Beyond the Syllabus: What Else Students Should Learn From School

As my return to the high school classroom nears the end of my first year, I have had some interesting conversations with some of my students. Few of these conversations had anything to do with the content of the class I taught, but were, nevertheless, important.

In this blog post, I want to highlight some things every student should learn from being in school. While this might be directed to students, teachers and parents should take a look, too. The education process has affects far beyond what is contained in the syllabi.


You are accountable for what you do and for what you don't do.

You don't get to just exist in the world and never face consequences. If nothing else is learned from a physics class, learn this: every action has…a reaction. In life, it is not always equal and opposite, but anything you do has consequences.

If you do something you are supposed to do, you should be pleased with yourself. You are accountable for the good you do. Even if no one on earth acknowledges what you did, you should count the good you do as credit to yourself. Not every good deed will be rewarded, but doing good to those around you, even when they don't deserve it, is the best justification for being alive.

If you do something you shouldn't, you are accountable for that, too. Accept the consequences of your poor choices. Acknowledge when you make a mistake and learn from it. Far too many people want to pass off all of their bad choices on others. They want to blame their past, or their friends, or society, or the media. The bottom line is that you make choices, and choices come with consequences, and you are accountable for them.

If you don't do something you shouldn't do, you should celebrate that, as well. Not doing the wrong thing is honorable. Going along with the trends of society don't alway lead to the best outcomes, so when you stand up and don't do something you shouldn't do, then you have cause to be proud.

Not doing the right thing is dishonorable. Standing by and doing nothing is almost the same as doing the wrong thing. If an injustice lives on because you did nothing, then you have, in part, contributed to the injustice. Just as you are accountable for doing the wrong thing, then you are also accountable for not doing the right thing.

In a society riff with passing the buck and pointing blame on others, accountability is not very popular. Truth is, you are accountable for what you do and also for what you don't do. You can't really blame anyone for the choices you make, and when you chose well, you are allowed to be proud of the outcomes.


You have to figure out how and when to use your "pocket technologies" in a way that advances you and your goals.

Most students and teachers in my building have, in their pocket, a device with more power and more functionality than, when I was in school, anyone could have imagined. Smart phones are more the norm than the exception, and they link students to each other, their families, a wealth of information, and a vast, vast arena of distractions.

There is little doubt that what I like to call "pocket technologies" are here to stay, for at least a while. I have been on conference calls where clients are paying over $100 an hour for consultation, and one or more of the participants were connected through an iPhone or a tablet. The business world has embraced the potential of electronics and have found ways to enhance productivity through them.

At the same time, they offer unprecedented connectivity to friends and family, as well as colleagues. They offer a vast array of entertainment options. To deny their social impact is to burry your head in the sand.

As a student, you need to embrace that pocket technology is not just a toy. It is a tool. One of the most important lessons you will learn in high school and college is how to use them effectively and in a way that does not inhibit your ability to do what you are supposed to do. You will have to learn when it is okay to play your game and when it is not; when is an appropriate time to use social media and when is not.

In your future, you will find that there are times that you can check your social media that does not interfere with your work. Yet, there will be other times that it does. Learning the difference is vital and begins… as soon as you power up.


People count.

You do not get to go through life saying you don't care what other people think. That opens you up to being cruel to others. That opens you up to being offensive. People count. Society is built on the principle that, sometimes, we have to give up a little here and there because the wellbeing of others requires it.

You don't get to do whatever you want. If that were so, you could just steal things from anyone. But because people are inherently valuable, you have to forfeit your right to steal, to assault, to murder.

People deserve to be respected. Even if they are different from you, even if they disagree with you. Respecting people does not make them right. It makes the valued.

There is a cliche that says your right to swing your fist ends at the end of another person's nose. There is a lot of truth in this.

You need to think about other people and how your actions will affect them. Sometimes, this requires compassionate sacrifice of your wants. Sometimes, this means being quiet. Sometimes, this means speaking up.

