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Quote of the Week - July 29, 2013

8/1/2013

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." ~ Stephen Grellet - a missionary who lived from 1773-1855.

Just got back from a get-away - stayed off the computer for a few days and survived. Had a GREAT time with family - wonderful especially to reconnect with my wife on a fabulous date night.

Reading the paper this morning I found a great poem that Catherine Galasso-Vigorito put in her article - this is the Quote of the Week that I will have some thoughts on later - actually, I would like to hear some thoughts from you that I could use in my writings. Let me know what you think.

I guess as the years go on in our lives, it becomes easier to see that Stephen was right on with his statement above. We do only come through here one time and we need not to waste our time when it comes to us having the ability to help others. We can (and should) look to be a difference maker in many areas throughout our lifetime. Just think if everyone would look a little more to helping others instead of always being focused on themselves, this world would be so much better off.

There are plenty of times when something comes up and if we don't act on it or do something with it, that event will not ever come back to us again. Certain doors only remain open for so long. I think we all fall for the fallacy that we will always have a chance to do certain things when we get around to it. I love the line above "... Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." It's that action part of success that he is talking about. I'm sure glad too, since I need to be reminded about that again and again. When things present themselves to us in our lives, and we have to make a choice - we need to step in and do just that. When it comes to helping others, it becomes even more apparent for us to step in and do just that when the chance comes.

What do you think? Any stories to share on this idea that can HELP others?? ;-) Let me and others know here. Happy August too!

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Quote of the Week - July 22, 2013

7/22/2013

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"Do you ever doubt or worry that the sun may not rise tomorrow? Sunrise must come, it's an immutable law of the universe. And so must your dreams if you simply plant good seeds and continue to nurture them." ~ Russ Whitney

Interesting points Russ brings up here. Not sure I doubt that the sun won't come up tomorrow. In fact, that is one thing my dad always would say - "don't worry John, the sun will come up tomorrow." Sometimes I would get worked up about something, worry about it, and my dad would always help bring me back down to earth a little bit.

I think what Russ is talking about here is that we need to have the faith that our dreams are the same way. We need to work at them everyday, just like the sun comes up every day. It goes back to a very simple idea that Mike Litman (best selling author of "Conversations with Millionaires") would always talk about - yet it's more difficult to do than people think. Mike would mention the idea about working on your goals and dreams just 1% everyday. Do little things here and there, everyday that would get you closer to your goals and dreams. He would say that after a month, look as to how far you got toward them. After half a year - wow! Especially after a year would go by... great progress for sure.

This quote struck me right in the nose. It got me thinking about the changes I have to make to start getting the believe and expectation about my dreams and goals. I need to get out there and not only expect that everyday something will get accomplished or started towards them, but also that 1% factor really connects to this point too. Where are you at with this thought? Is this concept something you have thought about before like I have? Is it something that you need to get back to doing everyday, like I do? I always welcome your thoughts, ideas and discussion as I really get something from anyone that takes the time to share. Writing this has helped me remember a 1% choice I can make right now in getting something done. How about you?

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Quote of the Week - July 8, 2013

7/8/2013

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"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are always so many times throughout our lives where we have the opportunity to help someone else. There can be many ways of doing that. It might come from a simple smile, holding a door open for someone or many other simple ways. There could also be other ways that might take more time or more of a direct action from us to help someone.

Throughout our lifetime there are so many people that come in and out of our lives. Any time we can help someone in life, that creates a small piece of success for the other person and ourselves too. It actually can do more. Most of the time, other people are witnesses to that helping action. We can show others a great example to create little bits of success in their lives too.

So many times most people think that having a ton of money or a great number of possessions are signs of success. Ralph Waldo Emerson has so many writings and ideas that go against that notion. He seems that he was all about helping us to work on improving ourselves and focusing on helping others. That to me is a sure sign of a great formula for us to have success in our lifetime. Just think, if more people went about living their lives with this thought of helping others - think about all the great things that could happen. What are your ideas and thoughts about what Mr. Emerson has said?

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Quote of the Week - March 18, 2013

3/18/2013

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"Every challenge is nothing more than a chance to make things better." - Lolly Daskal

This in itself is an amazing quote due to the simple fact that since we have challenges just about every day of our lives, we have the chances every day to make things better. Some people have more challenges than others so they really have the opportunities to make significant changes in their lives to make things better.

Another key to this thought I think is that not only can it help ourselves in our own life, but those that we are connected to as well. You see, all the people that are connected to us in our lives also face challenges. If we are able to have this way of thinking to help ourselves, we can also help those around us too. If you haven't noticed the world if full of challenges each and every day. Instead of complaining, criticizing, condemning about them and letting those challenges dictate life to us, we have the ability to look at how we can get better from this. We can spend our time looking to solve these issues or at least work towards making them better.

