Category: Self Improvement / Healthy Living

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Leadership Sanity – Guest Post

Michael Anthony

“Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” These challenging words were spoken by Winston Churchill in a BBC radio broadcast on February 9th, 1941. As one of the great leaders of modern western civilization, Churchill reminded us that leadership is comprised of a set of tools. Although the direction a leader will take people today is different than it was during World War II, the principles used to get there remain constant.

I received a brief memo this morning from a listserv I belong to called Emerging Leaders of New York Arts, or ELNYA. A poll went around to successful CEO’s, in the nonprofit sector, asking what leadership guidelines helped maintain their sanity. As a veteran of the Air Force and graduate student in Museum Studies, each item resonated both with what I desire from a leader and my own aspirations to lead a culturally impactful organization. No matter the field, level, or size of your leadership influence, the following tools may help you develop your own leadership abilities.
A Short Menu for Leadership Sanity

1) Share the work of setting direction* -The CEOs said that they
discovered that it was the burden of carrying “direction setting” on their
own shoulders that weighed them down.  Regular staff and board “strategic
discussion” helps relieve the pressure.

2) Identify and feed the renegades* – Nonprofit leaders find they need to
support those employees who have a keen sense of the evolving community
needs – those with their ears to the ground.  They are supporting those
whose emotional energy is invested in the future and who are willing to
gently let go of the past.

3) Release the notion of “heroic” leadership* – No longer riding in on the
white horse to save the day, successful nonprofit leaders are focusing on
creating collaborative systems and making space for innovation.

4) Nurture employee autonomy- * New ideas and new approaches need to be
“seeded” at all levels.  Successful leaders are creating mechanisms to
encourage grassroots experimentation and reward thoughtful ideas and new
approaches to service.

5) Foster increased commitment to organization values* – Our new world
requires us to wrestle with the “discipline versus freedom” model of
supervision.  Successful leaders spend more time securing commitment to core
organizational values that are at the heart of the work we do in our
communities and with our clients.

The practice of these tools is meant to merge the latent abilities of a leader with the hard work required for success. Whether it is in the major international conflicts of our day or the daily challenges of our own private worlds, an ability to inspire and lead others towards the common good is the responsibility of every individual.

This is a guest post from Blake Ruehrwein.  Blake is a veteran of the United States Air Force with a graduate degree in Museum Studies.

Audio, Best Of, Blogishness, Blogishness, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

Landmark Education Forum: A Thorough Review

Michael Anthony

landmark forum reviewAnyone who’s heard of Landmark Education knows they’re an organization clouded in controversy.  There have been rumors of everything from it being the best personal development program ever, to being a cult.  I’d read all the reviews of the program and even watched a documentary about the original founder of Landmark (EST) Werner Erhard.  After it was all said and done, I was too skeptical about Landmark to do the program…then Time Magazine and BusinessWeek (within a few weeks of one another) had reviews about Landmark and what a great program it was—both articles praised it as a great program for business people.  At that point, I decided to give it a go.  I figured, best case scenario, I would go to Landmark and it would be the best personal development program ever, worst case scenario, if it was a cult, I could at least infiltrate it and write a good story about what a cult it is.

I was initially planning on doing a different blog post with a review of each day; however, after the program, a thorough review of each day is unwarranted.

Day 1:

First off: I am utterly convinced that anyone who thinks that Landmark Education is a cult, is an idiot; it is a personal development program, and from day one to day three, it’s clear that that’s all it is.  It’s just a program to help people deal with their issues.

Day one can be summarized as: What Happened VS Perception: The Stories that we Tell ourselves.  (Pictures below).

landmark forum honest review

Certain events happen in a person’s life and they attach a story to these events.  The facts of the situation are what happened, and the story about why what happened, happened, is our perception.  The main point to note is that perception isn’t fact, its perception.

Example:

You’re on your way to work and your car breaks down.  You arrive to work five minutes late and your boss starts yelling at you, “You’re late.  You’re always late.  You’re a horrible employee.”

This upsets you and you start telling yourself what a jerk you boss is, and you tell yourself that he must hate you.

The story that we tell ourselves is “he’s a jerk,” “he hates me,” but those aren’t facts, they’re perceptions, they’re stories that we tell ourselves.  We only say “he’s a jerk,” because he did or said something that made us associate him as a jerk.  Is it a fact that he’s a jerk?  NO, it’s not a fact.  But the story that we tell ourselves is that he’s a jerk and we accept it as a fact.  We then go around complain to anyone who will listen and say, “my boss is a jerk.”  And of course telling yourself  that your boss is a jerk and treating him like he’s one and complain all day and telling yourself all day that he’s a jerk, is going to put you in a pretty crummy mood.

