LangBabies Per. 5

I keep meaning to explain this to you in a very conversational way, but somehow there never seems to be enough time to be able to really just "talk" to you.  This schedule really--what do you guys say? BMS? Is that right?  Well, if that's right then that is what this schedule does. Anyway, my dude John Wooden used to tell his UCLA players that being successful on the court meant nothing without being successful as a human.  No surprise there, and certainly not an original idea but Wooden didn't just preach it--he made his players LIVE it.  They all had to come up with their own blueprint of success that was modeled around a few tenets which they could apply to all aspect of their lives. (a tenet is a principle or a belief)  He called this list of tenets a 7-point Creed. This was the name of a list his own father, Joshua, had given to him when he was about to go into middle school.  It read as follows: * Be true to yourself. * Make each day your mas...

The above quote is from one of my favorite coaches of all time, former UCLA basketball coach,  ''The Wizard of Westwood" John Wooden.  I talk a lot about him throughout the year because he's kind of a hero of mine, even though, usually, I claim not to have any. This quote, one of his more well known ones, got me thinking about the state of the world we live in, and how one day soon, it will be up to all of you to fix it.  No pressure.  :(    But, if you even glance at the TV when the news is on, you know I speak truth. We're in bad shape, and I am seriously doubting the world's so-called political leaders have a clue how to go about reversing the damage. But, that's what I think is so great about kids.  Your potential is limitless, your perspectives are fresh, and your souls aren't yet weary (I truly hope).  All that simply means--if the world is going to change, it will be because you guys changed it. Let's start with what you think is wro...

As a kid, I moved around A LOT. It wasn't until I was 15 and a sophomore in high school that I was ever in the same school for more than a year.  Because of this--well, because of many things but this is just easier to point a finger at--I have never been able to go back to a place where I lived and say, "This was my home--I belonged here." Feeling as though we belong somewhere has a tremendous impact on who we are and who we may one day become. The need to belong is an evolutionary one, embedded in most people's genetic make-up. Abraham Maslow, a renowned psychologist who conceptualized what is now known as an individual's "Hierarchy of Needs,” reasoned that the need to belong is third on the pyramid to a fulfilling life (the first two are pretty basic--physiological and safety needs), and without that feeling, we simply cannot advance, grow or ever fully become the people we are destined to be. So--what do you think?  Do you, at the young and impress...

Ahhh...the unwitting brilliance of Eminem. Waaaay before he was murdering MGK he was gifting us with some genuine pearls of wisdom...and I don't say that sarcastically.  When you think about it, other's perceptions of us often turn out to be true--even when we don't want them to be.  We can explore this idea later, and we will, but for now, just this. How many times have you said to yourself, and for that matter, to anyone who would listen--"I don't care what anyone else thinks...". I know I've said it at least once in the past month--please note, today is the first day of the month...so...yeah, already said it.  In our heart of hearts, though, do we really believe that? It seems an age-old question, but it is one that may not have just one answer: to what extent do  other  people's perceptions of you have an impact on the decisions you make? Peer pressure, parental pressure, self-imposed pressure, all these outside, or inside, forces have t...