If you go through life embracing the idea that people count, you are taking part in making society better. Letting the idea that people count be part of your outlook guides you toward important values and attitudes that will help you make good choices.


Not everything is right. There are a lot of things that are wrong.

Far too many people in the 21st Century want to sit back and say they have no place to judge… anything. The harsh reality is that some things are just, flat wrong, and no matter how many people think otherwise, they are still wrong.

An extreme, made-up, example: Cannibalism of your neighbors is not right. Sorry… You don't get to invite people over for dinner and eat them. No matter how many people think this is right, it's not.

Thus, just because a lot of people think something does not make it right.

But just because someone is wrong about something does not mean you can be cruel to them. It does not mean you can bully them. It does not mean they should be excluded from things.

Other people are often wrong. So are you! Find away to live among all the mistaken people that still upholds respect and dignity.


Just because you believe something does not make it right.

I once made teeshirts with that on them. A lot of parents bought them for their teenagers!

See above! Not everything we think or believe is right. We have to be openminded, ever seeking truth, ever looking for flaws in our way of thinking.


Just because you don't believe something doesn't mean it is not true.

Again, closed-minded thinking will be a problem. You need to open yourself up to different ways of thinking.


You have to follow the laws. If you don't like the laws, work through the system to change them. It's called civilization.

That.


You are responsible for what you learn.

Not your teachers. Not your friends. Not your parents. Not society. Not the media. You.


You can be surrounded by 1000 books, two gurus, five sages, and have access to the whole Internet, but if you don't make the effort to seek knowledge and skills, the lack of gains is your fault.

I was once told by a professor that education was like walking in an apple orchard. You can settle for the apples that fell to the ground or the ones handed to you, or you can climb the trees, shake the branches, and get the ones growing at the top. The choice is yours.


You are your best teacher.

If you want to know something, you are the best at finding out how to learn something. When you need to know how to do something that is important to you, you will be motivated to learn it, and when that happens, you will learn it well.

The trouble is, you don't know all the fundamental pieces you will need to understand when the occasion occurs that motivates you. Thus, you have to grind through things that you probably won't like in order to get to the things you do.

You might have to (metaphorically) walk a long way before you come to the tree from which you want to pick apples!

You need to approach every opportunity to learn something as if it will be important, later. It probably will be, at some point.


Think. Then think some more.

The number of things in life and in academics that make sense on their own is surprising. Just because no one has ever taught you how to do something does not mean you can't figure it out on your own. If you know only a few basic things, you can probably figure out how to change a flat tire. So too, many things—if you stop and think about it—lend themselves to discovery.

The ability to solve problems is vital to the advance of civilization. Developing that ability begins by trying to solve every-day problems as they come up.

Learn to think and to use your experiences to overcome problems you face. You need not depend on someone coming to rescue you every time something comes up.


Learn from your mistakes.

Over the course of my life, I have done things many times after which I have thought how differently I would do them if I needed to do so in the future. My son built an elevated flower bed. He showed me how he had failed to account for certain things, but when he built a second bed, he corrected his mistakes.

Mistakes, as hard as they are to face, teach us how not to do things in the future. Failing to learn from a mistake is a sure way to repeat it.


No one is going to do everything for you.

At some point, you have to do for yourself. And at some point, you will most likely have to do for your children. And possibly, at some point, you'll have to do for your aging family members.

Developing independence is a cycle. You come to a place at some point where you should be able to take care of yourself. You should reach some level of independence that allows you to take care of daily needs.

Independence is not the same as rebellion, though. Independence does not mean going against the "system" or fighting against parental guidance. Independence is learned over time by incrementally accepting responsibility for your own actions and being accountable for what you do (and don't do). (See above!)



No one can do everything by themselves.

People are created to live in community. We are created to live with others, to learn from others, to teach others, to receive from others, and to give to others. Life is meant to be shared at some level.

Create a way of living that is open to others. Live so that you nurture others and build them up. Live so that people feel respected and honored by you. Live in such a way that you challenge others to be better versions of themselves.

And expect those around you to do the same.

