Challenges are just part of the journey.  There’s no accomplishment without struggle.  No triumph without tests and failures along the way.  – Jon Gordon, The Carpenter

 

Our job as public educators isn’t easy.   We are preparing the next generation of American leaders . . . we are providing the foundation for our own future.  For these young people to truly be Ready for Tomorrow we must provide both academic skills and life skills.

 

We must ensure the next generation is better prepare, is more equipped, to lead than we are as today’s leaders.  Our job is difficult; the challenges are real.  We face struggles, but we must overcome them.  We are tested and we don’t always get it right, but remain committed to our cause.  We embrace the struggles of our journey knowing the joys of success will be sweet in the future.

If you love it, you won’t fear it . . . fear is what keeps us from being our best.  – Jon Gordon

 

The mantra of the “Life Is Good” tee-shirts is, “Do what you love, love what you do.”  When you are pursing your passion . . . when you get to do what you love each and every day . . . you are willing to give it your all.

 

Dedication to your passion, pursuit of your love, will to take you to another level.  When you love what you do, you are more focused.  When you love what you do, you are willing to overcome obstacles.  When you love what you do, optimism and positivity provide drive for continued growth.

 

When you love what you do, the challenges of daily life are opportunities for success.  Live your passion – life is good when you love what you do.

Stop worrying about your greatness in the future.  Just strive to be great today.  Do great things today.  – Jon Gordon, Training Camp

 

Win the day . . . it is a common statement that motivational speakers frequently share at presentations.  Your legacy, your influence, isn’t the result of a single action or event.  We build a narrative on our journey.  Your legacy, your journey is the result of daily effort – or daily events.

 

On our journey we are guided each day, at each moment, by our changeless-core to have the right mindset and approach.  We are motivated by purpose; we have confidence in knowing we aren’t alone.  We live our purpose, we reach elite status, by winning each moment.  Be great today . . . win each event with an intentional, skillful response.

 

As Jon Gordon reminds us . . . “just strive to be great today.”

Strong Relationships = Strong Teams

Strong Teams = Strong Organizations

Strong Organizations = Strong Culture     – Jon Gordon, Soup

 

We are in the relationship business.  From teacher to teacher, parent to teacher, and teacher to parent . . . we build trust and create connections.  No technology can replace a strong relationship.  We get to know each other as individuals.  We provide support, provide motivation, and create strength.

 

Take the time today to create a bond; take the time today to strengthen at least one relationship.  Our team . . . your team . . . will be stronger because of your efforts.  An organization – a team – is only as strong as the relationships cultivated by each individual.

The more the team looks inside, not outside (expectations, media, press) the more they play with grit, power, and unity.  – John Gordon

 

As educators we face a truck-load of external criticism.  From legislators creating assessments systems that narrow our focus, to the media seeking ways to create drama, from parents utilizing social media to fan the flames of anger, to students seeking instant gratification, there are plenty of outside voice to distract us from our mission . . . from our purpose.

 

The more we are able to look at ourselves, the more we are able embrace our passion for excellence based on our purpose, the better we will serve our students.  As professional educators – as motived, educated, and service driven people – we know what it takes to be elite.  We know what is required of us; we are willing to step up and make a difference.  Let’s commit to focusing inside . . . we are stronger together.

You can’t serve yourself and your team at the same time.  You must decide.  Am I going to serve Me or We?  When you serve the team first you both get better.  – Jon Gordon, You Win the Locker Room First

 

We are stronger together; we THINK WE NOT ME.  We live to fulfill our purpose through the service of others.  We build relationships – we create connections – to take WE to higher levels of success.

 

You must decide.  When you serve others first you have an exponential influence on success; your purpose is lived through others.  Don’t limit your purpose, your drive, to yourself.  Live the journey through and with others.

Finding our purpose is a challenge, but the bigger challenge is having the courage to live it.  – Jon Gordon, The Seed

 

Life can’t just be about making a living.  Life must be about creating our lives.  We wake every morning . . . we leave our homes and head out to work and to school . . . we are on a journey.

 

What drives you?  With purpose, with the wind in your sails, you live life with directions and passion.  Each of us must have the inner strength to follow our heart – to live our purpose.  Love what you do and do what you love . . . have the courage to live your purpose.

The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. – Stephen Covey
I love this quote . . . this is the ultimate Above the Line approach to any situation. This is the heart of getting your mind right.
We strive to live discipline-driven lives. We prepare to be intentional and we enable our self-talk to act in a purposeful way. The ability to take that impulsive, autopilot response and press pause is key to Above the Line actions. This is the heart of self-control and the soul of purposeful living.  

Too often in our world today we seek the immediate solution or feel-good answer. Too often we cave to our impulse without reflecting on our values. Be proactive . . . live the life worthy of your values

Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us. – Stephen Covey
Events happen to us – around us – each and every day. Our freedom – our power – is we get to decide how we respond to each event.
Too often, in the heat of a moment, rather than taking the time to decide what is required of us we act with haste- or, sometime worse, choose not to act. Each of us has the right to decide how we respond to different situations.
Today, when outside events affect our personal situation, take the time to press pause and ask yourself the question, “What is required of me?” It is your right and power to decide your response.

I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow. – Stephen Covey
Have you ever been in a room, been with a group of people, and felt incredibly uncomfortable? Have you ever had someone make a comment, or hurl an insult, and just let it go? Do people in your organization talk behind the backs of others? Do you listen or participate in gossip?
The behavior you allow . . . in both your professional and personal life . . . is teaching people how to treat you. Have you ever thought, “If they talk about others this way when I am in the room, they probably talk about me this way when I am not in the room?”
Stepping-up means having the strength to be true to your inner core. Your values are your guideposts . . . your values are defined by your actions. Always remember, what you permit is just as powerful as what you say.