Category: Friends - Coach to Expect Success

Examine Our Lives With Gratitude

8/7/2019

Another amazing event that we had this past weekend that came with more life lessons that made a big impact on me. We went to a fantastic wedding - BIG SHOUT OUT to Kelsey & Cody!! Amazing time with so many awesome people. There were so many of my former students there in attendance - besides the bride & groom being former students too. It reminded me as to how much gratitude I have for these "kids" - I guess they will always be my kids eventhough they are all playing the adult game of life & playing it really well. So many of my former students inspire me with not only what they are doing now with their lives, but they also inspired me when they were in high school too. So many valuable conversations that I had with them throughout their years in school. Many times I got so much positive feedback and encouragement from them, that there was a distinct difference they made in my life.

Combined with some items from Brian Buffini's book again - "The Emigrant Edge", all about gratitude. It should be a core value of our lives as it affects really all that we do. I felt so much gratitude at this weeding. Not only for all the great people around, but mostly because I was with my wife! Going to a wedding in which there are great people, great food & drink, fantastic music, a lot of room to walk around, along with watching my wife enjoy herself so much. I'm blessed with so much gratitude having her in my life - for almost 30 years of marriage.

Another BIG SHOUT OUT to Dr. Jeff Lip and his latest guest, Denyse from Canada. I think it was his best show that he has evver done - please check that out (and all of his shows) at www.jefflip.com I hope that after you listen to this show - that you take a more examined look at your life. These two are just a small part of so many great relationships that I have in my life. They make such a difference for me in my life.

Check out that person in the mirror a little more often and ask yourself - "how are things going?". Then work whatever your answers are. I know I'm trying to do this everyday. It's all part of doing your life's "homework." Reach out and let me know how your homework is going?

What A Saturday It Was!

7/14/2019

This past Saturday, July 13 was a great day for two distinct reasons. It all has to do with people that I am blessed to have in my life.

First was an early morning golf outing benefiting a scholarship fund at Lake Shore High School. This was not just any scholarship, it was the Austin Lipscomb Memorial Scholarship fund named after a great kid that lost his life a few years ago. Another key connection is that his dad is a coworker and a good friend of mine. Craig is the backbone of this incredible outing. He is the one, along with family and great friends, who take the time to put this all together. It's always a lot of fun and this year was the same - a lot of fun with awesome people. I got the honor of playing with coworkers & good friends of mine - Todd, Paul and the one and only Dr. Jeff Lip - which by the way was his first time playing golf. He was asking a lot of questions, he hit some really great shots too and of course there was a lot of laughter coming from all of us today. What a great honor it was to raise some money for a great scholarship.

The day capped off with a wedding. Not just any wedding mind you, but one that brought together two more of my coworkers. Donna and Rich got married and what an emotional night it was. These two people are just so down to earth, great friends. Rich was a major difference maker in my life when he introduced me to some fantastic people that taught me a ton about life and leadership. He's been there for me through a lot during the years. A true difference maker for me and really has helped improve me as an educator, coach, husband, heck, as a person. Donna - I've known her from day one when I got to Lake Shore. She's one of the few people there that has been there longer than I have. She has helped me countless times along with (not kidding here) every person in the building, just about every year. You see, for both of them this is there 2nd marriage and they had alot of family there to celebrate with them. The happiness that I saw there, simply brought me to tears. It's what life is all about. Great people celebrating BIG with some amazing people.

The entire day - the long day - was great. It reminded me how blessed I am to have the life that I have. The golf was a lot of fun. We didn't win mind you, but for us, that was not the reason we were playing anyway. My wife looked great for the wedding, so it was a fantastic "date night" that we got to have. Moments like this will stay with me for life. It's all about people and I hope you realize that too. Life's all about relationships and the positive interactions that you can have and the difference you can make for others too.

Laughter & Good People

7/10/2019

My last two podcasts had themes about laughter, joy and gratitude and how we need to have more of it in life. I know this is true for me as I've been seeing the need more and more to find more joy and less anger, negativity, resentment, etc. I've been noticing people in my life that I find genuine joy with hanging out wit them. I got to have breakfast with my good friend Will Hitchcock - a former student and my longest running speaker that I bring into my classes that I teach. He's been speaking to my classes roughly since 2004. He's one of my top favorite speakers in my Principle of Leadership classes every year.