So when something happens, just ask yourself why you’re telling yourself the story that you’re telling yourself—and ask yourself if it’s a fact, or a story.

Day 2:

Day two started off with people talking about the breakthroughs they’d had since day one.  (A LOT of people actually had a LOT of breakthroughs in that twenty-four hour period.)  The first few hours of day two was a combinations of people talking about their breakthroughs and Landmark pushing its other products.

After Landmark selling its other programs and after the breakthroughs , they started talking about responsibility:  Personal Responsibility.  Basically it’s the aspect of a person taking responsibility for their lives and what happen in their lives.

Example:

If someone’s an alcoholic, what happens is they’ll often say to themselves, “It’s not my fault.  I only drink because my dad drank…or my dad beat me.  If he never beat me, I wouldn’t be an alcoholic.”

A lot of people had a lot of problems with day two.  They didn’t like the idea of having to stop blaming other people, and start taking responsibility for themselves.  No one’s father made they become an alcoholic.

It reminds me of the old story of twin brothers.  These twin brothers had a very abuse and alcoholic father.  Their dad used to beat them, neglect them, etc.  Both of the boys grew up.  One of them became a very successful businessman who used his riches to help other people in abusive relationships.  The other grew up to become a drug addict and alcoholic.  When the first twin (the successful one) was asked what motivated him to work so hard to succeed and then give back to charity, he responded, “Well, growing up with an alcoholic father who beat me, how could I not work hard to leave home and become a success, and then use my money to help others.”  When the other brother was interviewed (the drug addict and alcoholic) and was asked why he became a drug addict and alcoholic, he responded, “Well, growing up with an alcoholic father who beat me, how could I not become a drug addict and alcoholic.”

Same situation, different stories they told themselves.  One brother used his upbringing to drive him to succeed and the other brother used his upbringing as an excuse to blame his father for all his short coming and problems.

Day 3:

Day three started off with a LOT more selling of other Landmark programs.  Day three was also the day that was supposed to bring day one and day two together.  After all the promoting of Landmark’s other programs, the beginning of day three was, again, about people talking about the breakthrough’s that they’d had in the past forty-eight hours—there were a lot of breakthrough’s, and a lot of crying.

I can’t go into detail about all the breakthrough that people had (because we all agreed to keep things confidential) but people had breakthrough is every walk of life, from people going through divorces, people who were abused as children, people who lost their job, people who hadn’t spoken to a family member in twenty years.  There was a little bit of everything and they all benefited.

Day three was about living a life where we’re aware of the stories that we tell ourselves, and it was about living a life where we all take personal responsibility for our actions and our emotions and feelings.   Imagine a world where people didn’t fret about the “stories” that we tell ourselves and instead only dealt with the facts of a situation.  Imagine a world where people take personal responsibility for their actions.  Day three was all about perpetuating this in our lives.

The Positive: Landmark gave people an opportunity to look at their issues from a different point of view.  It gave people an opportunity to see whether the stories that they’re telling themselves are true or are just “stories.”  It gave people an opportunity to take responsibility of their lives—for the good stuff, and the bad.  A fast majority of the people who went to Landmark seemed to get something out of the training, although some people’s nuggets of gold were substantially larger then other people’s.

The negative: If you have a serious issue in your life that you need to get worked out, Landmark is the company for you.  If you’ve got a drinking or drug problem, Landmark is for you.  If you have an issue with your mother or father, or a brother or sister, Landmark is for you.  If you’re going through a divorce, Landmark is for you.   If someone important in your life passed away, Landmark is for you.

If you don’t have any serious issues: Landmark might not be for you, yet.  Yeah, you’ll get something from the program, everyone does, but if you don’t have any serious issues or problems, Landmark might not be right for you—at this time in your life—and might come across as a waste of time and money.  But if you do have a serious problem, Landmark Education is the place to go and it’ll change your life for the better.

—

For more information on the Landmark Forum, the following book is the best on the market. It details what Landmark forum is, from its founding, to what it’s become. It’s written by Luke Rhinehart, with a forward by Werner Erhard, and an introduction by Joe Vitale (bit redundant with an introduction, and a foreword, but still, it’s an interesting book).

