A safe place to learn and grow…

Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals…

Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences…

Hope and opportunity.

For many of us, the above describes a happy home.  Children need a safe place to learn and grow.  They need ongoing relationships with caring adults.  They need experiences to enhance their quality of life and develop their personal character, the need hope and opportunity.  I would dare say not only do they need these things, but children deserve these things.

For many children, the only way they have these exeriences is through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).  The core beliefs listed above support the organization’s mission:

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

This week’s Sunday Service opportunity is to help the BGCA make their mission a reality.  Volunteers, donations, and general community support is critical.  You can help.

Nearly four thousand clubs provide a safe place for over four million children, 43% of whom are between the ages of six and ten years old.  The population is diverse; Caucasian – 36%, African-American – 28%, Hispanic/Latino – 23%.  The BGCA website shares these remarkable statistics about kids in crisis: across America, three out of ten high school students will not graduate, yet 90% of BGCA members do.  From 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., juvenile crime sharply increases as 15.1 million kids are left unsupervised, but clubs are open every day after school, providing a safe and productive environment for kids.

BGCA provides help with homework, a safe place to play, leadership development, community involvement, and mentoring.  Children learn about health, fitness, the arts, life skills and programs customiuzed for specific community needs.

How can you get involved?  Click HERE to donate to a local club, to the national organization, or to support community partners. To find a club near you, click HERE and enter your zip code. Stop and visit, ask how you can volunteer.  Stay informed and share news about BGCA; follow them on Twitter, ‘like’ them on Facebook, or sign up for their newsletter.  And, of course, donations are needed and welcome.  Click HERE for a variety of ways that you can financially support the work of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Imagine the possibilities you can open up for these children!

For this new year’s week, I challenge you to develop some stop, start, continue resolutions for yourself.  Complete the three sentences below.  Write down your answers.  Save them in a file, tuck them in a drawer, add them to your calendar at the end of the quarter.  Then, on some selected date, review your progress toward achieving them.  Good luck!

I resolve to STOP:

I resolve to START:

I resolve to CONTINUE:

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

I took this photo last night after midnight mass at St. Mary Church, Columbus, Ohio. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

One of the harder things to measure and impact is a person’s attitude, yet it can be one of the most important things that contribute to a favorable reaction.  You may have heard this story before, but it is a favorite illustration about positive attitude:

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.

The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

Both salesmen saw the exact same thing.  Nobody wears shoes.  Yet, one salesman viewed that circumstance as an overwhelming challenge to success while the other saw it as a clear opportunity.  Their attitude toward the situation made all the difference.

How do you look at challenges that face you?  What attitude do your team members observe in you?

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Last night, I watched a recording of NBC news anchor Brian Williams’ new show, Rock Center.  The very first segment was about Williston, North Dakota, a town in the middle of an oil-driven economic boom.  Among the success stories, correspondent Harry Smith told the story of three men who were desperately down on their luck.  They heard about the oil boom in western North Dakota and traveled across country with little more than hope in their pocket.

George Green scrounged up enough money to buy a bus ticket from Florida. He sleeps in a friend’s truck and takes his toothbrush, toothpaste and razor to Walmart each morning to wash up for work. Phil Hazleman drove his old beat up van from Wisconsin after his unemployment ran out; he sleeps in his truck, too. Patrick Parker just wants his daughters to be proud of him.  He hitch-hiked from California after losing his job of ten years and being unable to find new work.  The good news is that all three men found good jobs in Williston.

The men weren’t looking for riches, though.  Just some steady work. A way to pay their own way through life. George Green summed it up perfectly;

“I just want to have a decent life, that’s all.”

Today, I am thankful for my decent life, that’s all.

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward

Will you join the gratitude movement?

Today, I am thankful that I stumbled across Ben’s blog post.  For one year now, I have been enriched by fulfilling my commitment to write this weekly post.  Giving focused attention and consideration to the many things I have to be thankful for always makes my week better.  I have become more aware of signs, books, and articles about gratitude.  I have shared with others the difference that living in gratitude has made for me and now they have taken up the Thank you Thursday idea in their own way.

My most recent gratitude find is a wonderful little book by M.J Ryan, “Attitudes of Gratitude, How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life.”  After an introduction about the joy of gratitude, the book is divided into three key parts: The Gifts of Gratitude, The Attitudes of Gratitude, and The Practices of Gratitude.  It’s a collection of wonderful ideas, short stories and reminders of how to give and receive gratitude.  It’s one of those great books that I can pick up, read a short chapter or two, be refreshed and carry on with renewed inspiration.

