An Unlikely Master

I went to a wonderful event this past Thursday evening.  For the first time, I attended the annual dinner for the Lake Superior Chapter of BNI. I’ve been a member of the chapter since last January, having transferred from a different chapter in Cloquet, about 20 miles south of Duluth. I am also the chapter’s regional Director Consultant, providing training, coaching and support to help them (us) succeed. I also support three other area chapters. All told, I’ve got about six years in BNI, but am only in my first yearly cycle with the Lake Superior chapter.

It was a nice dinner at the local Radisson. Social hour first. We changed tables to sit/talk with different chapter members for each of the three courses. The outgoing leadership and support teams were thanked. The outgoing chapter president was roasted, and it was obvious that the members who presented their humorous insights took it seriously, cared and prepared. Some funny stuff there! Continue reading →

This week I must address a matter of student behavior that caused some problems last week at my Taekwondo school. The matter involves a few kids, ranging in age from about 8 through 12.  For the purposes of this post, the particular issue doesn’t matter. Rather, what matters is that I need to address it, I will, and, hopefully, will do so well.

I want to resolve the matter because I don’t want to lose any students. Sure, I don’t want to lose any paid enrollments. But much, much more so,  I don’t want to lose any student(s); I want to help them grow, develop, flourish, and move along in various ways. I want them to fulfill their potential, and I want us to be part of that. Continue reading →

I’m not sure of the exact date, but by now in this month of September, 2013, twenty years have just passed since my son Robert (now Robb)  and I started training together in Taekwondo.

He was 4 years and 9 months old; I was 33 years and 3 months old. He was a tyke who ran around the house (ALL THE TIME!) in green Ninja Turtle pajamas pretending to be Michelangelo and fighting imaginary bad guys. I was Continue reading →

We recently did belt promotion testing at our school. It’s always great to see students prepared, excited, nervous, and coming through in the end.

Or not coming through.

Yes, sometimes students have material – often a board break or two – that they were not able to successfully complete at their test. Or, they just can’t remember some material under the pressure of testing. Or, Continue reading →

Today my wife and I celebrate 27 years of marriage. When people ask me how we met, I always respond, “She just showed up at my door one night.” That is true, but the story is not quite that simple, and it is, I think, a bit entertaining, if not sweet.

Bonnie was doing field organizing for the organization for which she worked in Washington, DC, where she lived at the time.  I was living in St. Louis, Continue reading →

One of the best parts about teaching or preaching is that one gets the opportunity to remind, challenge and inspire oneself as much as those to whom they are speaking. This perhaps partly explains why I generally feel that no matter what I do, it’s not good enough. (smile) Continue reading →

What are you afraid of?  Yes, you are. You are afraid of something, likely several things. Further, those fears are controlling you; they drive your behavior, they influence your choices and affect your reactions.

Are you afraid of being alone when you are older?  Do you fear losing your job? How about losing your reputation? Are you afraid of what people might think of you (whatever that means)?  Do you fear not being able to keep up with the Jones (or appearing so)? Continue reading →

In our Taekwondo classes, we have students of all ages, but particularly youth, who are having a hard time performing a particular kick but who refuse to take feedback on improving it because they are concerned about looking good. So, for instance, they would rather kick the target hard, or be fast, than alter their mechanics to do the kick properly.

You can see that they are conscious of their inadequacy in front of everyone (even when most other students aren’t much better) and are almost trying to hide their shortcoming in plain sight. Continue reading →