 

Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

Going Raw Vegan Update

Michael Anthony

At the beginning of March, I was celebrating Spring Break and had decided to become a raw food vegan .  Well, it’s thirty days later, and I’ve decided to give up being a raw food vegan, but it was a great worthwhile experience.

Anyone who is a vegan/vegetarian knows that the no-meat lifestyle has its benefits and pitfalls.  Raw veganism is no different.  There was good and bad.

The Good: For starters, more energy.  Waking up with a cup of coffee  is nothing compared to waking up with a fresh smoothie.

Typically, for breakfast, I’d have a quick bowl of oatmeal, toast, and a glass of orange juice.  But as a raw food vegan, my breakfast consisted of only a smoothie, a plate of celery, and raw peanut-butter.

And I’m not saying that my typical breakfast of oatmeal, toast and orange juice weighed me down, but it’s nothing compared to the kick with my new raw breakfast.  I had energy throughout the day and could easily skip lunch if I had to.  (I think it was the food that made the difference, though, and not whether or not it was cooked.  But, I guess, to test that theory, I should eat my usual cooked peanut-butter instead and see if that makes a difference.)

Also, one of the best things about being a raw vegan was that I saved myself plenty of time by not having to prepare any of my food.  Nothing to cook, no oven timers to check, no beeps from the microwave, just wash and eat.  This also meant that I had less dishes to wash which also saved me time.  (I would estimate that raw food veganism saved me, at least, an hour a day)

The Bad: Well, for starters, I didn’t realize that bread wasn’t considered raw.  When I thought about going raw vegan, I just figured that meant that I wouldn’t cook anything up, including vegetables, but halfway through, when my girlfriend saw me eating a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, she reminded me that bread had been cook and thus I wasn’t being a raw food vegan.  Damn it!

But besides that, nothing bad really jumps out.  The worst thing, and the most obvious, was that the food just doesn’t taste as good.  Don’t get me wrong, I love fruits and vegetables, but celery and peanut-butter is nothing compared to a grilled veggie burger and some fried onions, they’re just two different levels.  So the food wasn’t bad, but I did miss cooked foods.

I’d recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about giving it a go.

Read Part One Of This Post: Here.

Best Of, Blogishness, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

How to Be a Stand up Comedian

Michael Anthony

how to be a standup comedianIt starts with an awkward silence.  All eyes are glued to you as you walk to the stage; the littlest misstep and you’ll never live it down.  The second that your foot hits the stage, you take a deep breath, sweat drips down your brow and your palms freeze.  Stepping up the microphone you exhale and tell yourself that you’ve been here before, that you’ve only got five minutes and you can handle it.  You look out over the audience; finally its time to ease the tension, theirs and yours.

The most important part of being a stand up comedian is knowing your story: where you’re from, your background, how you were brought up, and what makes you unique.  Every detail helps the audience to identify with you and lets them get a better feel for your right to tell certain jokes.  To be a comedian you’ve got to know yourself, and you’ve got to then be able to laugh at yourself.  As one struggling comedian put it: “You don’t want to hear a rich guy talking about being poor, so why would you listen to a comic say jokes about something he never went through…stick with what you know.”

The first thing after stepping on stage is adjusting the microphone.  Is it too tall, too small, do you prefer to hold it in your hand and walk around?  I don’t.  I stand still and speak. “So…I was in the Army, and I just got back from Iraq a little while ago.” A few people usually applaud.  I’ve got their admiration and respect but not their laughter.   “And before I go on…I know there’s one question on everyone’s mind…and NO…I did not vote for Scott Brown.”  There’s a few laughs in the back of the club, it’s an inside joke and it usually only gets a laugh from the military people, but nothing too serious.  That’s ok though, you’re not supposed to start off with your strongest material.

[The comedian format goes like this:  Introduction: let them know who you are.   Feelers: toss a few jokes out there and get a feel for the audience and what you can get away with.  Builders: you begin to really get into your routine, you start with a few low-key jokes that you’ve used before and that you know will work.  New Material: if there’s any new jokes you want to try out, you try it out right after or during your builder jokes.  Main Material: these are the jokes that you’ve used dozens of times and always get laughs.  End: leave them on a high-note, your funniest joke.]