What about you? How do you stay fully present in gratitude? What would be possible if all the world were intentional in thankfulness?

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward

Will you join the gratitude movement?

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.

Be silly this week.  Be great this week.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and hopefully, motivational. I hope you find some meaning in them.

What I’ve learned recently is that it’s even better to be asked to do something I’ve never done, because the person making the ask believes I can do it. That’s what happened this week. I have a lot to learn. New software, new processes, and tight deadlines to work within. There’s new people to work with and new expectations to meet. There’s a lot riding on doing this particular task really well.

I was told that I have an opportunity to shine. The little voice inside has reminded me that there is also an opportunity to fail.

Today, I’m thankful that I am powerful enough to overcome that little voice and charge into the new future, embracing new challenges as the opportunities they really are.

Interestingly enough, the announcement of Steve Job’s passing was released just as I was sitting down to write this. Somehow, it seems appropriate to be writing about stretching myself, doing something I’ve never done, taking a risk in the shadow of that announcement. I went back and reread my previous post about Jobs’ now famous 2005 Stanford commencement speech. I hope you will go back to that post and listen to his speech again. His words ring so true.

Perhaps it is fitting then, today especially, to take Jobs’ advice; I’m not going to “settle” for being good at what I’ve already done. I’m going to keep looking for new opportunities to do “great work.” Imagine the possibilities!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward

Will you join the gratitude movement?

At one point, Beane goes to the home of Scott Hatteberg, a player that all the other teams thought was washed up. Scotty used to be a catcher, but an elbow injury and surgery meant he couldn’t throw the baseball any more. But, what he could do was get on base. Here is generally how part of the conversation went:

Beane: I don’t care about your elbow. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve thrown your last ball from behind the plate. I want you at first.

Scotty: But, I’ve been a catcher my whole life.

Beane: Well, you aren’t anymore. Do you want to play for the Oakland Athletics? Then you’re going to play first base.

Scotty: But,

Beane: You don’t know how to play first base. Of course you don’t. We’re going to teach you. We are going to teach you.

I’m not giving away the rest of the movie by telling you that Scotty accepted the offer. He still wanted to play baseball. He struggled a lot at first. Even though Scotty had been playing the game since he was a kid and had been a good catcher, it was really hard to play well in a completely new position.

Guess what, though? He learned. He changed. Scotty became an adequate first baseman, but more importantly, scored a lot of runs. And, scoring runs is what helped the team win games.

I was so struck by this interaction that I pulled out a pad of paper and pen in the theater and scribbled as much as I could recall. What a great lesson for us all!

Things change. We are sometimes asked to take on new roles. New leadership may have a new way of playing the game. They might think that different things should be a priority. But in the end, if you can approach the game with an open mind, play to your strengths, trust the new vision, and come together as a team, chances are you’ll win the game.

In baseball or business.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and hopefully, motivational. I hope you find some meaning in them.

As you do, consider these tips from the Sweet Autumn Project.  They are essentially a collection of ideas to help us help others as we transition to the Autumn season.  Here are a few ideas adapted from their website.

> When you are raking leaves or shoveling snow, consider taking care of an elderly or ill neighbor’s yard, too.  Maybe encourage a few families to unite in the effort. Have some cider & donuts ready to make it a fun event.

> When cleaning your home to prepare for holiday guests, give extra clothing, furniture and “stuff” to charity. If something has been stuffed into a closet and hasn’t seen the light of day for a year or more, it can go.

> Don’t forget to clean out your linen closets, too, as you switch to flannel sheets or warm comforters.   If you’re buying a new blanket, give your old gently used blanket to a homeless shelter.  Well-used blankets, towels and piles of newspapers can be also donated to local animal shelters to help care for abandoned dogs, cats and small critters.

> Do your holiday shopping online through a charitable search engine such as iGive.com. Choose your favorite charity, shop and the organization receives a contribution based on the amount of your purchase.

>  Instead of bringing the token bottle of wine as a host gift to holiday parties you’ve been invited to, make a donation in your hosts’ name to a local charity.

> Use buy-one-get-one-free coupons to purchase an item for yourself and donate the extra free item to a local food pantry, Ronald McDonald House, or emergency shelter.

> Order holiday invitations and greeting cards through Cards That Give, which connects you to greeting cards available through 150 charity organizations, and a portion of your purchase will benefit them. This also helps get the word out about the organization.

Some acts of service require donations of time and energy, some need your financial support.  The ideas above, however, simply require thought and little bit of planning.  As you go through your Autumn housecleaning and holiday preparations, consider how you can serve others while just doing your usual activities.

Imagine the possibilities!