Have a Can Do Attitude

You never know what you can do
until you do something you've never done!

Business is Business

Your heart is for your family
Your brains and your balls are for business.
Hunters and Gatherers Son.
That's our nature.

Journal Entry July 29th

MGBTTT - 2:54pm July 29th, 2006

Dear Anthony-

I carry a picture of you with me at work. I bet you didn't know that. I am a waiter in a restaurant while I study business, here in Florida.

I may never have a chance to be a father to you, Anthony, but you are never far from my thoughts. And on the days that I may lose track of my own mind, which I sometimes do... there is always someone there to remind me of my purpose in life.

I am looking forward to the day when you come looking for me. I know that day will someday come. And when we meet for the first time, I hope that you are able to see that you were and are loved. Even if I was not yet the man that I had always wanted to be.

Yesterday, I found myself at work. I swung open the kitchen door, went inside and found my general manager standing on the cook's line.

We greeted each other and I asked him, "How is everything today"? And he said, "Not good. The steamer is broken..." He then explained the problem and the effect that this problem would have on the rest of the night. I told him, in so many words, "Think Positive". I then walked away.

Then I remembered, I had been an aviation electrician in the Marine Corps. Could I have the technical "know-how" to fix this problem? I went over to the steamer, took a long look at it, figured out a plan of action, then I went over to my general manager and said. "Otto, do you mind if I take a look at the steamer?" He replied, "Sure! Go right ahead. The tools are in the office."

I went right to work. I started taking the machine apart when my coworker comes over and offers to help. I said, "Sure. Go right ahead. See if you can get these screws out", I reply, which he does. Afterwards, he leaves with the piece so that it can be cleaned.

I continue on with my work... stripping the wires; preparing them for reconnection when another of my coworkers comes over. I told him what I was doing. That I needed a piece to hold the wires in place after I connect them. He begins to look in the toolbox and finds a suitable solution. I move to the side letting him reconnect the wires.

During this time, my other coworker comes back with the piece that he just cleaned and it was shining! I praised him for his efforts. Then my other coworker finished reconnecting the wires. We plugged in the steamer and Presto!! The machine is working again.

We were rewarded for doing this, but the reward for me was the accomplishment! I could have done it alone, but I allowed others to enjoy the win. Nothing in life tastes sweeter.

Live and Work as a team Son! We are all connected to each other for a reason - whether through blood, community, or planet. Be and stay aware of this truth and you will achieve great things in your life.

With Love and Sincerity,

Your Dad.

Continuous Effort

Continuous Effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. - Winston Churchill

"Getting Through to People" by Dr. Gerald Nirenberg

Start your conversations by giving the other person the purpose or direction of your conversation, governing what you say by what you would want to hear if you were the listener, and accepting his or her viewpoint will encourage the listener to have an open mind to your ideas.

The Superior Man by Lao Tze

“The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them. Thus they are able to reign over all the mountain streams. So the sage, wishing to be above men, puts himself below them; wishing to be before them, he puts himself behind them. Thus, though his place be above men, they do not feel his weight; though his place be before them, they do not count it an injury.”

