Leadership author and speaker
Leadership author and speaker
There’s an oft-repeated quote attributed a popular saint, St Francis of Assisi, that speaks to the heart of today’s post; specifically that actions speak louder than words. The quote goes: Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. No, I’ve not turned this into a religion blog; the point is that what we […]
Just take your time – wave comes. Let the other guys go, catch another one. -Duke Kahanamoku, Legendary Hawaiian Waterman Surfing became a part of my life later than most. Other than the one time my Dad and I rented a board in Corpus Christi, Texas to try to surf the Gulf shorebreak, I was […]
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. – Albert Einstein When my son was very young, he would give me the same advice as I left for work each day: “Goodbye, Daddy; have a good day at work. Be sure to drink your water, eat your lunch, and […]
The Christmas Season begins at the Vigil (sundown) on Christmas Eve (Dec 24) and continues through the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6). We’ll have a short post this week as I’m trying to keep my screen time to a minimum to enjoy the holidays and some time off with my family. I thought you’d appreciate […]
We must be mentally prepared to be courageous, you never know when the call will come. When I give my Five Be’s talk and I get to the part about “Be Courageous”, I spend most of the time on the subject of “Moral Courage.” The reason I do that is because few of us will […]
I heard my father’s voice in my head: “Be nice,” so I choked out a strained “thank you” through a fake smile. What I really wanted to say was, “Are you KIDDING me?!!” The young Airman standing in front of me had very proudly secured an all black Toyota Forerunner from the Ahmed Al Jaber […]
Last week I deployed with Team Rubicon on my first ever disaster response operation: Operation Hard Hustle. I can tell you I got more out of the experience than I gave—serving others and doing important work in the company of other military veterans and first responders is soul-cleansing. This post is my reflection on that […]
Anyone can put their head down and power through life, however, it takes a mature person to understand that how you live is equally important as what you accomplish. -Mickey Addison, The Five Be’s We sat in the Officer’s Club at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho: three lieutenants with cold beers in hand trying […]
I need a coach. Anyone can trudge through a task or lesson on their own, but if I truly want to get better I’m in need of a coach. I’ve been an athlete all my life. I started soccer at age 6, baseball at age 8, and I lettered in both football and track in […]
Mickey is in the midst of moving his household from Hawaii to Texas, so please enjoy this “classic” post from 2016. Original posts will resume in September. Also, don’t forget that The Five Be’s Second Edition goes live on Lulu and Amazon next month!! In the film, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, the Task Force Commander, Admiral […]
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be spotlighting ideas and concepts from my book, The Five Be’s, in advance of the release of the Second Edition in September. Over the last two weeks, we discussed authentic pride in oneself and highlighted a really cool young entrepreneur. This week, it’s all about being authentically free. When […]
Today’s post will be a little different than usual, but it has a tie back to The Five Be’s as well as a really cool story about a hard-working young entrepreneur. Bella is the Bomb One of the best parts of moving to a new community is seeing as extraordinary what fades into the background […]
Being proud of who you are is really about understanding your self-worth. Consider the following story: There was a woman who worked for me who suffered from a crisis of confidence in her own worth. She was extremely technically competent in her job, a friend to those around her, and a good leader. Her lack […]
Ever work for someone or have to be deferential to someone you didn’t respect or didn’t like? Fortunately for me, all the men and women I reported directly to were people I did respect. Civic virtue demands we understand how to respect the office rather than just the office holder. Respect the Rank and the […]
Memorial Day is approaching and I thought a couple of posts on the subject of courage was in order. I’m pleased to bring you an excerpt from my book The Five Be’s as a two-part series on courage. __ Admiral Tarrant from the film The Bridges at Toko-Ri asked, “Where do we get such men?” The […]
“Shared Purpose” is shorthand for getting people connected to the mission of an organization. The most effective leaders are able to build a collective sense of shared purpose and connect each individual to the mission of the larger team. In fact, the teams who think and work together with a sense of shared purpose are […]
“Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage without fear.”– Eddie Richenbacker, World War I flying ace There are as many definitions of the word “courage” as there are people. Courage can take many forms, but we generally think of courage in two main categories: physical courage and moral courage. When […]
I believe that being successful means having a balance [in] life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. – Zig Ziglar When my son was very young, he would give me the same advice as I left for work […]
