Unfortunately, times have changed since September 11th, and visiting West Point is much more structured and supervised.  You cannot just stroll along the magnificent campus.  Having to take a mandatory tour does have its advantages such as having a knowledgeable tour guide.  Ours was a former drill sergeant.  There were many tidbits of trivia that were very interesting like what a prankster General Eisenhower was when he was a student and how General Douglas MacArthur’s mother hid food in cannons for him because she did not feel her son was being well fed.

What I found most interesting was that all West Point Cadets have to take one of the three following sports:  Golf, Tennis, or Skiing.  The reason for this requirement is these are life long sports; do not require many people to play them, and that business deals are conducted on golf courses, at tennis courts and in ski lodges.  Having varied interests and hobbies is a key ingredient to living an interesting and good life.

I mention this as food for thought whether for your own information or perhaps to think about sports you may want to encourage your children to explore.  If participation in one of these sports is mandatory for the cadets of West Point, there just may something to the idea.  As an avid golfer and casual tennis player and skier I think you will find one of these sports to your or your children’s liking.  Give it a shot you won’t regret it.

A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

I was given this book by someone in the field of education in order to understand how we need to teach our students to succeed in this global age. While all of the skills in this book will certainly be critical to education both now and in the future it turns out that this was really a business book that has many applications

The arguments or premises that this book is based on are that computers and those living outside the U.S. can perform many of the skills we have acquired and that have sustained our economy thus far much faster or more inexpensively.   Therefore, we need to develop skills that cannot be performed by computers or a less expensive labor force.

The six skills outlined in the book are: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Is argued in this book that mastering these skills is necessary to succeed in a global world. You will have to read the book to understand the definition and meaning of these skills as I cannot do them justice here, but I think you’ll find it a worthwhile endeavor.

Whether you are a parent raising a child, a high school or college student trying to decide on a career, an entrepreneur starting a business or a CEO of a well-established business you would be wise to read A Whole New Mind.

One note, do not get hung up on the first chapter as it is a somewhat scientific description of how the brain functions. In fact, I’m not entirely sure that it is necessary to read the first chapter to get the meaning from this book.  However, I am one of those people who feel they have to read every page.

Go ahead and purchase the book or audio version.  You won’t regret it!

This is not to say that all professional development opportunities are created equal.  We have all heard of those boondoggles where very little content is offered and more of a good time has been had.  I believe these are the exception rather than the rule and in this economic environment those types of events will continue to decline.  Those of you who are tasked with sending people to professional development events must do your homework to ensure you are getting the most for your or your company’s hard earned money.

If you as an individual have any hope of succeeding in a competitive environment you must continually invest in yourself and your career even if you have to pay for these opportunities with your own money.  If you do not I guarantee that there is someone out there who will and they will eventually have your job.

There are many types of professional development opportunities to choose from.  Some of the major categories include technical (specific to your field), managerial, leadership, motivational, communication (verbal, written), and computer applications.  They are all valuable and will play varying degrees in your success depending on your professional objectives.  Start with what you believe is your biggest weakness or possibly what the greatest challenge your business or industry is facing.

Attending professional development seminars are completely worthless unless you take action and implement what you have learned.  This is where most people fail.  They get excited about new ideas and strategies that they have learned but as soon as they get back to their job they fall back into their daily rut.  As an employer I require all employees that attend off-site training to submit a short summary of what they learned and how they will utilize their newfound knowledge to improve their or our business’s performance.

Professional development is what you make of it.  Your skills and knowledge are the most important and valuable asset you have.  Continually invest in yourself and dare to be great.

Later that night I went and visited the ZenHabits site. I love the simplicity, which is what Leo teaches, of his blog. While it first may appear that the site contains little information it only takes a mouse click to discover a world of great content. I have only read a handful of posts to date but I try to read a post that catches my eye once a day. I would recommend that you start by clicking on what else but the “Start Here” link on the right menu bar.

I believe this web site is a worthy destination for anyone trying to live a good life. I currently practice many of the suggestions listed at ZenHabits but I have already picked up a few new ideas. The area I am focusing on now is trying to get up earlier in the morning. Leo list many of the positive attributes of being an early riser which most of us are probably already aware of but he goes on to give suggestions to help make it happen.

Take action today and visit the site. You won’t regret it.

