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Today we continue a series of blog post I have been writing using the alphabet to define successful people. These words often are mentioned when we look at successful, well rounded people that we know.  Not just your run of the mill person, but people that stand out from the crowd.  Amazing people that set themselves apart from others at work, in sports and in life.  Have you ever met a person that just attracts talented people and lights up a room when they walk in? You may be that person or certainly have the potential to be that person as well.  As I tell my students and athletes weekly, life is what you make of it and you will get out of what you put into it.  In my career I have coached with peers that met many or all of these characteristics.  I have been fortunate to coach a few guys also that had most of these traits and they went on to play high level sports, own businesses and make huge differences in their community.  I encourage you to find you letter of success.  You ask,

Today we are continuing the series on successful coaching, leading and mentoring of people.  Being successful as a leader, mentor, father, mother, coach, teacher, pastor, business owner or whatever your title is requires a skill set that is constantly developed as you become the best you can.  As I look back at my career as a teacher and coach and as a business professional I am grateful for the people I was blessed to work with that had these qualities.  They were successful at what they did and were so consistent with the habits they had to remain on top of their game.  I have tried to be the best leader I can and at times sure I failed at one or two of these qualities somewhere in the process.  The key is knowing where you are, where you want to be and how you will get there.   You don't have to be a leader to maximize some or all of these qualities.  I have worked with front line teachers, sales people and other peers that exhibited many of these traits.  They may not have want

Coaches hold the key to make or break a teams success. Coaches that have poor interpersonal skills, have huge egos, don't care about their student athletes and just use power to bully their way with the athletes put a sour taste in the mouths of the players. On the flip side, a great coach inspires, motivates, leads, guides, teaches and mentors his or her players.  They can inspire a love of the game and a life long relationship with the players they impact.  There are plenty of good sports coaches out there that keep the season humming along, but it’s those great sports coaches that kids (and parents) will remember and love forever. Here are four things those great sports coaches have in common that make student/athletes want to play for them. 1- They love to teach: A great coach loves to teach the sport and does so with passion.  They use the game and its learning to teach life skills, build relationships and build the skills of each individual athlete.  They inspire the players

Creating awareness of your current professional career growth and direction begins with knowing your own routines, habits and results.  We go to work and before you know it the day has come and gone with the results we may not have desired or planned for once the morning started.  There is only a set amount of time in a work day that we can devote to getting work done, doing our jobs and getting the results that both we and the company desire.  Finding ways to become more productive both at work and in your personal life will benefit you and make you more productive at both.  Thinking back to some of the things you have learned through the years from parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, leaders and friends that you once did is a good way to see where you currently stand.   Have you changed, backed off of how you used to be, are you as driven, have your priorities aligned differently now from where they once were.  These things can get in the way and many times it is a new habit we have

I love to go camping in the North Carolina mountains with my family.  My old roommate from college and I used to go every summer in June for a weekend of camping, trout fishing, grilling good food and chilling out with a few cold ones in hand.  Camping is not for everyone and there are different ideas of camping according to who you ask.  My version of camping is a tent, some food, some fire wood, what supplies you need and go find a nice spot on a rushing creek (helps you sleep so good at night) set up and enjoy a few days and nights in the woods getting back to nature.  I have a favorite little spot called Mortimer campground.   It is open only during the spring and fall seasons in the NC mountains on the Wilson Creek Gorge.  If you are ever in NC go see that place it is awesome and has some really good water, great pictures, swimming and fishing. My wife and I plan a trip out west this summer to go enjoy nature and see some mountain parks, rivers, animals and whatever else gets thro

Today I am talking about having a tough conversation with people and how being empathetic and showing you respect and care about what they are saying goes a long ways to building a bridge that can help you gain some type of agreement.  That agreement may be to agree, disagree or table the topic but using these little techniques will make you a better listener, talker and communicator when having tough conversations.  We face those in life with family, friends, co-workers and at times even strangers.  Knowing how to handle these situations with a calm heart and cool head are the key to getting some results from all that drama.   As a high school teacher and coach, I see this all the time with what I call "teenage drama".  I work with my kids on social skills, communication, manners and learning peer pressure to avoidance to just walk away.  I tell them did you physically hear it, see it or touch it.  If not then avoid it and walk away.  Most drama gets started by another perso

Today we are talking about items that you need to have stocked in an emergency preparation and travel kit in case of a natural disaster, loss of power or who knows what with the current state of things.  After doing research on this I realized I had most of these items around the house or in the vehicles.  These are pretty basic items that you can buy at any store, even maybe a dollar tree store for lots of them.  Being prepared for emergencies, natural disasters and other events we do not know are coming is something you need to do to make sure you and those with you are ok.  Going out the day before a predicted wind storm, hurricane or other event creates stress and the items you may need will be gone or very high priced.    Take a look at this list and add/subtract what you want from it and prepare now. Tuck these things away in a bag, box or the garage and have them ready to go.  Some of these things need to be in your car at all times as a precaution just incase you break down or

Today I am discussing the importance of standing strong to you values, morals and belief system during times of trouble, struggle and strife.  Unfortunately, we are living in a time of moral, political, faith based and other belief systems that have led to a division among friends, family and co-workers.  I have friends that have different values in all of these areas and still remain friends with them despite the differences of opinion.  We all grow up in different households, build different values and form our own opinions about faith, politics, life and all those other things we see and hear daily.  I have had some very interesting conversations lately with friends over the phone, online and other ways and it amazes me how some people think, have formed an opinion and just are dead set on that being the only way. I have been told I am hard headed at times and I definitely have a certain opinion about things.  If you read my blog or follow me you may have figured out by now that I a