Funny thing is, it's taken me so long to figure this out. Actually, I'm just starting to not only figure this out, but maybe even actually doing something about these things. Do I wish I figured it out sooner in life? You bet I do. I try and get my students to start thinking about these things sooner than I did. I always tell them to learn from me and others so they can do things differently than we did. Even today as I write these thoughts and ideas over a cup of coffee before I start my day, there are many things that I need to work on and this morning I did work on one small little thing instead of putting it off like I normally do. I look at that choice and I know my day today (a Monday) will start out better than normal all because of a choice I made to do something different this morning.

How about you? What challenges are you going through that you are trying to make things better? Remember, we can learn so much from each other. I love being a teacher because I can help others get better. But the flip side is more true than that.... I get to learn from others. So drop me a note, leave some thoughts and ideas for me and others to learn from and make things better for you and others too.

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Quote of the Week for February 25, 2015

2/27/2013

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“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” - Oscar Wilde

We all have issues going on in our lives.  It seems now a day that so many people are having more issues in their lives that they must deal with. From money problems, the poor economy, the negative news around the country and around the world, in the media; there is no wonder the mood seems to be sad and depressing at times.

But what about if we took a step back and took a deep breath and tried to look at each issue by itself instead of one big jumbled mess. The things that I’ve been working on, I’ve tried to do just that.  I’m trying to ask myself, “What can I do about that?”  It’s always good to try and deal with things that we can actually do something about. It’s taken me a long time to realize that fact, and to tell you the truth, I still need to be reminded about it all the time it seems. Worrying really doesn't do any good at all.   I've found that if I deal with things that I can control, I feel much better about all the things going on in my life.

I've also began to see that there is opportunity in these bitter trials. Mostly it’s the opportunity for me to get better.  While others may blame, criticize and condemn others for their situations; I’m trying to learn to look for the chances for me to get better and to improve the situation that I find myself in. Does it work all the time? No way, but it’s getting better. There are usually things that come out of tough times that make us better in the long run. That involves having patience and the ability to actually do something about the situations that we find ourselves in. It’s a long process sometimes and we have to remember that life is indeed a journey and there are many things that happen along that journey.

Any insights? Any thoughts? Ideas?  Always looking to learn from others – and I know others are looking to learn from you too. Go on… be a difference maker by offering your ideas to help yourself, me and others.

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Quote of the Week, January 14, 2013

1/15/2013

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“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” -- Charles Dickens

One of the things that I try and get across to my students is to be a difference maker. I put my weekly picture on my Blackboard sites and it was that exact message. So when I found this quote
and how much it connected with that important idea, I had to get it out there.

When we set out to make a difference with others, that can be done in so many ways. It is something that all of us can do each and everyday with so many people. First, would be to make a difference with yourself. With everything going on in the world, we can make a huge difference with ourselves by working on how we think. By watching our self-talk, making it more positive rather than negative, that can really help ourselves out. We all have critics taking shots at us along with the everyday trials and tribulations taking shots at us too. How we "defend" ourselves from these issues is very important in making a difference with ourselves.

Once we make a difference with ourselves, we are then able to have a huge impact with helping others. Making a difference with others is one of the things that is most needed in today's world. So many people need help in many different ways and you would be surprised to know that you might be the one that can do it with someone that you will see today. So, see who you can help today along with helping yourself. Make it a point every day you can to lighten the burden of someone else.

The few people that have responded to these thoughts, please know you have already helped me, a great deal with your time and thoughts. So, you've already taken care of helping someone - that someone would be me. :-) I appreciate it very much. Leave me your thoughts since it will not only help me, but in turn it will help others too.

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Quote of the Week - December 17, 2012

12/16/2012

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“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once." ~ Calvin Coolidge

Love this quote! Sometimes I think we look at all the many different things we have to do in our lives and we get discouraged at the enormous mountain of stuff. I know sometimes I get overwhelmed and if I can remember to focus on just one thing to work on, it helps me tremendously. I know I can work on one thing at a time, but for me the key is to at least get going on that one thing. I have mentioned to my students this new Winter term that we just started about the W.I.N. principle (What's Important Next) - a great thought that I got from coach Lou Holtz. Something to focus on next time you feel overwhelmed with a bunch of things to do.

With the recent events in Connecticut at the elementary school, this quote also reminds me that when things happen that affect a great number of people in a tragic way, I think it comes down to the fact that we MUST do something. That something has to be bringing us all closer together rather than dividing us more than we already are. I see already the politics getting thrown into this sad and heart-breaking issue. One thing is to hopefully start looking at the way we treat each other. It starts with each of us taking the next steps in our lives to not only make ourselves better but also to help others too. These tragic events always seem to bring us closer together, but it's usually only for a brief amount of time. The lessons from the sad event, gets lost with current events and things going on in our lives.

What are your thoughts on what's happened? What are you going to do about it? How does this affect you? Always interested in learning from others... especially you!

