Always Go For It #Leadership

“It’s a philosophy as well as a strategy,” said Kevin Kelly,  head coach of Pulaski Academy, a private high school in Little Rock Arkansas.  I want to state it again and I want you to let it sink in, “It’s a philosophy as well as a strategy.” Coach Kelly has instituted some unconventional wisdom when it comes to football.  Let …

Happy New Year! Any Resolutions?

This is a quick welcome back to school and my sincere wish that each of you has a tremendous 2015. I haven’t always thought so, but I believe that the new year is a perfect opportunity to make changes, set goals and make things happen. Last year, I wrote a blog about my “New Year’s Resolutions.” My three resolutions were 1) Memorize and …

Good Samaritan Pays Off Strangers’ Toys R US Layaway Balance

Last Friday, just a few short days before Christmas, an anonymous woman walked into a Toys R Us  store and plopped down $19,600 to pay for 125 layaway accounts. If you don’t know, Toys R Us and many department stores offer customers an option to put down 10% of the purchase price on any item(s) they want to purchase. The store …

Ferguson – Perception is Reality

This is a follow up blog post to the events that have occurred in Ferguson, Missouri where Officer Darrin Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. The purpose of this blog is not to decide guilt or innocence. A grand jury has already ruled on this case just as has every person in this society. Instead of making such arguments, let’s take …

The Duggars – Tolerance Goes Both Ways

If you aren’t familiar with the Duggar family, they have a reality TV show called, “19 Kids and Counting,” that has aired on The Learning Channel for the past 9 years. My wife and I are some of the millions of viewers who watch this reality show. Initially, I watched out of curiosity, wondering, why would someone want 19 children and …

Should Students Be Required “Pledge” their Allegiance?

I recently visited a high school and was somewhat surprised to be asked to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the reading of the daily announcements. I stood, struggled to find the flag in the room, put my hand over my heart and recited the following words from memory, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the …

Sorry for my absence

Not only did I miss my first blog post of the year last week, I also missed my second blog post of the year this week. I am very sorry for my absence.  I know that teachers and students are relying on this each week.  There are two reasons for my absence. 1) My mother has had some very difficult …

Phil Hughes – The Right Thing To Do #$500,000

The Story: Despite the dramatic finish to the baseball season (sorry to my friend Mark Wills, who waited 29 years to see KC return to the post-season), I was more struck by another baseball story that occurred in the final week of the regular season.  Phil Hughes, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, was pitching his final start of the …

Does Brittany Have the Right to “Die with Dignity?”

In exactly 9 days (November 1, 2014) a young and beautiful 29-year-old woman is committed to killing herself by taking a handful of pills.  This woman’s name is Brittany Maynard. She is married and has led a very active life. In fact, she has run half marathons,  traveled extensively and even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (the largest free-standing mountain in the world). A year …

No More!

This is a quick follow up to the black eyes that the NFL has recently received after initially glossing over domestic violence issues after two of their premier players – Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice – abused members of their respective families.  I covered this story in a recent blog – https://characterandleadership.com/blog/two-prominent-nfl-cases-domesticviolence.html. The NFL has never been on the front lines …