“Do what youlove, and love what you do.” How many times have you heard that—or a variation of it? The principle abounds in leadership teaching. To be a truly successful leader, you need to discover your passion and operate only from that grid. Spend your days doing what you’re most interested in. Discover your passion and thrive doing what you do best. The principle is true if passion is defined as an overall sense of purpose. But the principle becomes... Read more
5 years ago I claimed that recruiting and managing today’s volunteers “ain’t like it used to be.” I’m sure that any volunteer manager would wholeheartedly agree. At that time, my dad and I co-wrote a book, The New Breed, a nice little tool equipping volunteer managers and coaches to recruit, train, manage… and even fire today’s volunteers. Now it’s 5 years later. Things have changed again. And that’s why we’ve released a brand new second edition of the book. In... Read more
“Work ethic” is defined as the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. It is a belief in the moral value, benefit and importance of work and its inherent ability to strengthen character. Someone with a good work ethic is assumed to believe there is merit in doing hard work, having a ‘natural’ feeling of satisfaction or enrichment from accomplishing things, rather than from the reward one does or does not get for it. A person... Read more
In my profession, part of my job means actually doing my job. And part of my job also means lining up the next job. With book collaborations, I’ve done enough by now that my canon of material usually speaks for itself. But every so often, particularly the more famous an author is who’s seeking a collaborative writer, I still need to “audition” for the part. They check me out to see if they want to work with me. It’s how... Read more
“It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.” That’s an aphorism that Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri should have considered before he made what is undoubtedly the most thoughtless and outrageous statement of this year’s political campaigns. (more…) Read more
Our culture currently promotes being “nice” as the highest virtue a man can achieve. After all, like the bumper stickers say, “Mean people suck.” It is easier to drift along with the current of the culture than to try and swim against it. All the newer “guy” movies inspire males to be lovable, “nice,” slackers, with no aim in life but to smoke pot, bed women, and get by without working as much as possible. But they are very “nice”... Read more
At the end of October, 2009, I spent the weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the 63rd annual reunion of the Men of Easy Company. We held a book signing at a nearby Barnes & Noble, then enjoyed a banquet back at the hotel. On the morning I was set to leave, I was down in the hotel atrium waiting for the shuttle bus to take me back to the airport. It was about 6 a.m., and one of the original... Read more
Call me biased, but I think this YouTube video is hilarious. This video may or may not be made by my daughter and her crazy friend Travis, making fun of LL Cool J’s song from the 80’s, I Need Love. The lip syncing is horrible and it’s dry at parts… but so worth it (my favorite part starts at 1:26) Travis is nuts! Read more
On September 11th, 2001, I knew that the world my children would grow up in had changed dramatically. Terrorism had been around for years, but in the past it was far removed; it was something that happened in other countries, to other people. But now it was here, on American soil. Deep inside, I was full of uncertainty. Was this just the beginning? Were there more attacks to come? We were on our way to Atlanta, a large city and... Read more
God gave woman the power of sex. —Edwin Louis Cole One of the greatest powers a woman has is the power of her sex. Few women realize the power of their sexuality and those who do often abuse that power. I suspect that power itself can be a bit frightening to younger women or to women who have had unhealthy experiences. I can only imagine the rush a young, beautiful woman gets when she is able to “open doors... Read more
A Few Grown Men
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