Today Matters

Today’s faith gives me peace
We all have faith
The question is where do we place it
Faith is trusting in advance
What will only make sense in reverse
Seek the truth and I believe you will find it
A faith that has not been tested
Can not be trusted
A weak faith is weakened by circumstances
Whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them
Every day to live
And to live like Jesus
The problem is, rather than living like Jesus,
I often want to live like Jason Shockey
I fall short of the mark
But with God as my helper
I keep growing
When I do follow in his footsteps
People are helped
And I am fulfilled
Science cannot answer all of our questions
Ironically, what has been accepted as truth
Changes from generation to generation
However, the core of religion has not changed
For thousands of years
Put God in the picture
If you want to embrace faith
You must let God into your life
No one else is worthy of our unconditional trust
Unbelief puts our circumstances
Between us and God
Belief puts God between
Us and our circumstances
Now I open my bible
And my faith has been growing ever since
Faith comes by hearing and
Hearing by the word of God
Faith is to believe what we do not see
And the reward of this faith is to see
What I believe
In my teens, my faith gave me assurance of eternal salvation
In my twenties, my faith gave me meaning and fulfillment
In my thirties, my faith gave me a platform to help others
In my forties, my faith gave me a foundation for my leadership
In my fifties, my faith gave me a peace that cannot be given by others
or taken by them
There are so many beautiful views of God’s creation
When we choose to look at them from his eyes
In comforting each other
Strengthening each other
Supportive of each other
Lean not on your understanding
And acknowledge him in all your ways
Good, because I don’t understand any of this
But I do trust in the Lord
Think about all of your accomplishments
All of your achievements
The greatest victories
How many have happened to you alone
I bet there are very few
Being connected to others
Is one of life’s greatest joys
Think about the people who have the most fun in life
People who love people, usually have a ball
If you love people, no matter where you go
You’ll make a friend
The likable person wins
There is no substitute for relational skill for getting ahead in life
People are any organizations most appreciable asset
Any organization that succeeds does so because of its people
Organizationally, you live and die with your people
Importance of getting the right people on the bus
In order to make friends, one must first be friendly
I determined to be more intentional and to take my relationships
To a higher level.
I made a decision: I will initiate and make an investment in my
Relationship with others
You must change your mindset on dealing with others
Place a high value on people
You can’t make the other fellow feel important in your presence
If secretly you feel that he is a nobody
The solution is to place a high value on everybody
Assume their motives are good until they prove them to be otherwise
Expect the best from everyone
Value them by their best moments
Give them your friendship rather than asking for theirs
That will ultimately be there decision
Learn to understand people
People are insecure, give them confidence
People want to feel special, sincerely compliment them
People desire a better tomorrow, show them hope
People need to be understood, listen to them
People are selfish, speak to their needs first
People get emotionally low, encourage them
People want to be associated with success, help them win
When you understand people, don’t take their shortcomings personally
And help them to succeed, you lay the groundwork for good relationships
To keep me on track with my relationship and I am investing in them as I
Must, I practice this discipline
Everyday I make the conscious effort to deposit goodwill in my
Relationships with others
Would they express joy that they spent time with me
Put others first
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Don’t carry excess baggage
You can’t keep score of old wrongs and expect to make relationships work
If someone has hurt you, and you need to address it and get it out on the table
If it is not worth bringing it up, forget about it and move on
Give time to your most valuable relationships
Whoever gets to them first, gobble up their time and relational energy
Your family provides your most valuable relationships in your life
Then comes your most valuable relationships
It’s a matter of practicing good priorities
In my twenties, my relationships filled my days with joy
IN my thirties, my relationships gave me wisdom and insight
IN my forties, my relationships lifted me to a higher level
In my fifties, my relationships gave me wonderful memories
Has someone who was bigger and faster ever come beside you
And taken an interest in you
A level 5 leader, someone larger than life
A leader people follow because who he is and who he represents
His sincerity and integrity and devotion to our Lord
Have been a blessing to me
He always made time for me
When I had leadership questions, he graciously answered them
He challenge me to think bigger, to reach farther, to give more of
Myself and he was also my friend
He loved me and gave to me with absolutely no thought of
Getting anything in return
I wanted to let him know how much he meant to me
The greatest deposit you have made in my life
Is your personal interest in me
It was your belief in me
You prayed for God to strengthened me
I would like to bestow upon you a worldwide
Mantel of leadership
To propel you further than you ever thought possible
If you have one true friend in life, you are very fortunate
I know that I am very fortunate indeed
What if you became the richest person in the world
How generous would you become
Why should we be generous
Giving turns your focus outward
No one likes to be around people that think only of themselves
In contrast, everyone likes to be around people who are giving
How delightful is the company of generous people
Who overlook trifles, and keep their minds instinctively fixed on
Whatever is good and positive in the world around
And they find it everywhere
People of small caliber are always caring, they are bent on
Showing their own superiority
Magnanimous people have no reserve
The greater you’re giving, the greater you’re living
No one stands taller in the climb to success
Then when he bends over to help another person up

The Kid and the Wolf

The Kid and the Wolf


A KID, returning without protection from the pasture, was pursued
by a Wolf. Seeing he could not escape, he turned round, and
said: "I know, friend Wolf, that I must be your prey, but before
I die I would ask of you one favor you will play me a tune to
which I may dance." The Wolf complied, and while he was piping
and the Kid was dancing, some hounds hearing the sound ran up and
began chasing the Wolf. Turning to the Kid, he said, "It is just
what I deserve; for I, who am only a butcher, should not have
turned piper to please you."

In time of dire need, clever thinking is key
or Outwit your enemy to save your skin.

Working out your differences

“If you come at me with your fists doubled,” said Woodrow Wilson, “I think I can promise you that mine will double as fast as yours; but if you come to me and say, ‘Let us sit down and take counsel together, and, if we differ from each other, understand why it is that we differ, just what the points at issue are,’ we will presently find that we are not so far apart after all, that the points on which we differ are few and the points on which we agree are many, and that if we only have the patience and the candor and the desire to get together, we will get together.”

On becoming a Person

Carl Rogers, the eminent psychologist, wrote in his book On Becoming A Person:

"I have found it of enormous value when I can permit myself to understand the other person. The way in which I have worded this statement may seem strange to you. Is it necessary to permit oneself to understand another? I think it is. Our first reaction to most of the statements (which we hear from other people) is an evaluation or judgement, rather than an understanding of it. When someone expresses some feeling, attitude or belief, our tendency is almost immediately to feel "that's right" or "that's stupid" "that's abnormal" "that's unreasonable" "that's incorrect" "that's not nice." Very rarely do we permit ourselves to understand precisely what the meaning of the statement is to the other person."

Before telling anyone they are wrong, read this

A passage from The Mind in the Making from James Harvey Robinson

We sometimes find ourselves changing our minds without any resistance or heavy emotions, but if we are told we are wrong, we resent the imputation and harded our hearts.

We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship.

It is obviously not the ideas themselves that are dear to us, but our self-esteem which is threatened... the little word "my" is the most important one in human affairs, and properly to reckon with it is the beginning of wisdom.

It is the same force whether it is "my" dinner, "my" dog, and "my" house, or "my" father, "my" country, and "my" God.

We only resent the imputation that our watch is wrong, or our car shabby, but the canals of Mars, of the pronunciation of "Epictetus," of the medicinal value of salicin, or of the date of Sargon I is subject to revision.

We like to continue to believe what we have been accustomed to accept as true, and the resentment aroused when doubt is cast upon any of our assumptions leads us to seek every manner of excuse for clinging to it. The result is that most of our so-called reasoning consists in finding arguments for going on believing as we already do.