“Everyone thinks that because I’m a vet, that I voted for Scott Brown because he was in the Army National Guard for thirty years…but let me tell you about Scott Brown…”  Comedy is like writing, you need to know your audience.  Jokes about a senator from Massachusetts aren’t as funny in Rhode Island, as they are in Massachusetts.  A good tell for your joke is whether or not you have to explain any part of it to the audience.

“Scott Brown was in the Military for thirty years, during three wars, and a dozen major military operations, and he’s never gotten deployed once.  The only time he’s been overseas is when he got sent to Paraguay for two weeks.   Yeah, I know some vets that have been to Paraguay for two weeks….it’s called vacation.”  There’s the joke build up.  Every joke needs a beginning, middle, and end.  A joke should start off with a little bit of story, then a small joke, and then BAM the main joke.  The audience should never see it coming.  It’s the amateurs who go out there and pound out one-liner after one-liner.

“Scott Brown tried to get a Purple Heart for getting sunburn while at the beach in Paraguay.  I mean seriously, the only PTSD flashbacks that Scott Brown has is from when he watched the movie Saving Private Ryan in high def.”

The audience is silent.  No laughter.  Luckily the Army taught me the axiom “Improvise.  Adapt.  Overcome.”  Political jokes and military jokes can either be hit or miss; most people haven’t been in the military and even fewer have actually fought in a war.   In this situation, most comics revert back to the universal routine, the routine that fits every audience: relationship humor.   Most relationship jokes, no-matter-what, will get laughter.  No matter how bad or ridiculous they are, someone in the audience always knows what you’re talking about.  And after a stock joke or two about relationships, it’s time to bring out some of the new material and test it out.

“I’ll tell you though, before I went to Iraq I was dating this girl and, like, have any guys here dated a woman with a really strong personality?”  A few men raise their hands and then look at their dates and laugh, “my last girl friend had this really strong personality and I loved it, you know, she knew what she wanted and I always knew what I was getting with her.  But anyways, we eventually broke up and now I’m dating a new girl, and she doesn’t really have a strong personality…but she makes up for it by having three or four different ones…”  Since it’s a new joke, this is where you pause and take note of the audience’s reaction:  How long did it take them to laugh after the punch line?  How hard did they laugh?  Are more men or women laughing?

The MC from the back waves his hand which usually indicates only two minutes left.  The problem with a routine is finding the right spot between saying too much and saying too little.  You don’t want to go on stage and say ten minutes of relationship jokes, or ten minutes of jokes about politics.  You want to change it up and give a variety, but also, you don’t want to be jumping around and saying ten jokes about ten different subjects and have none of them tie together.

“Have you guys ever heard the saying that, ‘if there were a million monkey’s randomly typing on a million different typewriters, that they’d eventually type the completed works of William Shakespeare?’”  Pauses are a fine key to comedy.  It’s like the silence in-between musical beats, and the punctuation in writing.  You need to give the audience a brief moment of reflection before you hit them with the next beat, sentence, or joke.  “Well, I had a math teacher tell me this once, and I decided to start an experiment to see if it were really true, that a million monkey’s typing on computers would end up typing Shakespeare…so a few years ago, I start the experiment by inventing blogs…”

Not everything in comedy always works.  But it’s like writing.  You’ve got to know your audience, you’ve got to know your material, and most importantly, you’ve got to revise, revise, revise, and revise.

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuN9-WRJjJU[/tube]

 

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Top Five Mistakes Made on Resumes: How to Correct Them

Michael Anthony

Today we have a special guest post from Human Resources Manager and former Marine: Chandler Ruehrwein.

Top Five Mistakes Made on Resumes: How to Correct Them

As a Human Resources professional I see hundreds of resumes for each position that opens up.   I then weed those resumes down to just a few which I will invite in for an interview.  How I narrow it down to those few interview worthy resumes is an excellent question.  The answer is between a combination of the recruiting department and the hiring manager.  I could see a stellar looking resume and send it over to the hiring manager with a little extra note; “looks really interesting.”  Or if the resume is not perfect I could simply send it over.  Below are some common resume mistakes.

1.       Not including language from the job description.  If you know how to do the job that you are applying to; than say it in your resume.  I want to know that you can do the job and expressing it in your resume is the best way.  Note:  Literally use trade language and language from the job posting.

2.      Lack of Contact information.  Always have an email address.  Use an email account that you are going to check.  Don’t use a college email account that might shutoff 6 months after you graduate.  Don’t use an email account that has a high spam filter and if someone responds you never receive the message because it went into your junk folder.  Pokerplayer4586@aol.com might not be the most professional email address but definitely use it if you’re applying to the World Poker Tour.  Put your phone number on the resume.  Put your home and cell.  You want the recruiter to contact you so provide them with every possible avenue.