Another meeting over food - same restaurant too later that same day, was with my good friends Alan and Linda. Alan is a former colleague that worked with Linda and I - but he's been retired for a few years and we try and get together a couple of times a year. Hopefully next time - later next month - we will have even more of the ol' workplace gang out to have lunch with Alan too.

But this day was a lot of joy and laughter with these people. I realized that I need to do more of that too. Hanging out with good people in life is good for everyone involved. Life is what we make of it and if life's all about relationships - which it is, then hanging out with great people is really what it's all about. Plus you can never go wrong with a place that has good food too. :-)

Sense of Humor Is Key In Life!

6/30/2019

On Thursday, June 27 I got the opportunity with two good friends of mine, Paul & Craig - to see the one and only David Feherty at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan. I have always been a big fan of his throughout his playing & broadcasting careers. So when I saw that he was having his show there, I knew I had to go. Let me tell you - he was incredible!! An absolute joy to laugh so hard for just about the entire 2 hours and 15 minutes that he spoke.

One of the key elements that David talked about was having a sense of humor. Some of his language could be deemed offensive by some people and he made sure that was never his intent. His intent is to show humor in life's ups and downs. In fact, he mentioned one important thing - and I agree with him. It's tough to trust someone who doesn't have a sense of humor. Maybe trust is a strong word, but at least it's tough to work with them, like them or have a good relationship with them. I think many people are drawn to people with a sense of humor in life.

To hear his story of the ups (playing pro golf, winning tournaments, and playing in the Ryder Cup) and the lows (alcohol / drugs, growing up in a war zone, divorce, etc.) and his sense of humor and gratitude are what got him through life. You see, he became a citizen of the United States after he was born in Northern Ireland. The importance of what this country offered him as far as opportunities - he did not take that for granted. During his talk he shared his love and affection for the USA and it was one of the many things that helps to connect him to many people.

I walked out of this show in total gratitude for what he shared with us. Laughing so hard that there were tears in my eyes and to share it with friends made it even more enjoyable. It's been said that laughter is good for the soul, and I totally believe it. I walked out of there more appreciative and grateful for what I have in my life. I also will be focusing on having a sense of humor more in my life, especially when I look at myself. There are many ups and downs in everyone's life and David reminds us to look for those humorus moments and laugh a little bit at them before you go and do something about it.

6 Reasons To Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

10/29/2018

Came across an interesting article that I gave to my students for one of their weekly blog assignments. This article titled "6 Reasons To Step Outside Your Comfort Zone" - by Carolyn Gregoire had some great points to it. Find the article HERE.

Now this subject about getting out of my comfort zone has been one that I've been hearing a lot of lately. It has been a major part of my conversations with some friends of mine along with hearing the message over and over again in different podcasts too.

When we step out of our comfort zone there can be tremendous risk involved which can lead to more worries & stress. But to me, there seems to be enough of these things in our world right now and I have tried to look upon it as opportunity rather than just sitting back and letting things happen to me and I don't do anything about it. To me, taking risk to grow and get better is a good trade off compared to the misery and worry about reacting to all the stuff going on in the world.

There are new doors that open up for us when we get out of our comfort zone along with meeting new people too. We learn new things about ourselves along with picking up some new skills at times too. A little anxiety or stress can help us achieve more in our lives. The article also brings up the fact (and I agree) that we can't be getting out of our comfort zone 24 / 7. There are times where it is totally ok for us to be in our comfort zone and relaxing and unplugging for sure. That's exactly what I did this weekend and I got to say, I liked it. ;-)s No

The World Lost A Good Guy - Thoughts From Dr. Wayne Dyer

9/8/2015

"Nobody can take your dreams away from you. You can imagine anything you want." -- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

We lost a great man this past week with the passing of Dr. Wayne Dyer and when I saw this quote it got me thinking as to what many of his messages were all about, especially this one.

First of all I remember listening to a few Wayne Dyer audios along with a number of interviews that either he did or others interviewed him. One of the many things he would focus on was the above quote and the fact that it was very important to dream in the first place. He would promote the fact on how powerful our minds really are and that we just have to tap into some of that power in order to make substantial changes in our lives.

With the world being as crazy as it, is the thought as come to me on how vitally important it is for us to indeed dream about things that are close to our heart and those things that are part of our core being and then of course start to do things about putting those things into action. As I sit here on a Saturday morning along with my cup of coffee of course and get back into somewhat of a normal schedule with school starting in a few days, this thought really has me intrigued about many things.

