Success Starts Here!

As you may know, I am a proud 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army. Last night as I was about to sign out of Facebook a young soldier in my field of specialty sent me a note. We got to talking and I could tell he really wanted to ask me something so I said "so what's up? You seem like you have something going on." He asked "what's the secret to your success?" Before I go on, I'd like to say I in no way consider myself any more successful than the next guy. Having said that, to this young man, I had somehow garnered that honor. So I sat there for a moment and thought about it. Its not the kind of question I expect on a Saturday night out of the blue. I thought of a few witty things I had heard inspiring people say but felt if he had the courage to ask, I should have the courage to give him a real answer; one that came from me. So as I thought of what to answer, I stumbled upon three words which seem to sum up whatever successes I feel I've had. I told him

The year is 1989. A recent high school graduate (barely) is overwhelmed with life. He dreams of a world outside the bounds of his environment and his poverty. Dreaming is a luxury; an escape from the real world, but not usually translated to a reality. One day in late November the young man returned to his car after a day of community college classes only to find it was gone. Nothing was there other than the remnants of broken glass. Downtrodden he began his 5 mile walk home. He had no one to turn to, no one who would come and get him, no one who would care. He reached a bridge just past the factory his single mother had worked at for so many years until her accident which she was fired for versus given any sort of support. As he stopped to look down into the cold November waters of the river below he contemplated how the world might just be better without him; how he hadn't really made a difference in this world and never would. Just as he was steeling himself to take the plun

I'd like to share an experience I had back in March with you. It was one of the few moments in my life where I felt totally helpless to "help", and yet served as one of the most inspirational moments in my life. In January, two days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti which left Port-au-Prince in ruins, I was deployed as a member of one of the first military units which went in to help. About 45 days in, I was in the mountains outside of the capital city when I ran into a small village called Bacho. You won't find it on a map, its too small. In this village lives a young 16 year old girl named Arielle, a child herself, who is the mother of two children. They live in absolute poverty. I brought them food and water and asked what we could do to make things better. The young girl replied "take my children with you to America so they can go to school". She didn't ask anything for herself. All she wanted was for her children to come to this great cou

Let's face it, Monday is not a popular day. It get's a bad rap. Its the day which sets the tone for the rest of the week. Many folks learn just how "painful" their week is going to be on Mondays. And honestly, if anything can go wrong, it will....on Monday. Having said that, I have a simple fix for your Monday morning blues; pull out a trusty pen and piece of paper and write on the top "I like Monday because....". I know, you're probably thinking "Is this guy nuts? I don't like anything about Monday!" Don't you? I bet I can help you find a few things you like. 1. Did you wake up this morning? Chances are, if you're reading this, you woke up this morning. I bet you most people who passed away this weekend, given the chance, would give entire fortunes to have this one day left on earth. So to begin with write "I like Monday because I woke up." 2. Did your loved ones wake up this morning? If the answer is no, you have an a

I was at a fast food restaurant today for lunch. I wasn't thinking of diet or nutrition. Against the better judgement of my ever-expanding waist, I just wanted a juicy burger and greasy fries. In front of me was a young lady, probably in her early 20's who had what seemed to be Down Syndrome. I was in a hurry and was a little perturbed a "slow" person was in front of me as I was in a hurry. I was thinking only of myself and my selfish needs. As I listened she began to order. It was so slow and she dragged it out for what seemed like minutes and minutes. I could tell what she wanted and thought more than once about jumping in and just telling the girl behind the counter what she wanted in an effort to hurry things up a bit. When she completed her order the girl behind the counter who couldn't have been older than 21 stopped, looked at her, and said "good job Karen, that is the first time you've gotten through it on your own". Shocked I watched her

Sundays are special. They are the day equivalent to spring. Things grow in spring, they come back to life, they focus on what is ahead. It is the natural order of things. And so this Sunday, I wish you great preparation, and belief you will achieve whatever you set out for this week; be it simply furthering a project at work, bettering yourself somehow, or taking the time to tell the ones you love, you love them. Friday will be here soon enough as time moves on without our request or counsel. As you look back towards this day on Friday, will you see success, failure or the monotony of yet another week? Will you see proactive approaches to opportunities which presented themselves or will you see missed opportunities you were too pessimistic, "realist", and reactive to take hold of? Remember, we all have the same 24 hours a day. What we do with it literally makes us who we are. When you think you don't have "time" to succeed, remember Einstein, Newton, Da Vinci,

I fancy myself a lot of things, most are only in my head. :). Some I've actually convinced others to believe, but all are things I actually believe. I consider myself a pretty average guy with hints of greatness. Usually they don't last long but I relish them while they exist. One of my greatest gifts is that of observation and appreciation, or so I believe; thus I start with my favorite poet, not just because I loved his poetry, but because 100 years before I roamed the halls of my high school, so did he. Seriously. Thus as this is a blog about "being" and hopefully being the "best" us we can be, why not start with the man who took the Road Not Taken: Robert Frost  (1874–1963).   Mountain Interval.   1920.   1. The Road Not Taken   T WO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the o