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To be successful over and over again, you need to have a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and share them with those involved in your actions. Pilots do this before a flight, during a flight, and after a flight. They have different SOPs for different conditions, and they are very successful. The pilots I have flown with have a 100% track record. If you want to be more successful in any area of your life, develop SOPs for the tasks you do, review them and make the necessary changes, and share them with those completing tasks with you.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

I took some time to review the books that I read in 2022. Here is a list of my favorite reads:.

1. Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be – Stephen Pressfield
   • This is a great book. If you still need to get it, do so now. I got a signed copy of his latest book, Govt Cheese, which is next on my reading list.
2. Fairy Tale – Stephen King
   • I love Stephen King’s books. This was riveting from beginning to end. It was a great story, a little whimsical at times, and he weaved the plots together with mastery. It is a large book, but well worth the investment. What’s next from Stephen King in 2023?
3. In the Blood: A Thriller – Jack Carr
   • Jack Carr produced another book that had me hooked from the beginning. I am, impressed that he has kept his attention to detail and developed creative plotlines five books into the series. I am looking forward to #6 later this year.
4. The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakeable Performance – Dr. Nate Zinnser
   • If you want to become better, get this book. Focused and on point. I refer to this book often.
5. Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave – Ryan Holiday
   • I am interested in Stoic Philosophy. Ryan Holiday does an excellent job of relating it to the way we can live our lives.

Runner Up: Final Spin – Jocko Willink: Definitely a book to add to your shelf if you have not done so already.

Three books about becoming better and two works of fiction. A good balance. I read a lot and aim for at least a book a week, on average. What books did you read this year that I should add to my list? Follow what I read on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?feature=friend-invite-url&invite_token=ZmRhODQ1M2ItZmFjZC00MDQ2LTg4NzUtYWIxYzc5ZjQwYTll. 

Hopes for 2023: A new novel by Amor Towles.

He is my favorite author. If you still need to read his books, start right now. They are so well written. “A Gentleman in Moscow” is a great one, to begin with, but they are all great.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

It has been a few weeks into the new year, and it is time to assess your progress. First, are you still keeping your resolution(s)? Are you still making the changes you wanted to make a few weeks ago? 

Next, do you have new changes that you want to make? Are you going to wait until next year? 

If you want to be successful, the answer to the last question is a resounding NO. If you want to be successful, you will make those changes today, not tomorrow, and not on New Year’s Day. Do not wait for New Year’s Resolutions, as most people have given up their resolutions, and make the change now.

What is your change going to be? Are you willing to fight for your transformation?

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

Get your Doctors appointments in order. Get a physical once a year. Get a dental checkup every 6 months. Get your eyes checked on an annual basis. See a dermatologist regularly (I go once a year). The more regularly you go, the better maintained your body will be. The better maintained your body can be, the healthier you will be.

Please note that if you have any questions, consult your doctor, preferably an expert in the field of your questions, and get the answers you need.

As a society, we regularly go to the hairdresser. We regularly get our cars tuned up, and we must ensure that we also regularly go to our doctors.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

I Own the Morning

Forget resolutions. Have goals. Focus on them obsessively until they are part of who you are.

Here is my main goal:

Get to 176 lbs and 14% Body Fat

Send me yours.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong/ Stay Healthy

I watched a football (American version – but this story can apply to any team competition) game this weekend. In overtime, a player on the team that I was rooting for fumbled the ball on the goal line, and the other team recovered and won the game four plays later. Not the result that I wanted, but I moved on.

The player who fumbled the ball did not handle the failure well. He was devastated, understandably. He was inconsolable on the sidelines, writhing on the ground while coaches and players tried to support him. Competitors hate to lose. However, how we handle the events of the competition will designate who we are. Since this game was on national TV, and the cameras could not stop focusing on his post-game actions, everyone saw his poor reaction to his failure. If my children were watching, I would discuss how this is not how we want to act when we fail.

For this athlete, the grief was too great. Instead of representing his great school with dignity, he chose to put the spotlight on himself and his pain. The old “Feel sorry for me, I screwed up!” pose. People do not know how to lose. Messi does not know how to win, but I’ll save that for a later blog. We must teach our competitors to fight failure, push the limits so they may fail, and handle their losses with dignity and composure. When you fail, learn from the failure and move on. Do not perseverate on the results of your actions. Move forward.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

I often get asked how I have been able to develop a unique educational program, much less two, during my career. I made connections. 

When developing our aviation program, I reached out to everyone I could find in the “yellow pages” and invited them to our campus to learn more about our program. The response was tremendous, and the guidance was first-rate. Without their help, our program, which is a leader in the state, would never have reached its current success. 

It is not about my creativity or skill as an educator and designer but my talent to make connections and form relationships so I can learn from those who have the experiences needed for me and my programs to be more successful. I proudly run an aviation program despite the fact I still cannot get my bag into the overhead compartment when I travel. It’s not about me. It’s about connections and relationships.

If you want to be successful, you have to build connections and develop relationships.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

Being awesome is great, but it is never enough

Just Be Better

Be Healthy, Be Strong

I get easily frustrated by people who drive their vehicles without knowing where they are going. They act like they are out for a “Sunday stroll” without a care for the safety of other drivers on the road. Once they realize their location, they suddenly apply the brakes in the middle of the road, followed by taking the exit ramp from three lanes over with nothing but hope that the other cars will get out of their way. No one is safe with these clueless drivers on the road.

In an era of GPS, this is unacceptable. Instead of reading your texts when you drive, utilize the GPS functionality of the smartphone.

We need to ask, no demand, that people drive with a purpose. You do not have to go fast. You just have to go safely. Part of safe driving requires that the driver knows where they are going, and you have done the prep to have an idea of where you are going. It is not that hard. 

Just think about how great things would be if we applied “Drive with Purpose” to other areas of our lives.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

All humans have fear; how you act with that fear will determine if you are scared.

Example: This morning, I was driving to work in the rain. A driver was driving ten mph below the speed limit. There was a line of cars behind this driver. There were no dangers on the road, except for this driver, who was driving inconsistently and blocking the road. The driver was fearful of the circumstances and drove scared.

Instead of developing confidence in a trying situation, at least trying for them, they should have taken the opportunity to develop their driving skills in this type of weather.

We all have fears. If we face them with courage, we still have fear, but we are called brave. If we meet the fears without courage, we still have fear and are called scared.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong