The character trait of the month is orderliness. Orderliness is defined as “arranging myself and my surroundings to achieve greater efficiency”. Orderliness is a much-needed trait that can be used in all areas of our lives: personal, professional, faith, and so on. But orderliness is not a...
Reactive vs Pro-Active What happens when we don’t plan ahead? Have you ever started writing a memo, reviewing a memo, creating a presentation, or developing an engineering agreement the day it’s due? What’s the outcome? Mistakes! Have you ever sent an email or text message without reading the...
A decision is a choice. In the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, sometimes, making a choice isn’t the most difficult activity. Sticking to the choice is. Our trait for this month is decisiveness. We want to be people who can make a decision. A friend once told me I needed to decide...
There’s a secret out there that really isn’t a secret as much as something that is just overlooked: and that is, we are in control of how we respond to everything that happens to us and everything around us. You hit every red light on the way to work. You could be angry at life that you are late...
Why get up day after day and go to work? Why do the laundry? Why budget and pay bills? These tasks bring order to the business of life. Some people don’t clean their home. They don’t pick up after themselves. Orderliness can be described as “arranging myself and my surroundings to achieve greater...
There’s a cryptocurrency being circulated today. It has its roots in ancient markets. Many have forgotten its real value and the possibilities open to those willing to invest. Politicians, some who are quite wealthy by American standards, are often accused of misusing, undervaluing, or having too...
DETERMINATION: firmness of purpose; resoluteness; strength of character; single-mindedness Determination is simply not giving up. No matter how hard things get, or how badly you want to just give up, you keep on going. Sometimes you just want to let go, when it seems like what you are going for is...
Punctuality. A sometimes overlooked piece of the character puzzle, punctuality deserves our ardent attention. Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying “Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” (quotationreference.com) I believe you’ll see why this is so important as we dive into...
“Skulls up!” In Baghdad, these words produced an immediate effect among the troops in our unit. The intent was clear. Watch out. Take stock of your surroundings. Be alert. Those words warned us of potential threats, as well as opportunities. The same principle applies here at home. In fact,...
We’ve all encountered this person at least one time in our life. They could even be your neighbor. Before you’ve had your morning coffee, you walk outside to take out the trash and get your newspaper, and there he is. You see him and hope that he doesn’t see you. Too late. He waves and gives you...
On the first date I ever had with the woman who would one day become my wife, we watched the movie, “The Princess Bride”. It’s a funny fantasy filled with quotable moments. To this day when my wife asks for my help I respond, “As you wish.” If you know the movie, you know what that means. There...
I think it is very fitting that the character word for December is generosity. One of the simplest definitions for generosity is the willingness to give or to share; an act of unselfish giving. The Christmas holiday is a time when we witness acts of generosity more than any other time of...