3.      Too much information.  One or two hobbies are great.  If you state your hobbies in a volunteer section that is great too.  Employers do not want to know if you’re married, your age, or any personal information.  Many recruiters consider this information to be personal and they do not want to risk discriminatory practices.  Just leave the information out.

4.      Watch your  grammar.  Too many commas or incorrect capitalization is not a blatant error.  However miss spelling a word, poor word choice, or just plain grade school writing will not compliment a resume.  Spend some time fixing the resume up and making it look professional, choose your words wisely, and present a nice, clean, concise resume.

5.      Lack of Cover letter.  90% of the time, submit a cover letter.   A rare 10% of companies specifically do not allow a cover letter.  The cover letter allows you to build on your resume and build off the job posting.  It also helps you explain why you want to work for the company.

Each one of these tips is designed to continue the advancement of your resume.  In many cases, your resume might have stopped along the process, and it just sat on someone’s desk.  Eliminating these common errors from your resume will help you become one of the interviewees.

Stay tuned for the next update…

Audio, Best Of, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

How to Build Your Self Discipline

Michael Anthony

military self disciplineSelf Discipline: Self Discipline is a person’s ability to get done, what they say they’ll get done.  If a person says that they’re going to wake up at 7:00am, then they get up at 7:00am—not 7:01, 7:02 or 7:03.

Like most things in life to get better at a skill, you’ve got to practice.  And since Self Discipline is a skill that can be learned, that means it’s a skill that needs to be practiced.  The more a person practices self discipline, the more disciplined they become, the less practice, the less disciplined.  Everyone has different levels of self discipline; if a person can look at a piece of chocolate cake, and if they can wait, even one second, between wanting to devour the cake, and actually doing so, then they have self discipline.  Some people can look at the cake, want to eat it, and not eat it.  They have stronger self discipline.  There are just different levels, and most people fall somewhere in-between.  The great thing, though, is that if anyone wants to improve their self discipline, it’s actually pretty easy.

(1)   The first step to building self discipline is to gauge where you’re current levels are.  Take a moment to think of areas where you are disciplined; then take a moment to look at areas where you’re not discipline.  Rate yourself on a 1-10 scale, and if you’re honest, you’ll have a good gauge of where your discipline is currently at.

(2)   Once you know your level, it’s time to give yourself a test.  It’s best to start easy.  Too many people, when starting to build self discipline, they will pick some huge outrageous goal.  For example: someone might say “I want to develop discipline to run five miles every day.”  They’ll motivate themselves, and pump themselves up, then on the first day they’ll run four miles, pull a hamstring, say it’s too hard, and give up.  Blah!

a.       If a person’s goal is to eventually be discipline enough to run five miles a day, then they need to build up their self discipline progressively.  If someone’s not a runner, first they’ll need to build up the discipline to walk five miles a day.  If someone can’t walk five miles, then there’s no way that they can run five miles.  For some people they might need to start even smaller and start off walking just one mile a day, then two, then three, then four, then five, then running a mile and walking four, then running two miles and walking three, etc.

b.      The same thing goes for time, as well.  If someone wants to run or walk every day, then they might want to first start off committing to walking or running three times a week, and see if they can accomplish that.  Then if they can do that, move on to four times a week, then five, then six, etc.

(3)   Once you start to build up your self discipline and can get to a certain level, it’s always important to try to branch out and either make yourself more disciplined or become disciplined in a new field.  If you’re running/walking five miles a day but are still eating two bags of cookies a day, then it might be time to start to build up your dietary discipline.

(4)   Repeat steps 1-3 until you’ve developed adequate amounts of discipline in all steps of your life.

(5)   Don’t become too disciplined.  I’ve heard too many stories of people who become so disciplined that they allow their ‘disciplined habits’ to run their lives.    There was one guy I knew in the Army who was extremely discipline.  He would wake up every day at 5:00am.  He would run two miles, do a hundred jumping jacks, and a hundred push ups.  He’d then shower for exactly 10 minutes.  Eat a healthy breakfast of a banana and oatmeal, back a nice protein shake for lunch, and then head off to work.  That was his day, every day, for the past ten years that he’d been in the Army.  The guy was one of the most tightly wound lunatics I had ever met.  He was so disciplined that he had no idea who to just let go, and stray from his daily routines.  He wouldn’t go out with friends because he had to be in bed at exactly 9:30 pm so that he could wake up at 5:00am.  He wouldn’t go out to eat because no restaurants could meet his strict dietary disciplined standards.  The stories go on and on.  He was a time-bombing waiting to go off.  So make sure to build your discipline, but don’t take things too far.