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What is your Dash?

6/25/2012

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What is your dash?

Summer is usually a time of year that we slow down a little bit. Rest, relax and reflect about things that are going on in our lives. Hopefully we are able to spend time with family and friends a little more during the summer than the rest of the year.

One thing to maybe reflect upon this summer, and I know I have to do this more often, is to think about our “dash”. I don’t mean running a race, which with my knee is a good thing that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about our dash as it connects to our life. There is an inspirational poem by Linda Ellis that I’ve used in my Leadership classes that I teach. The dash is that one little character that is between our date and year of our birth and the date and year that we die.

We all see the date of a person’s birth and the date that they die, but the dash in-between the two dates is what that person’s life was really all about. What do we spend our dash doing? What makes a lifetime fit into one little character? I ask that you check out her poem and there is a short movie clip on it too that you can watch. Then please, not only do I want you to start thinking about how you are spending your dash; but please let me know what your thoughts are. I’m looking for inspiration and help with some of my writings.

So please, if you can get back to me with some feedback on Facebook, through my blog, or by email. I would really appreciate any thoughts you had on this as I am really looking at personally improving my dash along with getting some help with things I’d like to write about.

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Thanksgiving - Key moment in life that made a difference?

11/24/2011

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As I sit here with a Thanksgiving morning cup of coffee, I got to thinking. I just got back from dropping off my son at school at 7:15 a.m. to get ready for the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade.  His school marching band will be marching in it, for the 4th straight year and the last year, at least for him, as he will be graduating this year.  It hit me as to how much I will miss this part of Thanksgiving and how proud I am of all the hard work he has put in over the last 4 years.

The traditional thoughts of the many things to be thankful for came rushing into my mind. I have seen a lot of Facebook postings on this subject over the last week or so.  Something my brother-in-law James asked me awhile ago while we were out celebrating my sister-in-law’s birthday.  He asked about what was one key memorable moment, difference making moment in our lives, besides our wedding and the birth of our kids was a key point too.

My wife and I along with James and Michelle, all took turns telling our stories. It was very interesting, emotional and defining for each of us.  Mine was the difference maker a college professor was to me in my life. Dr. Wells Cook at Central Michigan University was a man who I can really look back at meeting him as a defining, difference making moment in my life. Sophomore year at CMU, not really knowing what career I had in mind as my first three choices of Sports Medicine, Broadcasting, and Hotel / Restaurant Management were not going to work since I
found out more details about each of those careers along with the fact of not having much faith in myself at that time.

Dr. Cook came into that Intro to Business class and I remember that moment after about 10 minutes of him introducing himself and telling his story on how he got started in life that the light-bulb went off in my head. Combining a business degree with teaching! That was going to be it for me. I remember calling my parents and telling them about it. They were excited and happy for me, surprised a little bit, but very supportive. Dr. Cook connected with me and I remember something inside of me telling me to get to know him and ask him questions. I introduced myself and it was amazing what happened from there. I noticed other students that he had connected with coming around and asking him questions and he took the time for each of them. I noticed how much he put other people first. He pushed people to do their best in everything they did.  He believed in his students, he believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. I spent so many times in his office talking about life, family, the future, etc.  He took me to lunch so many times so we could keep talking and I could keep learning; truly an amazing man.  He came to our wedding and we stayed in touch for all the years after up until he passed away from cancer about 6 years ago.  I remember thanking him so many times over the last few years of his life for what he did for me.   Next to my dad, he was a man that I told him that I loved him for what a difference he made in my life. I’m sure glad I told him many times before he died.

From the time he took with me, and he was a lead connecting piece in helping me get my first teaching job after I graduated; I have focused my teaching career to follow the principles that he taught me. It’s all about your students he would tell me over and over again. I’m not where I want to be as a teacher, (or as a father, husband, etc.) but I’ve been working at it over the years to get there. Dr. Cook has given me a great target to shoot for as I continue to try and be a difference maker with my students, both past and present. So, as I sit here with my delicious cup of coffee, in the silence of an early Thanksgiving day morning, I think about Dr. Cook and how I can be more like him.

What is a key, defining moment in your life? What is a key time that you can share to maybe help others, and really, help yourself? That key question that James put out that night for all of us to share, really got me thinking about not only other key moments in my life but mainly how many people might be able to say that I was a key, difference making moment in theirs?? Let me and others know about your thoughts on this. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families too.

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Forward>>

Quote of the Week - July 29, 2013

Quote of the Week - July 22, 2013

Quote of the Week - July 8, 2013

Quote of the Week - March 18, 2013

Quote of the Week for February 25, 2015

Quote of the Week, January 14, 2013

Quote of the Week - December 17, 2012

What is your Dash?

Thanksgiving - Key moment in life that made a difference?

Coach John Daly

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