t kidding. They were simply adding to the fear and to the test! This might make anyone shrink back in terror. But not Maddie. She not only caught the valuable container but she ad libbed a whole bunch of lines as they kept tossing it back and forth to her. They happened to love her ballsy improv and not only kept her in the commercial but used her lines as well!

This made me think about life and how stressful situations can make us shrink back rather than to rise up. “Pluckiness” isn’t necessarily something we’re born with. It’s a quality anyone can acquire. We become plucky every time we force ourselves to rise up when our instincts are to shrink. Standing out from the crowd means standing up first and foremost – INSIDE OF YOURSELF – time and time again. It’s pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. It’s fighting our ego and our internal nature and its tendency to sabotage ourselves along with our opportunities … to keep quiet and stay in the background.

To ensure that we don’t end up on the cutting room floor of life, we must rise up, push against our ego, force ourselves to do something different, something plucky and courageous, even when those around us are shrinking back in discomfort.

As Shakespeare said so wisely, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” When we choose to play big on this wild and crazy stage called life, we stand out from the crowd. When we push back on our inherent nature to shrink back in fear or insecurity, we expand the boundaries of our lives and our ability to shine on that stage. And, we have a much better chance to make it into the bright and shiny productions, the world stage, rather than onto the cutting room floor.

MODLife requires us to be plucky. The best way to elevate these years at midlife & beyond and become part of the new Modern Midlife – MODLife – is to to dig deep, to push some boundaries, both within and without, to shine brightly on this wondrous Stage called Life!

Now, wouldn’t you rather have a starring role than end up on that cutting room floor?

I thought so!

Don’t sit and wait to get lucky … stand up, go after what you want and be plucky