Self discipline won’t come easy, but that’s the beauty of it.  If it did come easy, then it would be called discipline.

Some of my favorite quotes on self-discipline:

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” –Jesse Owens

“Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind-you could call it character in action.”— Vince Lombardi
“Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.” –Elie Wiesel

“Nothing is more harmful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army superiority over another.”—George Washington

Related Posts:

What the Military Teaches About Self-Discipline

I will Never Accept Defeat.  I Will Never Quit.

Military Time Management: CARVER System

Target VS Mission: Smaller Goals VS Larger Goals

Best Of, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

What the Military Teaches About Self Discipline

Michael Anthony

How to develop military self disciplineWhen a person joins the military, his first taste of discipline is external. His drill sergeants assume that he has no self discipline and thus seek to install it;  left to his own devices, the soldier, sailor, or airman would be slovenly and too self absorbed to succeed.

Had the new recruit chosen another life, college or a civilian job, his time away from the classroom or the shop would have been his own. He could have decided on his own when to get up, when to study and what to do after hours. No one would have spoken to him about the shine on his shoes and the length of his hair.

This is not to say that the young civilian would not find discipline in his life. He would also be growing as a person and realizing that he must please his boss or his teacher if he ever wanted to succeed. However, his path to maturity can be slower. The military man has gone into a demanding profession. His country depends on him for its very survival. He is going to be asked to risk or give his life for his fellow soldiers and for the nation. He has to grow up fast and be ready to do things that lesser men cannot.

So his first days in the military, aren’t pleasant ones. Discipline must be ground into him. He has to gain physical strength, endurance, knowledge, and spirit quickly. Day by day, morning and night, he is pushed to do more than he thinks he can. He is forced to stand tall and look sharp. He must run everywhere and never give an excuse for failure.

At first he is forced to do these things. He is watched, yelled at, and punished for every infraction. Bit by bit, though, he starts to internalize the code of the military. He starts to care if his fellow soldiers succeed or not. He starts to care about the military code. He stands tall, not because someone has told him to, but because of the pride inside him. He is fit and ready for the hard life ahead of him.

This determination and spirit does not leave the soldier when he leaves the military. He approaches tasks in the civilian world with the same self discipline that he acquired years back as a nervous young recruit. Now he is a confident individual, ready to tackle the projects that those around him fear are impossible.

He knows, first of all, the value of organization. He can put things into perspective. He sees that the impossible project is only a series of little tasks.

He learned long ago that self discipline is the first step towards leadership, and now he is ready to step to the front of the group and assign those tasks to others.

He realizes the importance of following through on a task and following up on the people assigned to it. He knows that the self discipline that rests in his breast may not be present in his non-military team mates. He is ready to lead by example or push from behind. Whatever the moment requires, he can do. He is not afraid to praise or to punish. As the job nears completion, he sees that same spirit of comradeship and pride beginning to grow the same way it did for him when the military taught him all about self discipline.

Looking for a good book on military discipline? Then check out the book “Unleash the Warrior Within,” by former Navy SEAL Richard Machowitz. It’s one of my favorites!

 Related Posts:

How to Build Your Self Discipline

Military Time Management: CARVER System

I Will Never Accept Defeat.  I Will Never Quit.

Target VS Mission: Smaller Goals VS Larger Goals

Best Of, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

I Will Never Accept Defeat. I Will Never Quit: Love and War

Michael Anthony

i will never accept defeat i will never quitThinking of the Army code, “I will never accept defeat.  I will never quit.” brings to mind the famous story of the Battle of the Bulge, fought in World War Two.  American forces were defending the town of Bastogne, Belgium, and found themselves suddenly surrounded by a vastly superior force of Germans. The Americans were cut off from food, ammunition and replacements.

For many days, they held off the onslaught of the German hordes, until on December 22, 1944, a German party, under a flag of truce, delivered a long letter to the American commander, General Anthony McAuliffe. The letter boasted of the strength of the German Forces that trapped him in the city.

“To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town.”