Wishing To Want To…

Years ago, I mentored a young man who told he we needed to lose weight. I agreed to help him with that, and we came up with a strategy to help him reach his goal. For weeks afterwards, each time we met, he explained why he had not started doing the things we agreed would be useful to help him with his goal.

A few months later, I finally said something to him like, "You really don't want to lose weight. You just want the benefits of having lost weight. You only wish you wanted to lose weight"

As I thought about myself, I realized that his attitude toward weight loss was just like my attitude toward physical fitness. I wanted the benefits, but really didn't want to go through the steps to reap them. Even when I was in several seasons of my life where I was running twenty to thirty miles a week, it was never something I enjoyed. Weight training has never seemed like something I could bring myself to do consistently. I reached an epiphany talking to this young man about it.

I confessed, "I understand how you feel. I wish I wanted to work out, but I just really don't…"

I realized at that moment that wishing to want to do something was common. Some people wish that they wanted to study. Others wish that they wanted to do volunteer work. Some wish that they wanted to—as that young man did—lose weight. People wish they wanted to find a new job. Wishing to want to is everywhere, in every aspect of life.

How people respond to those things they know the should or ought-to do often marks the difference between if they continue to advance in an area or if they stagnate. If passing a course of study is needed to get a promotion… If losing weight is needed to be an active member of a friend group… If cutting back spending is needed…

The difference between thriving and getting by is often realized by facing the undesirable aspects of life head on. Pushing past only wishing to want to and simply doing what needs to be done is, in many cases, the difference between success and failure.

As we mature and develop, we learn to do many things that we need to do, whether we want to or not. Realizing that you only wish you wanted to do something is the first step in resigning yourself to actually doing it. When you finally realize that you will never happily take on a task, it becomes easier to simply decide to, enjoyable or not, do it. Mature people will simple decide to do it and take the necessary steps. They will give in to the ought-tos and shoulds that they decide are worth pursuing and make incorporate them into their lives.

Finding a Middle Ground: Gun Control

Yeah, I am going there. Politics is not a normal topic for me, but I have witnessed so many irrational, unhelpful comments and arguments on this topic, I feel like I need to weigh in. Enough fear mongering! Enough inflammatory rhetoric! My hope is to present some sensible observations.

But, since I am going for sensible and not sensational, I am fairly sure no one will take notice.

To begin with, the end goal of gun regulation is to protect society. This requires that guns stay out of the hands of people who would use them to violate the rights of others and out of the hands of those mentally unfit to have them.

It also requires that people who are sensible, responsible, and inclined to own them have access to weapons and ammunition. Every house on the block is partly protected by the possibility that the owner inside has home protection weapons. A home need not have guns. Just the potential that it does is a deterrent.

So, how does society achieve this? It will not be easy, and no one will be fully satisfied.

First up, hunters and shooters are going to have to bear the brunt of the pain in making this happen. While they have legitimate rights to engage in their sport of choice, they, as the prime users of guns and ammunition, are going to have to "buck up" and take one for the "team" (the team being the society in which we all live). Fishermen, because they fish, have to bear the brunt of fishing regulations. Radio operators, because they operate radios, have to bear the brunt of radio regulations. People who use guns the most are going to, de facto, be the ones most inconvenienced by regulations related to firearms.

There is just no way around it. Keeping guns in the hands of hunters, shooters, and home protectors, but out of the hands of those not deserving them will, inevitably, mean that it is more complicated to get guns and ammunition.  However, if something is worth having, it is worth planning ahead and working for.

Look, hunters plan for hunting season months in advance. Long before they go hunting, they have put hours and hours into planning their hunt. Part of that plan can be jumping through gun and ammo control hoops. Getting through the red tape needs to just be part of the process.

Similarly, shooters need also to suck it up and accept that they need to plan ahead and be ready to go through an annoying, but necessary process.

What kind of red tape do I imagine?

Graduated permits/licenses connected to the hunter's/shooter's purposes. Require hunters and shooters to demonstrate responsible behavior with simple firearms before allowing them to purchase more efficient killing devices. Guns should be permitted/licensed with mission-intent. That is to say, a permit to have a deer rifle would be different and cover different weapons than a permit to have a bird gun or a permit to have a handgun. The end result is that a track-record of responsible use would be needed before "assault style" weapons could be purchased. Just because I have a license to drive an F-150 does not mean I am allowed to drive commercial trucks or semis hauling harzardous materials. I have to, in order to drive different trucks, qualify and demonstrate proficiency to do so. Pattern gun rights after this, and we are making headway.

Severe penalties for possessing a weapon that is unpermmited or not in line with the hunter/shooter license/permit. The arguement that, if you take guns away from law abiding people, then only criminals would have guns is, though used irrationally and in inflamatory ways, more or less accurate. Creating a strict path for hunters and shooters to obtain weapons begs for harsh penalties handed out to anyone who does not follow that path. Again, the goal is to keep guns available to hunters and shooters, and to those wanting a weapon for home protection, but out of the hands for those who would use them to the detriment of society. If we make the laws that allow guns to be had complex, then the penalty for not following them MUST be severe.

Mandatory, un-appealable, harsh prison time for crimes committed while in possession of a weapon. This hardly needs explanation. Make the penalty statutory, bypassing the judge's ability to set it asside and lawyer's capacity to delay or mediate it with appeals. Of course, committing a crime while in possession of a gun would revoke the convicted person's right to have guns in the future–at least for a LONG time.

Limiting amuntion sales (including sales of primers) to mission-related purposes. Do you really need 500 rounds to go deer hunting? Not unless you are the luckiest deer hunter ever! Do you need 500 rounds to go target shooting? Maybe, if you can afford it. If you have a gun solely for home protection, you really probably only shoot a couple of rounds every now and then. A minimal stock of ammo is all you need. Linking the ammo sales to a specific purpose creates headaches for hunters and shooters, but makes sense in light of the number of guns already in existance. A system could be–albeit not easily–established where ammunition is available as NEEDED to support hunting and recreational shooting, while still making it difficult for the un-permitted, unlicensed to obtain it. I would envision that a shooter who has an advanced permit/license could obtain the ammo s/he wants for an outing. Akin to credit card companies setting and raising credit limits, the permitting/licensing system could establish ammo limits based on shooting history and patterns. Certainly, this is NOT easy, and yes, it taps into some level of privacy concerns. But so does shopping with a credit card, searching on Google, watching Netflix, and even looking up things for on-line shopping. A smilar approach could be connected to gun permits/licenses stipulating how much (if any) ammo a person could obtain at a given time. Remember, the goal is to keep a minority of people who would misuse guns from being able to ruin it for everyone else!

Besides making it harder on hunters and shooters and establishing harsh penalties for those who violate regulatory rules, the other side of the situation also needs attention. Social and mental health interventions need to be established and enacted to change the context out of which much violent gun crime emerges. Society is the incubator out of which all people grow, and where society is maladaptive, some people emerge who are predisposed to act in harmful ways. Working at the root of the problem is vital.

I cannot count the number of violent gun acts that have, in the last five years, been carried out by people who were mentally ill. Yet, mental illness in the USA is under-identified, over-stigmatized, and under-treated. Depression and other illnesses lead people to a place of hopelessness and despair, and sometimes to acts of violence–violence that is often expressed with firearms. Bolstering the mental health system in the USA and making it less restricted by insurance companies is a much-needed step in creating a mentally healthier society at large.

While discussing the relationship to mental wellness and guns, I would suggest that part of the permitting/licensing process would be a simple form on which a doctor, a general practitioner, could check boxes to say that nothing emerged during an annual check-up that would preclude the person from safely owning and using a firearm. Yeah, I just got way out there! Now, the doctors are mad at me, too. Look, I see it like this–if my doctor can tell me that, following such and such a procedure I should not drive a car or operate heavy machinery for some number of days/weeks, they can also weigh in on the appropriateness of giving someone a 9mm handgun or deer rifle. Yearly renewal of the gun permit/license should require a doctor saying that s/he saw no reason to deny issuing the permit/license.