Another quote I saw this morning before I started writing this was from Brian Tracy and it was about not playing for being safe and how dangerous that is, and that ties into for me, how it’s not doing any good for the world. By us dreaming, imagining and doing the action steps needed to make those things happen – then we are affecting not only ourselves but everyone around us that we know and even those that we don’t know. As I sit here contemplating that thought, I do get excited knowing that I have to, it’s more that I MUST get going on making my dreams and goals a reality. That thought alone has been with me for a large portion of my life so as they say, lesson repeated until lesson learned.

With school starting again, what better way for this teacher and coach to get back to “school” where I need to make some changes, continue to make some things happen for me and my family along with others that are around me too. In fact part of it for me is to connect more with those people around me that mean something to me. My good friend Don, yes… coach Don that I coach with, just texted me about going out for breakfast. He like me, is an early riser which is a good thing. He is one of my good friends that I need to do more with, help him more with his dreams and goals (which we do indeed talk about), and along with this comes him helping me too.

So as the calendar is now into September and there seems to be more of a “normal” schedule for most people with school starting and all, I wonder what are a few things that you can start working on that connects to your dreams and goals? The power of our minds that Dr. Dyer spent his life researching and sharing that information to help others, check some of his work out. Listen to him and read a few of his books and then look to do a few things that will help you with your dreams and goals. You will be benefiting not only yourself, but also you will make a difference for others too. What a great focus point to start off the school year with. Don’t you think?

Three Ways To Raise Your Happiness Instantly - Quote Of The Week!

2/8/2015

“Three Ways To Raise Your Happiness Instantly:
1. Look at pictures of your loved ones.
2. Start your day with positive statements.
3. Compliment 3 people.”

- Dr. Jonathan Fader

Great way to not only start out a week, but how about every day! Just try this – see how many people you can help change their day by doing this. I know it won’t help everyone you come into contact with, but it will for sure help you!

Since I’ve been home recovering from back surgery, there hasn’t been one day where I haven’t looked at pictures of my family and friends. We have them all over the house, on our fridge and yes, I’ve obviously looked at those pictures online too that are out there. For me, what a great focus on the important fact that I want to continue to try and do things to help them. It also hammers home the point for me not to let them down with my choices that I make in life. There is also plenty of inspiration from these pictures too. Always great to connect with pictures of our loved ones, lot’s of lessons there.

Starting my day with positive thoughts, ideas and statements is something I try to focus on every single day; that and my first cup of coffee. There are plenty of examples out there for us to focus on. Since I usually work on my Blackboard sites for my classes every morning, I see first thing my quote of the week! This helps me so much, you don’t think I do these quotes just for you?? These positive statements help get my day going in a direction that I want it to start out in. Since I know I will encounter plenty of negative during my day, this is an instant defense to that.

The complimenting of 3 people – that one I have always tried to do for a long time, but I never really thought of doing at least 3 people. That is something I will be doing more of for sure. It’s amazing to see the look on someone’s face when you say good morning to them, or good to see you this morning, or even that they look nice today. At times, this really works on someone who is mostly negative or even someone that you might not get along with too well; this can work wonders on. Try it sometime, you might like the results.

Take Some Time To Look Around In Our Lives... So Much To See... Quote Of The Week!

11/2/2014

"Look back and be grateful, look ahead and be hopeful, look around and be helpful." - Unknown

Taking some time more often than usual to look around in our lives, is something that can be very beneficial and valuable for us to do. Just taking a few moments now and then to pause the craziness in our lives and look around at all the things that will be helpful to us.

This quote jumped out at me and I'm a firm believer that as long as we are looking, things that we need to see do make an appearance - then it's up to us to recognize that and grab a hold of it and use it. This unknown quote is something that did just that for me.

As I look ahead to having my back surgery this week, I must say it’s amazing to have so many thankful thoughts and feelings flooding over me. Looking at others that I met at a pre-surgery class that I went to last week, that they will be having the same surgery as I am and to see the different circumstances that they are going through compared to me. Amazingly grateful and feeling very blessed.

I am definitely hopeful as I look ahead to after the surgery is complete. I will have a very long recover period where I will not be in school and I’ve told my principal that I will still have my hand on things from home for some of the time I will be out. This has also led me to know how truly grateful I am that I have a job that I’m very passionate about. It has struck me as to how much I will miss my students, working with them, helping them, getting to know them, seeing them understand things, see positive changes they are making, etc. My coworkers are my friends as they are the ones that I spend a huge amount of time with – I will be missing them too.