It went on to threaten even greater military action that would annihilate the US troops. The American commander would be given two hours to consider the terms of surrender, then one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A.A. Battalions would begin firing on the U.S. position.

The situation was hopeless and General McAuliffe had no doubt what he must do. It didn’t take him two hours to draft his reply to the German commander. He dictated the letter to his typist and his aide delivered it promptly to the German party. The Germans were baffled when they unfolded the letter and saw only one single word written there: “NUTS!”  General McAuliffe was never a man to swear, and his reply was another way for him to say “Go To hell!”  That one word summed up the Army code that General McAuliffe had learned as a young man at West Point; it was his way of saying, “I will never accept defeat. I will never quit.”  He wasn’t jut about to surrender his troops to the German army, no matter how vastly greater or superior they claimed to be.  This is why every American soldier memorizes these words, and it’s what turns them into a member of the toughest, most dedicated fighting force in the world—and it’s why General McAuliffe and his troops were able to hold the town until they were finally reinforced by the 4th Armored Division on December 26th.

It is because of this code that young men and women have carried on in difficult, frightening battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. But what about after the battles are over and these heroes put military life behind them? Can they use these words as a philosophy to guide them through the challenges of the rest of their lives?

How many people give up too easily on the most important things in life – love, wealth, health? How many relationships have failed because people find the compromise and dedication it takes to keep a marriage going is too hard? How can love survive if people give up too easily when things get rough? A soldier, or anyone who remembers the Army code and follows it, can work out the toughest marital problems.

When a former-soldier enters the business world, the code that he took to heart will carry him through when things start looking hopeless. The determination to never surrender doesn’t mean that the person needs to succumb to stubborn stupidity. If one thing isn’t working, a smart businessman will try something else, even if it means going back to school to learn a new trade. The important thing for him to remember is to never give up – never stop trying.

The same thing applies when it comes to his health. As the years roll by, it becomes harder and harder to keep in shape. The muscles of even the strongest athlete will wither, but the important thing is to keep the grit and have the guts to keep going. Changing life habits – dieting, smoking, drinking, drug abuse – all of them are hard but a soldier is trained to call on a team if he needs to and a soldier is trained to never quit trying.

No one is ever guaranteed success if he keeps trying, but everyone is guaranteed failure if he gives up. All of life is a struggle, and it’s meant to be. The soldier who carries the code “I will never accept defeat.  I will never quit.” with him throughout his life will find the strength to face all obstacles, big or small.

To learn more about the military war-time experience check out the following book:

Related Posts:

What the Military Teaches About Self-Discipline

Military Time Management: CARVER

Target VS Mission: Smaller Goals VS Larger Goals

 

 

 

Best Of, Blogishness, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

How To Successfully Market An Unforgettable War Memoir

Michael Anthony

Due to the notoriety of the two most recent and controversial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the consumer market has become a fertile ground for war memoirs. Readers have a strong interest in the military and an effective marketing campaign is a guaranteed way to generate sympathy and curiosity about heroic veterans. Marketing, advertising and publicity are essential to building an audience.

The Media as a Marketing Tool

Using a variety of media outlets increases your opportunity to reach your targeted market. The internet, television, print and radio are all effective ways to spread the word of your war memoir. Diversification of the way in which you advertise to your readers is the modern approach to public relations.

Start with the internet because it is ubiquitous and cost-effective. Create a website devoted to your book. Include links to the veteran’s biography. Add a blog and post video clips that relate to your memoir. Also consider creating a profile on popular social media websites and invite friends to connect to your profile.

Television is another prosperous opportunity to advertise your book. Make a commercial and send it to the major networks as well as cable television stations. Make appearances on talk shows and local news broadcasts because celebrity endorsements and favorable interest from the media are the best ways to sell your book.

Print media is a great means of communication because it reaches a large community of readers. Many consumers still purchase and subscribe to magazines or newspapers. Place advertisements in several popular publications or hire a writer to review your war memoir. Meet with journalists who will interview you and write about your experiences.

The radio reaches a wide audience and is heard by millions of people on a daily basis. This is an essential tool for communicating to the general public. For example, morning talk show hosts often interview a variety of guests and the chance to be a part of this broadcast is a golden opportunity. Also consider creating your own radio commercial and air it on a popular show.

The Power of Networking

Meet with local bookstore owners and ask to hold a reading. Offer to sign copies of your war memoir and answer questions about being a veteran. Talk to your readers and ask them what attracted them to your book. Use what they tell you to your advantage and apply it to other situations. Additional opportunities to network include visiting colleges and universities. Ask school administrators if there is a possibility of speaking to students about your book in an auditorium or before individual classes.