Social interventions need also to be put in place. Decreasing unemployment, improving education, dialing down the influence of gang culture, and generally creating a more positive social context in our neighborhoods would have a sweeping impact on violence. I have heard this claim championed by more than one mayor of more than one large metro area.

As I now turn to closing out this blog, I reprise my expectation that nearly no one will ever read this. My failure to be inflammatory or to sensationalize the issue probably makes my ideas very uninteresting.

Nevertheless, my belief in finding a middle ground sums thusly:

1. Hunters and shooters have to buck up and accept complicated regulations with regard to gun and ammunition acquisition.
2. Penalties for violating the regulations have to be harsh and unalterable.
3. Penalties for possessing a weapon while committing a crime must be severe and also unalterable.
4. Mental health systems need to be made accessible, destigmatized, and fully covered by insurance.
5. Society must change so that neighborhoods enjoy better, safer, more fulfilling climates including access to education and employment.

The middle ground, when we find it, will allow hunters, shooters, and those wishing to have a firearm for home protection to have the weapons and ammo that they desire, tied by license and permit to the purposes they have expressed and connected to their history with weapons. People with a history of violence and those deemed mentally unsuitable for a firearm will be precluded for possessing them. The end result is that healthy, deserving, well-intended people will have guns and those that would use them to harm society will not.

I believe this is a middle ground in which we can live.

Hitting the Spots: Control is the Key

Control type things... Stick with me on this one...

I was driving between places earlier today, and paused to take a picture of a gas meter and a fire valve on the back of a building. I liked the image and wanted to caption it with something potentially inspiring for Instagram, and I came up with the idea of control.

Success in life is, in many ways, dependent on control. Controlling your finances. Controlling your thoughts. Your feelings. Controlling your words. Controlling your diet. Controlling your prejudices. A life lacking self-discipline is risky!

While Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana are experiencing weather such that temperatures hitting a high near 30° Fahrenheit means a warm-up of over 40°--weather that naturally makes one think of hockey, the idea of control reminded me of baseball. Of pitching, to be more precise.

In pitching, control is everything. It doesn't matter how hard you can throw or how much your breaking ball moves, if you can't control it, you won't be successful. If you don't throw strikes--if you can't "hit the spots," your pitches won't matter. Life is like this, too.

Living recklessly, without discipline, without mature decision making--living out of control makes being successful (however defined) highly unlikely. No matter "how hard you can throw," if your life is out of control, then the results of your efforts will be uncertain. Control is as important in life as it is in pitching.

Your talents and skills need to be used in ways that line up with your values and goals. Your actions need to be kept in line with your moral compass. Spending needs to be guided by controlled decisions. Your thoughts need to be deliberately focused on reality and the things that move you in the direction of success, however you define it. Diet and exercise need to be engaged thoughtfully and healthfully. You need to find balance in all things and discipline yourself to stay in control.

My oldest son played baseball as a youth at a fairly competitive level. For a while, he took pitching lessons, and one fall and winter, his instructor was a soon-to-be major league pitcher. In one of his lessons, he was told that pitchers spend hours and hours in spring training just raising their leg and finding a balance point. Striking balance at the beginning of the wind-up starts the process of being in control of the whole body throughout the pitching motion, and that control ultimately leads to being able to control the pitch.

Balance is vital to life. Finding that starting point and maintaining control is vital to success.

Your life is the pitch and you are the pitcher. Crazy, no?

Control can be achieved, but a lot of times it is great to have help. Spring training prepares pitchers and gives them the physical skills and techniques so that they can maximize the use of their talents. In life, we have people who can come along side us and share life with us to help us maximize the use of our talents as well. Developing control is

Put into your life the control type things (habits, practices, friends, accountability partners, etc.) that will help you manage your life!