Today we are looking at a list of things that people used to do on a daily basis before technology changed everything and made them go away.  These are actually things people should continue to do and some may do these anyways.  I love technology but I also continue to do some of these things and still teach my students some of these items because I consider them to be needed life skills.  We all become so dependent on computers, phones, headphones, iPad and all those other gadgets that make life convenient and put the answer right at our hands.  I remember not so long ago traveling with the family and you had to actually take a map of the state out, locate the town or road, read the map and drive to that location.  Now we just say the address to our phone and it tells us how to get there and how long it will take.  1- Figuring out basic math in your head- Kids are graduating school and cannot make change, count forwards or backwards to make change without a cash register telling them

Living in America on most days 99% I would guess is a dream that many people from other places and countries would love to have the same daily opportunity that the majority of us have.  We do have some issues that plague society as a whole but most of them are on a smaller scale and in many cases are brought on by the individual through choices, bad situations and other events that we cannot predict.  I have put together a list of the little things (blessings) that we woke up with today that myself and many other didn't think about or give thanks for this morning or tonight before we go to bed.   Blessings come in small gifts and packages sometimes.  They also come in large packages and events that shape our lives, change things for us and challenge us in life.  Take a look at this list and give thanks for the blessing bestowed upon you and your family today.  You may not experience most of these all the time, but my guess is you have the majority of them daily and can be grateful

Today we are talking about basic life skills that we need to be teaching our pre-teen and teenage children that will assist them in being a productive young adult once they leave the safe confines of mom and dads house.  They will no longer have mom and dad to take care of their clothes, make sure the oil is changed in the car, things are clean and organized and all the other stuff we do for and with our children.  As a high school teacher that specializes in working with kids with intellectual and behavior disabilities one of my main focus points all school year is growing the basic life skills of my students.  As a coach I also assign certain duties to the team so they can learn how to do laundry, clean and keep the locker room neat and orderly.  Our children do not need to grow up having everything handed to them or done for them. Our goal as adults, parents, grandparents, teachers, mentors, aunts and uncles should always be to help our kiddos learn to live, work and play the best t

Today I am writing about the four main parts of my life that equal up to 100% of good spiritual, mental and physical fitness.  This is my list and may vary from what you think are your top four.  For me all of these are necessary for me to live my life with vigor, intent and pursue my dreams.  These four areas are Faith, Family, Friends and Fitness.  I will explain each and how it applies to my overall well being, goals and inner self.  We all have things that drive us, traits, behaviors, beliefs and actions that define us to our family, friends and community.  These four are my main definers and are equal parts to the overall well being of my spirit, mental and physical condition.   I have not always been focused on all of these and they probably were not equal parts.  My faith defines me and drives my interactions, behaviors and thought process with people.  My family is a priority and taking care of them, being a good father, husband, brother, cousin and all those other roles is ver

Today I am writing about one of the biggest problems, issues, conflicts or whatever you call it we have as adults. Balancing work and everyday life is a daily challenge, chore and task that at times can get the best of us. I have been working as an adult now for well over 35+ years and have already transitioned through the various cycles we see in our life cycle as adults, parents, working people and all the other stages we enter and leave in our life. During all of these stages of life one monster was always in the way and that was finding a way to balance home life, work and play. First lets define how I see balance in the parts of your daily life. Work-life balance is basically the concept or way that you prioritize your time, energy and commitment to work, family and fun activity. It is a way to encourage you to divide your time in a way that is best for you and the family. The benefits of prioritizing work-life balance include increased productivity, higher work engagement,

Today I am writing a quick blog post about simple ideas and changes that will allow you to begin the process of losing a few pounds at a time and getting healthier in 2021. I myself began the process of working on my health and weight back in the middle months of 2020 just prior to getting sick with heart issues and then Covid 19 hit me hard. I had lost about 15 pounds by making some small changes and was beginning to feel the physical effects (positive) of the small weight loss and changes the wife and I had made to our diet plan, exercise routine and activity. When Covid hit me in December of 2020, the weight started flying off literally as I have since dropped about 30 pounds so far and things are starting to level off now as I am healing daily, gaining my appetite back and strength a day at a time. I plan to continue to lose weight, get lean and work on total health in 2021. I am not talking going crazy and becoming a gym rat, just small simple changes that will help me live a

Today I am writing about ways you can declutter your life for the 2021 year moving forward. These are all simple, basic ideas that will allow you to take some of the things off your bucket list or honey do list for the guys. I have a long list of things to complete, declutter and move on from that will take some pressure off of me, the family and allow us to move on and press forward. Clutter is not just all those things we have collected through the years laying around in the closets, garage, storage buildings and drawers. We get clutter in our lives physically, mentally, spiritually and things we gather. We hold onto these things for emotional reasons many times or just in case we need it down the road. Reminds me of my grandmother who saved every ounce of bacon grease, fatback and leftovers she could pack into an old can or jar. Might need it for a rainy day, right. So with this said I am taking a look at how I can declutter my life, get rid of some stuff and clear that lis

Today I am giving some sound basic principles about small ways you can change your financial situation, save money, save on fees and avoid credit related issues as we all push into 2021 with new financial, personal and career minded goals. For me personally, I am at the point of mid 50's and really working towards being able to retire sooner than later by investing everything I can, becoming 100% debt free and setting my goals I can reach one dollar at a time by managing what I already have, will make and hopefully find some ways to bring in more $ in 2021. I am not a financial guru of any sorts so please understand these are just simple ideas from my personal experience, adult lessons learned and current state of economics that apply to my household, career and banking situation. Being smart with our earnings, making sound investments, paying off debt, using less credit, paying cash for things, spending the bulk of your money on needs (not wants) can make a huge difference. Jus