Successfully Marketing Your War Memoir

Use a wide range of media outlets in addition to networking to market your war memoir. Readers are interested in your experiences in the military and there is a lot of support for veterans who fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Advertising and good public relations are essential to generating goodwill and positive feedback on your book. Now is a great time to take advantage of the rare opportunity ahead of you.

Best Of, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Self Improvement / Healthy Living

Target VS Mission: Smaller Goals VS Larger Goals

Michael Anthony

In the military we’re trained to accomplish missions, and in order to accomplish mission—large scale ones—often, the military will set up smaller targets to accomplish that will eventually lead to the accomplishment of the primary mission.

This can be useful as a way of looking at goals.  If a person has a larger goal, in order to reach that goal, they have a lot of little goals that they, most likely, have to accomplish first.  This is the same as the military strategy of mission and targets.  To accomplish a larger goal, a person needs to know exactly what it is.   What’s the mission?  What is trying to be accomplished?  A new job? More money?  Better health?  You need to know what the mission is.  A soldier always knows what his mission is—and if he doesn’t know, someone screwed up along the chain of command.

Once the larger mission is established, we need to establish a series of targets that we need to get, take down, achieve, destroy, etc; in order for us to achieve our mission.  There may be as many as ten, twenty or thirty targets, or as few as five, three, or even just one.

Make a list of all possible targets that you’ll need to accomplish in order to achieve your goal.  Let’s say that you want to lose thirty pounds.  In order to complete your mission, you’ll need to accomplish certain targets, some examples might be: Get a gym membership, buy some weights, throw out all the junk food in the house, start that first day, keep it up for a week, lose that first five pounds, get a personal trainer, eat healthier, run everyday, etc.  These are all targets that, once accomplished, can help lead you towards achievement of your ultimate mission.

Now, once you have all your targets picked out, you’ll need to refer back to the post I did on the CARVER system—basically, the CARVER system is a military system about figuring out which target to accomplish first, second, third, etc.

Once you know what your first target is, all you have to do is accomplish that one certain thing.  You don’t have to loose thirty pounds, all you’ve go to do is achieve every target and the mission will complete itself.

Let’s say that you go through the CARVER system and you discover that the most important target for you to get first is to throw out all the junk food in the house.  All you’ve then got to do is throw out all the junk food in the house, and you’ve already got one target achieved.  Then go on to the next one, and the next one, etc.

This is pretty much the goal achievement method of the military.  It’s what we use in the hospital, it’s what the infantry guys use, it’s what the Special Forces guys use, everyone uses it.  Whether you’re trying to capture an enemy combatant or just accomplish a personal goal, this is the best way to do it.

Primary Mission VS Secondary Mission

One thing that comes up during missions, and when figuring out what your targets are, is the discovery of secondary targets, or secondary missions.  Keeping with the above example, let’s say that you mission is to lose thirty pounds, but let’s say that your secondary mission is to have a toned stomach.  (Another example would be, say you’re hunting the leader of a terrorist force, the primary objective would be to kill the leader, and the secondary objective would be to kill his second in command, etc.)

Your secondary mission is going to effect how you select and accomplish your targets.  Let’s say that one of your targets is to go to the gym and work out an hour a day.  Going to the gym and working out works on your primary target, but if not done appropriately it won’t help out with your secondary target.  So at the gym, a way to set yourself towards success in both would be to, when working out at the gym, do a series of exercises that focus on calorie burn and focus on building stronger abdominal muscles.

Conclusion:

1)   Write down what your primary mission is.

2)   Select a series of targets that need to be reached in order to accomplish your mission.

3)   Use the CARVER system to see which targets are of the most importance.

4)   Decided if there’s a secondary mission.

5)   Figure out what primary targets correspond with secondary targets that would help with the accomplishment of the secondary mission.

6)   Use the CARVER system again.

7)   Accomplish the first target.

8)   Second Target

9)   Third Target

Mission Accomplished!

Looking for a good book on military targets and goals? Then check out the book “Unleash the Warrior Within,” by Richard Machowitz. It’s one of my favorites!


Related Posts:

The CARVER system Part 1

The CARVER system Part 2

I Will Never Accept Defeat.  I Will Never Quit.

What the Military Teaches About Self-Discipline