Courage takes many forms. Examples include the courage to do what is right, the courage of facing a personal fear, the courage to accept unpopularity, the courage to endure physical or mental pain for the sake of self-improvement, the courage to push forward through frustration, the courage to tell the truth, the courage to change, the courage to act, the courage to trust, the courage to love, the courage to commit, and many more.

In Aristotle for Everybody, Mortimer Adler interprets Aristotle’s definition of courage as “an habitual disposition to take whatever pains may be involved in doing what we ought to do for the sake of a good life.” Quite simply, it means doing what we know we need to do however challenging or difficult. For example, most of us inherently know we need to exercise to live a healthy life, yet many of us choose not to exercise at least regularly for some reason we have come to rationalize as valid. This is a lack of courage in Aristotle’s view.

How do you make a habit of courage? This is not an easy undertaking, as you will have to overcome years of habits associated with making uncourageous decisions. First, let me suggest that you have to believe that practicing courage is a worthy pursuit. Developing courage will allow you to be more in control of your life as opposed to letting outside circumstances dictate your actions.

Second, start on a small scale. It will be self-evident when you are faced with a decision that requires courage. Before making a decision recognize the scope of courage that will be required. If you are contemplating taking some type of risk, courage may require that you research the issue before acting recklessly. For example, using health again as it is a universal challenge. Study the benefits and techniques of living a healthy lifestyle and then slowly implement what you have learned. There will be days when you do not feel like exercising or eating a healthy meal and this is where you begin to develop courage. As Nike says, “Just do it!” Another example would be making a financial investment. This will require courage and demands investigation to determine the proper amount of courage to make the best choice.

Another place to start is by developing the habit of being truthful. Telling the truth often requires courage because it may get you or someone you care about into trouble. Yet we inherently know it is the right thing to do. There is a selfish benefit to this strategy and that is people will respect you for this virtue. They may not always like it but they will respect it. They will come to know that you are always telling them the truth and they will appreciate you for that quality.

As you continue to develop courage you will eventually face the most difficult of situations when you will have to make unpopular decisions for the greater good or a higher cause. In order to prepare for such decisions I urge you to read Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. The issues contained within this book may have been of a past era but the principles remain timeless.

In his forward to the Memorial issue of Profiles in Courage, Robert Kennedy reminds us that President Kennedy was fond of Dante “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

It is impossible to live a virtuous life without courage. Courage is not obtained from a single action but nurtured through a habit of courageous decisions over a lifetime. Practicing courage is a worthy pursuit and necessary to living a meaningful and fulfilling life and contributing to your community.

Incorporating this type of planning and following through will take care of every Yew Year’s resolution or goal you may have this year. The reason why this method is so effective is that it keeps the issues that are important and meaningful to you clearly in the forefront of your mind. Additionally, when you complete a task or activity that you schedule based on your principled questions there is a real sense of meaningful accomplishment, which is the basis of happiness.

The easiest way that I have found to accomplish this is to write a set of questions relating to your principles or goals to ask yourself at least once a day and implement the answers into some type of day-planner.

Step 1. Determine what is important to you. This will certainly vary among individuals and your current life circumstances. Sit down in a quiet place and start writing what is important to you. Write as much as you can. For example, you may write your health, your family, your career, your relationships, your mind, your hobbies etc… Now add more detail within each category. For example, in the area of health you may write; maintaining an ideal body weight, improving your flexibility or strength, improving your cardiovascular system, eating more healthier or better quality foods etc…

Step 2. Identify a list of questions that you will ask yourself everyday that relate to the important principles you just identified in step 1. For example, you may have a list that includes questions similar to the following: What am I going to do today to improve my health? What am I going to do today to move me closer to my long-term goal(s)? What am I going to do today to improve my relationship with someone I care about? What am I going to do for myself today? These questions can be as general or specific as you want them to be. Remember, this is your list and your life and don’t be afraid to change the questions as time goes by.

Step 3. Generate your list of questions and develop a method to implement them into a day planner system. You must have some type of day-planner system for this method to be effective. The day-planner can be as elementary as a paper to-do list or as sophisticated as a blackberry phone. One simple method is to keep the list of questions on separate piece of paper and write the answers in your to-do list or schedule them into your calendar. I actually have designed my own paper day-planner that has these questions on the top of each page where there is room to write in an answer and then I try to schedule the tasks throughout the day. If you have generated a large list of questions you may want to only answer half of them one day and half the next day. Again, it’s your list and your life so make the most of it but do not make it overwhelming for yourself.

