Neil J. Weissman, MD, FASE

“Imagine a movie that includes every day for the rest of your life…” What would that movie show? What parts are you most proud of? What parts do you want to fast-forward through? And when you see each day stitched together in rapid sequence, do they collectively tell the story you want them to?

The concept of a “life movie” may sound far fetched, but it’s not. A colleague introduced me to a TED talk entitled “1 Second Everyday” ( http://www.ted.com/talks/cesar_kuriyama_one_second_every_day ). An entrepreneur, Cesar Kuriyama, took a video on his phone each day and then developed an app which stitches together one-second-long snippets to compile a compelling, personal movie.

While Kuriyama was motivated to capture something that will help him remember each day, the movie (30 seconds per month, six minutes per year, or an hour per decade) had a much deeper impact. Since the same amount of time is taken each day, the movie plays back how you are spending your life (both what you do and the amount of time/days you dedicate to it). It forces you to step back from the tyranny of the daily to observe your own life, in total.

I downloaded the app at the beginning of the year and started taking videos each day. It’s been fun deciding which video I would use each day. For example, in February I took a video at ASE’s “State of the Art” and in March there is video at ASE’s Board of Directors’ strategic retreat. Even the ASE booth at a national cardiology meeting made it into my life-video. Over the weekend that I am writing this column, there is a video of a very proud father and son who hung pegboard and organized the basement.

While I look forward to “playing back my life” it has already made me more consciously aware (and asking myself) if the compendum of videos will add up to tell the story I want them to. This conscious awareness helps me approach each day with a recognition and vigor that daily activities add up to a lifetime of achievements.

So, what will your movie show? As I finish my year as president of the ASE, I feel confident that collectively we are doing things on a daily basis that are advancing the field of cardiovascular ultrasound. Every day, somewhere across the globe, an ASE member is demonstrating their commitment to excellence in cardiovascular ultrasound and its application in clinical practice through education, research, advocacy, innovation, and service. This year has been full of so many wonderful “life-movies” with colleagues and friends from our profession.

I also appreciate the “moments” given to me by my ASE colleagues this year as they worked to enhance the profession and our members’ livelihoods. My special thanks go to Dr. David Wiener for his role as chair of the Advocacy Committee, which had a stellar year protecting and advancing echocardiography’s causes on the Hill and in the coding environment. In addition, for Dr. Steve Lester in his role as chair of the IRT Committee, by reformatting the IRT and having great results in attracting new partners and holding the first productive IRT think tank event; as well as Dr. Vera Rigolin as chair of the FASE Committee, for reimaging the FASE process to make it more streamlined and inclusive, and Drs. Roberto Lang and Jim Thomas as chairs of the International Relations Committee, by spearheading the Society’s new international alliance program. Other chairs worked equally hard on their projects to advance the Society’s work including Dr. Federico Asch as the chair of the Guidelines and Standards Committee, Dr. Meryl Cohen as chair of the CME Committee, Dr. Sunil Mankad as the chair of the Membership Committee, Dr. Jeanne DeCara as chair of the Research Awards Committee, Dr. Tom Porter as chair of the Research Committee, Dr. Rebecca Hahn as chair of the Scientific Sessions Program Committee, Dr. Partho Sengupta as chair of the Telemedicine Taskforce, Dr. Linda Gillam as chair of the Awards Committee, Dr. Pellikka as chair of the Nominating Committee, Dr. Andy Keller as chair of the Medical Apps taskforce, Dr. Julius Gardin as chair of the Bylaws and Ethics Committee, Dr. Judy Hung as chair of the Education Committee, Dr. Ben Byrd as chair of the Value Forum, Dr. Sherif Nagueh as the chair of the Finance Committee, Dr. Tom Ryan as chair of the Foundation taskforce, and Dr. Susan Wiegers, as chair of the POC taskforce, along with many other contributors too many to mention here. We have an engaged and active volunteer presence, and I bet their “life videos” would also be filled with ASE memories.

We are very fortunate to work in a field that helps so many people—both through our exceptional clinical care today, and through our discoveries for tomorrow. I am proud of all our work, I am proud to be a member of our cardiovascular ultrasound community, and I am honored to have served as your president this last year. I can’t wait to see the movie that comes out next year!