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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Week 4 YLC Thought 2017

Have you ever thought to yourself Man I wish I could see where life will end up? The reality is that life is not that simple and the end journey is not really known until you get there. That does not mean that you shouldnt aim to achieve goals in life, it just means that some of those goals will get you closer to the end and some will send you off on many of the tangents that is life. So you have a goal. It may be to lose weight, get faster, to find a career to strive to, or even just be a better person. Some goals can be measured by numbers, others by moments of clarity. The important part of goals is to keep moving towards achieving them. So you have started a goal and people are keeping you accountable. You may not see the benefits yet and may think that you are failing. People might be laughing at your goal or telling you wont get there. In my gym is this quote on the wall. I look at it every time I feel like giving up or that Im not reaching my potential goals. It has inspired me many times. It is because I look at it and think about the people who arent even trying, the people who are happy to pick on those who are trying to better themselves and I remember that just like life, my goals are not short term but long term. I know that Im not at my goal yet, but Im pretty happy that Im moving towards it, even if it is a little step every day. Im moving towards it and that is what is important.

Week 3 YLC Thought 2017

"The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own Example" John Wooden John Wooden is a legend in American Basketball. When Wooden arrived at UCLA for the 19481949 season, he inherited a little-known program that was based in a tiny gym with little to no support. He left it many years later as a powerhouse of college basketball with 10 national championships, maybe one of the greatest achievements known to college basketball. John Wooden ended his UCLA coaching career with a 620147 overall record and a winning percentage of .808. That was from just his run at UCLA. That doesnt account for his success at Indiana State Uni. The John Wooden era at UCLA included winning ten college basketball championships. A record that was only broken in 2016 by Geno Auriemma. Wooden had four perfect seasons!! The only other Division I men's or women's coach with more than one perfect season is Auriemma, with six at Connecticut. In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time". The thing for me that makes John Wooden a great leader is that he didnt just say words and hope people would follow him. He placed a great importance in life to lead by example. This is often termed Integrity. Does integrity mean you wont make mistakes? No it doesnt. What it does mean though that when you make them, you own them. No person is immune to stuffing up! All of us though have a responsibility though to learn from those mistakes and correct our wrongs. John Wooden lived a life of some 99 years. His later years demonstrated the respect that he had attained from his achievements, but more so the legacy that a man of humility demonstrated by raising up people under him to be great! I suggest that you find his inspirations on how to live a great life. His 7 points of creed are particularly good for those who wish to be the best they can be in all your endeavours but most of all life. Are you a leader? How do you lead? How do you want others to remember you?

Week 2 YLC thought 2017

"Set your Goals high, and don't stop till you get there! Bo Jackson. Welcome to your second thought for 2017. Most of you probably know by now that I love goals and achieving them. On Sunday afternoon, I met with one of my two mentors. 
We spoke about the challenges and joys of dealing with teenagers everyday, the experiences that sometimes can make us forget about how cool it is to be able to live in a world where technology and community allow us to share our experiences in real time and most of all, how challenging it can be to set good goals. We chatted for 6 hours!!! His last comment is something I want to share with you all as I find myself saying the same thing when I share about my students. "I am proud of you because you are trying to be better everyday." The first 5 words really hit you when you hear them from someone you respect. I remember the first time I heard my parents say it to me.. It made me sit up straight and feel on top of the world. You may never hear it if you expect to hear it though. It's much like Goals. You have to set them high and push through all of the rejection, pain, frustration and wanting to give up. When you get there (and you will) you might be like Bo Jackson. Dual all star in both NFL (Gridiron) and MLB (Baseball). His football career included four seasons in the NFL. Jackson rushed for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns with an average yards per carry of 5.4. He also caught 40 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson's 221 yards on November 30, 1987, just 29 days after his first NFL carry, is still a Monday Night Football record. After a career ending Hip injury he returned to Baseball for the White Sox. Here's some baseball achievements AL All-Star (1989) 1989 All-Star Game MVP 1993 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (19871990) 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1989) 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1989) Why do you set goals high? They are not meant to be easy! They are challenges and for all of you, it is time to step up to the plate and smash a home run in whatever you choose to aim for. Injury didn't stop Bo Jackson. His attitude might of though if it wasn't for chasing after what he set out to do.

Week 1 thought for YLC 2017

You are receiving for the first of what I hope to be a weekly quote and thought to you. Do you have to read it? Do you have to answer questions on it? Do you have to take what is here and put it into your daily life? The answer is No. You don't have to care about it or read it or answer any questions or even make it something more than it is. But I believe that if you just spend a couple of moments in your week thinking about it, you may just find something to get out of it. So to Number 1 of the Year (Look at the attached image for the Context) Dr. Seuss was an amazing author. During his senior year at Dartmouth College, Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and nine of his friends were caught drinking gin in his room. This was the spring of 1925, and the dean put them all on probation for violating the laws of Prohibition. He also stripped Geisel of his editorship of Jack-O-Lantern the colleges humour magazine where Ted published his cartoons. To evade punishment, Ted Geisel began publishing cartoons under aliases: L. Pasteur, D.G. Rossetti 25, T. Seuss, and Seuss. These cartoons mark the first time he signed his work Seuss. As a magazine cartoonist, he began signing his work under the mock-scholarly title of Dr. Theophrastus Seuss in 1927. He shortened that to Dr. Seuss in 1928. In acquiring his professional pseudonym, he also gained a new pronunciation. Most Americans pronounce the name Soose, and not Zoice. And thats how Ted Geisel became Dr. Seuss. In 1955, Dartmouth gave him his first honorary doctorate. He would eventually receive several more honorary degrees, including one from Princeton. By pursuing his love of drawing, Ted Geisel became one of the few people to earn a Ph.D. by dropping out of graduate school. (Source: www.suessville.com) So you might say so what? He is famous and I'm just a kid. I want to share a secret about life with you. In life it is not the academic results that necessarily grant you success. Success is what you measure it to be. For me Success is achieving the things in life I strive for and feeling a sense that I have learnt something new. It is also not your teachers that will make an opportunity just work for you. It is your brains, your journey to greatness and in the end your decisions in which way you lead life that will give to you all of the things you aim for. If you want great, work towards great! Don't blame others if you don't put the effort in. You have Brains and you have Feet! Move towards where you want to go and we will support you all the way to achieve greatness.