The looking around to be helpful is something that I have prided myself on my entire teaching career. Now I’m the one that will need some help. It brings me to tears as I am writing this as I have my wife and my family. My wife will be taking some time away from her job to help me as I get back home after my hospital stay. My son and daughter will be home from college for a few weeks, they will be around to help me and my wife out. My mom too will be helping out along with other family members, friends and neighbors that have told us they will do whatever we need. This also ties into the thankful and grateful part. I cannot understand at times how lucky and blessed I am. Both for having a job that I care deeply about working with my students, but also all the fabulous people in my life that are there for me when I need them and are there other times for us to do things together and help each other at the different stages in our lives.

These quotes of the week always make sense (at least to me) to start a week off on a Monday with. This quote especially should be one that you should take a moment or two and let it sink in a little. (all of these that I find I feel the same too – but this one is a little extra special) Then let me and others know what does it mean to you – how can you use this to make some changes this week and beyond that will pay some huge dividends sooner or later in your life.

So if you are reading this in the next couple of days – have me in your thoughts would you please – say a prayer if you are inclined to do that, for I will appreciate all of them.

Quote of the Week - November 11, 2013

11/12/2013

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” -- William Penn

When I saw this quote, it came on the heels of watching a FANTASTIC movie with my wife on Sunday night. We saw "About Time" and then saw a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and then we made our way to dinner. The movie was one of the best ones I have ever watched as it had so many important messages that I guess I needed to see and hear at that time in my life. The messages are similar to others that I've had before, but I guess it stood out to me more at that time than ever before.

I tell my students over and over again that time is really our most important resource. Unlike most other resources, including money that can be re-used or we can get more of; time is not like that at all. Once it's gone, we can't get it back. As we walked out of the movie I remember thinking that I wanted to really notice what was going on around me. I looked a little bit more at things going on around us that night. At the people, the kids especially - their faces, what they were saying, the gentle smiles that were all around at this outdoor mall's Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

The dinner that Sunday night with my wife - one of the best we ever had at TGI Fridays no less. I had to fight back the tears that started as I watched the movie (and as I am typing this now) as I thought about how blessed I am and what I have in my life. Like the movie (without giving too much away) - we all have our issues, but the one thing that we have for such a brief period of time it seems is our families and friends, both young ones and the older ones.

First off... see this movie. Secondly, see how you spend your time throughout your days and nights. How we do that dictates a lot of what happens in our lives. The one resource we can't get back is the most valuable to us. We see that some times too late. The key is I think to realize that as we are in those moments so that we can enjoy it while we are in it. Then looking back we will hopefully have less regrets and worries on how we spent those years that seem to go by oh so fast. I sure wish I spent a lot of my past years differently than I did, but I've learned from them that's for sure. What about you? Spend some of your precious time thinking about how we spend it. Then start making some changes; in our thinking, what we say, how we react to others, how we spend our time on our own and with our loved ones. Such an in depth topic here, I know I need some help in some feedback discussions - so, what do you think? Let me and others know.

Quote of the Week - August 19, 2013

8/20/2013

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” Willie Nelson

One of the simplest thoughts with some of the biggest payoffs around. When I saw this quote the other day, not only did I stop and think about it, but then I also put it into play. There have a been a few sleepless nights lately due to me worrying about things that I really can't control and / or things that haven't even happened yet, and chances are they won't happen. When I started to focus on the good things I have in my life, most of the worries take a hike. I tell you this, getting a good night's sleep is not overrated.

I've read it a lot, had this statement told to me a lot - that we are what we think about. That sure is the truth. As I get ready to embark not only on a new school year, but another year as a husband, father, son, friend, teacher, etc.; I know how much better things will be if I have my focused attention on all the countless blessings that I have in my life and not the worries, stresses, low-points, negativity from others, etc. It does indeed take effort, but it's effort that has a huge payday!

This also helps me to see more positive things in others - especially since many of the others that I am talking about are part of my blessings in my life. My wife, my kids, my parents and in-laws, my co-workers, my students, my neighbors, my friends, etc. There is a very peaceful feeling or mind-set when I sit back and think about this. It's very powerful too as I really get a sense of confidence for myself when I think about this quote from good 'ol Willie. Willie Nelson sure could sing. He also knows about life too.

Any thoughts to share? to help others? Always looking to get feedback to gather more information on these thoughts and topics. Drop me a note too if you want to.