Step 4. Answer the questions and take action to accomplish them. Aw, there is a catch you are thinking. Yes, you do have to do something when your list of questions is completed. This is where most people fail. They do not take action or follow through. Well you are not most people and you are certainly capable to acting upon what you consider important and meaningful. My advice is to begin with small steps or answers to your questions. For example, if your first questions is “What am I going to do today to improve my health?” Your answer may be: Drink four glasses of water or walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes as opposed to eat three healthy meals today or run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to accomplish too much too fast. Anything you do that is an improvement on what you have been doing is a success. You will be amazed at what you will accomplish by taking small steps over the course of a year.

Step 5. Pick one question that you will ask yourself, answer and complete everyday. Yes, everyday. This is the one goal, resolution, dream or whatever you want to call it that will make the biggest difference in your life. In fact, it could change your life. It may take more than one year to accomplish this overall goal but that is OK. The momentum of taking action towards it everyday will keep you energized, excited and moving in the direction you are destined to go.

Finally, accept right now that there will be days when you do not accomplish everything you set out to do and that is not a failure on your part. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Events will occur that will be out of your control. You need to be somewhat flexible. But always accomplish the task related to your highest goal. You may have to adjust or scale down your answer. For example, if you were going to write a letter to a loved one, just address the envelope.

So make and keep the one New Year resolution of implementing principled and focused planning that will take care of all the rest. You won’t regret it.

I urge you to spend some time during the following days and sit down and take a good look at your life with pen and paper in hand. Look at all of the areas of your life. Don’t solely reflect on those areas that are not in an ideal state. Write down all of the positive things that have happened to you and that you have accomplished. This is not a time to judge or plan, only to reflect. The planning will come shortly after.

Unfortunately, the weather has been colder than usual for this time of year. Entering the ocean is out of the question even for some of the more courageous in our family. However, there is always the pleasure of looking for seashells and shark teeth. The variety and beauty of seashells never ceases to amaze me. There is something soothing about the beach and searching for seashells adds to the tranquility. Maybe it is the immediate gratification of finding so many unique and colorful shells, or maybe it is the anticipation of finding that perfect shell.

Since coming to Amelia Island I have become somewhat obsessed in trying to find shark teeth. In my mind it is the holy grail of beach combing. On this trip, I found the best one yet; somewhat large and in perfect condition.

So if you can find the opportunity to take some time off, even if it is just a local weekend getaway, from the daily grind do not hesitate.  You will be much more productive when you return.  It is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. 

In the case of Zuill Bailey, his teacher Joel Krosnick, taught him to ask the whys of everything.  This apparently added another dimension to his already brilliant playing.

Anthony Marwood’s teacher, Sandor Végh, challenged his students to “make the music speak.”  Marwood described his curriculum as “a school of thought that was quite broadly based.”

So once again we find philosophy adding value to another discipline – music.  I recommend studying and practicing philosophy in your life.  It will most likely add another dimension to your life.  You won’t regret it!

Increasing your savings is a worthy pursuit at any time.  However, in this time of economic and career uncertainty having more money (cash) at your disposal could just buy you enough time if something unfortunate were to happen to your circumstances.

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason that lays out a very simple and straightforward plan to achieving financial security.  The minimum goal that all people should strive for is to save 10% of their gross income.  Yes gross.  You may think that this in impossible but for most people but it is not.  The key is to pay yourself first.  This can be done either through some type of retirement plan through your employer or simply having an automatic withdrawal from your checking account going into a savings or money market account.  If you do not feel you can save 10% then start with a smaller percentage or a dollar amount on a regular basis (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly).  You will be very surprised how it will begin to add up and how you will want to increase the amount you contribute.

It is recommended by most financial experts that you have at least 3 to 6 months of your living expenses saved in a savings or money market account.  Having this amount of money saved will decrease your stress with respect to unexpected expenses or even worse the loss of your job.  As I said before, it buys you 3-6 months of time to get back on your feet.  This is the first step to long-term financial security and an immediate stride towards peace of mind.

Don’t let yourself get into a situation where you have to look back and regret that you did not save more.