Everyday is an Interview

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

It is Monday morning, and I feel overwhelmed. I overscheduled my morning meetings and didn’t plan enough time in between to refocus. No worries. I got this. Why? I planned for the day.

I started planning the week before. I have a Spreadsheet template to add tasks I have to complete each week. On Sundays, I dive deep into my week’s tasks and then dive deeper into what I must do for Monday. I arrived early, got everything set up for all my meetings, delegated tasks to my staff, and got through the schedule. No one recognized how tasked I was.

To be successful, you must plan and then plan some more. There is no substitute for dedicated planning, and planning is the best strategy for when “Life Happens!”.  If you want to get through challenging times, plan for them, plan some more, and then plan again.

Just Be Better

Be Strong, Be Healthy

I am all over the place today. I am getting a lot done, and my To-Do list is shrinking, but I am not focused on long-term improvements. I have lost focus, and my colleagues can see it.

I get sloppy with the little things when I have too much on my plate. As the day has gone on, I have gotten sloppier and sloppier. I knew it would be a busy day, and I had a lot of irons in the fire. However, I need to slow down and focus on only one thing at a time.

In situations like this, once I recognize my state of mind, I step back, close the door, and breathe. Once my breathing is on point, I cover my To-Do list with paper and move the piece down until I see the first incomplete item. I then focus on that task until I complete it. I do not work on anything else, just that one item. By doing so, I can focus on one thing and focus on it well. This method helps me to be more successful in completing my tasks with effectiveness, which always trumps efficiency.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.

Everyone needs a strategy for when they have an awful day. A bad day could be caused by a traumatic event, having too much on your schedule, being blindsided by a new challenge, etc. When I have a bad day, I must first recognize it before my emotional capital is depleted. Once I realize that I am having a bad day, that I am stressed, and that I am using up my emotional capital, I put my plan into place. 

Step One: Slow Down. Speeding up may help me accomplish more, but I will complete the tasks poorly.

Step Two: Identify one task I can do in my state of mind and get it done. Each time I do this, I get a win, and I feel a little better.

I repeat Step two until the stress has dissipated and my emotional capital is at “normal” levels. 

This scenario happened to me recently. I was so stressed that I could not be there for my wife when she needed me. A few minutes later, I recognized that I was on a downward spiral of stress and started to slow down. I went to work and got some wins during the day, focusing on one thing at a time. By the time my wife and I connected again at dinner, I was in a better place. I first apologized and then listened to what was going on in her life. Without getting some wins, I would never have been able to be there for my wife and provide her with the support she needed. Not being there to support my loved ones would have made me feel worse than I already did. It shows that you must take care of yourself before you can take care of others.

What is your strategy?

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.