Dick Vermeil On Stress

Retired football coach Dick Vermeil,73,has been offering some advice to Type A personalities.The leave of absence of Florida coach Urban Meyer on account of stress-induced chest pains has highlighted the effects of stress in a very bold way,making Coach Vermeil's insights especially relevant:
1.Don't let your passion become your obsession.
2.You have to delegate.
3.You have to let others do what you do well.
4.Realize when you can get away,even if only for 25-30 minutes,to regroup.Many times,under pressure you're not making the right decisions.
5.You have to be yourself.If I'm offensive,they have to live with it.People appreciate you most if you're yourself.
6.I'd coach tomorrow if I were younger.It doesn't mean you can't be a good parent or grandparent.As I got older,I did a better job of balancing.You only have one chance,Dick Vermeil observed.
Coach Vermeil said he was glad Coach Meyer was taking a leave of absence,rather than resigning.Stress can be managed,the former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles,St.Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs explained.Mr.Vermeil has been married to Carolyn White since 1956.They are the parents of three and grandparents of eleven.Coach Vermeil was the first coach in the history of football to win both the Rose Bowl(1976)and Super Bowl(2000).He was portrayed in the 2006 film "Invincible" by Gary Kinnear.

Shop Talk

I have readers in Sunnyvale and Mountain View,California.Southern Cal won its third straight Rose Bowl yesterday,to the chagrin of Penn State fans.The markets back East are still being cheerful,but the volume is light,so we cannot be quite sure about this.There is a consensus that the markets will recover in the second half of 2009,yet enough caution in the wind to give us pause.Everyone has been wrong before,and we are in the worst financial crisis in more than a generation,so a prolonged downturn would seem more than reasonable.It is also more than reasonable,then,to keep the portfolio defensive for the foreseeable future.Yes,you could miss some of the upswing,but once it occurs,there will be plenty of it to get in on.Have a safe drive home,if you aren't there already.