Happy Anniversary!

Today is my anniversary.  Michelle and I have been married for three years as of today.  I have enjoyed every single day with her.  She is a remarkable woman that has a huge heart and works very hard to take care of everyone around her.  She is a great friend to all of her friends, a great mother to our kids, and the best wife a man could ever have.  I hope she realizes that she is the rock that keeps me steady, and I appreciate all that she does for me and our family.

Doing Our Part, The Marine Corps Reserve Association.

Yesterday I got a call from the local reserve unit.  It seems that due to some administrative errors, a young marine, a mother of two, had gone without a paycheck for a month and a half.  She went to her CO, who in turn got in touch with MCRA and got instructions on how to apply for support on our website.  The application was filled out and promptly approved, and we sent this young marine a check for $3,000.00.  She received the money via Fed Ex this morning.

That’s what MCRA is here for, not just to work at the legislative level which is extremely important, but to help all reservists in their time of need.  As always, we could use your support to carry on these important missions.  If you would like to contribute to MCRA, please visit our site, or call Kathleen at (757) 301-2032.

Semper Fi!

Commitment and Heart, A One-Two Punch…

I meet a lot of people in every day life that have great ideas.  Great ideas for a new business, ways to improve themselves, or ways to pitch in and help some local charity…  What always gets me though is, when you offer advice on how to actually “Get in the game” and get involved, the excuses come out.  I don’t have any money, I don’t have the time, or I’ve already got plans…  These excuses are the beginning of the end.  Whatever the great idea, it is doomed to failure at this moment. 

These people are not dishonest or disloyal, they do not lack integrity.  They merely cannot commit to an ideal or task.  Some people confuse commitment with heart.  The two are very close in my opinion, and when joined together offer an unbeatable combination, but are not one in the same.  Heart will take you a long way.  Heart will keep you in the game long after everyone else has given up on you.  But heart alone cannot win the game.  It takes commitment up front to prepare.  Unless that commitment takes place, progress never gets underway. 

I recently watched “Cinderella Man”, the movie based upon boxer Jim Braddock’s comeback career where he went from a down and out boxer to the heavyweight champion of the world.  Jim Braddock’s ascension to the title illustrates the powerful combination that commitment and heart truly represent.

After a string of losses, and an injury to his hand, Jim Braddock retired and went to work on the docks during the time of the Great Depression.  Still not able to make enough money with the piecemeal work he found and the help of government assistance, he took a fight against and up and coming boxer to make some additional money.  He commited to his training and came to the match prepared to fight.  His heart did the rest and would not allow him to lose.  He followed that same formula for the next year and a half, and ended up a world champion. 

It takes a certain amount of self discipline to stay on track during a new business start-up.  There’s a lot to be done, and someone has to do it.  If it’s your idea, and your plan, the only one that can make it happen, is you.  At this critical juncture, at the beginning of a plan or an idea, you must take ownership of that plan, and foster it until it starts to have a life of it’s own.  You have to sell it to others, the bank, your potential customers, your new employees, and your family. 

Then it’s up to you to follow through on all of that hard work you did to prepare, and put your heart into your business.  This is where you let your passion show.  Take advantage of all of your planning and preparation.  Commit yourself to the execution of your plan, and success will be yours.

Own Your Mistakes

Mistakes Happen. 

How often have you heard that, or said it to your child.  We accept this as fact in our every day life.  We encounter mistakes on a daily basis, from our workers, our children, or just the person at the drive through.  We react differently, based upon who made the mistake.  If it’s our children, hopefully, we use them as an opportunity for instruction, if it’s the drive through person, we are usually not as easygoing. 

What do you do though, when the mistake was made by you?  How do you handle it?  This is what counts with all of the people in your life.  Your family, your friends, your workers, will all develop an opinion of you based upon your actions after making a mistake. 

I’ve been watching the story on the Duke University Lacrosse team members that have been accused of rape.  I have no idea of whether this horrible crime actually did happen, but from many recent articles, it appears as if the DA, Mike Nifong, may have made a mistake and rushed to get indictments before all of the facts were known.  The lives of those lacrosse players will never be the same.  Someone will always question whether or not they were guilty.  The woman is in just as bad a situation.  Because of the actions of the DA, and the attention that was brought on by those actions, she has now been labeled a liar, and no-one knows for sure whether or not a crime was even committed.  Real justice has been compromised becasue of one person’s rush to judgement. 

In business, sometimes we jump to conclusions, and make assumptions about a situation.  This can happen when we do not have all of the details of a situation confronting us.  In our rush to take an appropriate course of action, we take steps that ruin the lives of those suspected of having committed an offense. Later on, we learn the truth of the situation, and find out that we were completely wrong.  What now?  Do we try to convince others that our actions, however misguided were necessary to protect our company?  Do we work to find new reasons to justify our actions?

A good leader should have all of their facts prior to making any decision.  Only by collecting ALL of the facts, and only after speaking with all parties, can you be certain that you are doing the right thing.  Even good leaders make mistakes, right?  Certainly, and a leader of character in this situation needs to admit to being wrong, take responsibility for his lack of thoroughness in conducting the investigation, and take steps to restore the good name and standing of those wrongfully accused.

Anything less than these steps will forever mar the leaders reputation.  He will lose the respect of his family, friends, and peers.  His opportunity to further his career will be limited.  His stature in the community will be lessened.  Only by owning your mistakes, and taking action to correct them, can your ability to lead survive.

My Personality Profile Revealed…

I found this link to PersonalDNA.com and took the test on their website.  It was quite interesting.  I have taken several personality profiles in the past, but this one was actually fun to take.

My Personal Dna Report

Marathon Runners. Slots Available For The Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 29th

Initial fee of $100 secures your spot. You need to pledge to raise an additional $650 that will go to support the Marine Corps Reserve Association .  Other charities require entrants to raise up to $2500 each.  We have 19 slots still available.  For more details, please visit MCRA’s website.  Happy trails!  Semper Fi!