His Fan

Not long ago, some work was being done at Visible Music College--Chicago, where I serve on the staff. One day, some workers came by to load up about a half ton of old metal desks to be salvaged as scrap.

As they started the loading process, one of the two men carefully lifted a box fan out of the truck and placed it tenderly on the ground by a shovel they use in their work.

"I'm going to fix it," he said.

I don't know what was wrong with it, but $20.00 would have replaced it.

He didn't want a new fan.

"This is all I have left," he explained. He went on to describe how hard luck had fallen on him, and he was, with his work partner, trying to get by. The old fan was all he had left from his former situation. But he wasn't bitter. He accepted his part in his demise and was resigned to start anew.

His words moved me as I slipped my $700.00 (if I didn't have a contract) phone out of my pocket to take a picture.

I live in such a way that I am comfortable by ANY standards. I push my income to the limits and need nothing. I have some luxury items, of course, and justify having things like a DSLR, up-to-date tablet, and fancy screens for my computers. Yeah, that last word is plural. In contrast to the owner of the fan, I live like royalty. Most of us do. I am sure I am not the only one to be mostly blind to conditions of others around me.

Yet, despite being in a hard way, the fan's owner had not give up. He was doing what he could to start over.

His work partner's word's moved me more: "I'm trying to help him get back on his feet. It's been a hard time for him."

"Yeah, [Name Omitted] takes care of me," said the fan's owner.

But [Name Omitted] is far from living the high life. Yet, he is doing what he can to help his work partner. At $50.00 for a half-ton load, the going is slow.

Long after they left, I was haunted by my interaction with these two men. I shared this anecdote with my son, who happens to work at a salvage yard in another city.

"Dad, I see stuff like this every day. Guys coming in with $8.00 loads three times a day trying to feed their families."

But hearing my story, he added, "I won't look at customers the same after this."

These two guys--indeed, with troubles and problems, some resulting from their choices--have been on my mind in in my prayers for a few weeks. My words here come so short in painting the full picture, but I don't think blog readers would attend to many more.

I am going to take a chance and call them ([Name Omitted] has a phone for their salvage services.) and invite them to lunch, my treat. I don't know if they will accept, but I am going to ask.

Maybe You SHOULD Judge

Post-modernity is rife with the idea that people have no right to judge others. Frankly, this is just ludicrous. While certainly we have no right to disrespect others nor to treat them without love, society is built on the principle of sharing sound judgements and passing them on to following generations.

In the secular social paradigm, judging is called "coaching," "mentoring," or "teaching," and its application to our lives is how we know not to eat grass or dirt. Being judged and mentored is how we know how to dress and groom ourselves. How we learn to interact with others. Being judged and corrected is how we know how to operate within the norms of society.

It would make no sense to say, "Well, it is really not my place to judge. Drive on whichever side of the road you like."

Social media of late is FULL of judgments. Posts like "Check out these ten foods to NEVER eat!" judges what is good and what is bad food. The contents of an article, "Top ten ways to dress to impress your date" IS judgement. We accept judgement such as these, but balk at more substantive calls to live better.

Letting other people venture into peril without warning is just maladaptive. "I can't judge you, so if you want to live in crippling debt, it is up to you." While it IS, ultimately, up to them, sharing experiences and insights just might save them a lot of hardship, should they decide to accept the judgement.

This is how society advances: we examine people's lives and compare them with functional, adaptive, healthy norms--standards of conduct that have proven effective for navigating the challenges of life. When we judge that what we observe comes up short, we coach, teach, and mentor the other person toward the better alternative. But without judgement, coaching, teaching, and mentoring would have no rudder, no direction.

While my judgement may not be correct or may not take in all the factors of a situation, society is built on the need for me--for all of us--to challenge others to live better, safer, healthier, more whole lives.  We do this by judging what others are doing and deciding if, from our point of view, it is helpful, healthy, and if it will lead to positive outcomes.

What kind of person would I be if I let people make the same mistakes I have made (or have seen others make) and not warn them--not judge their actions as being problematic?

In the business paradigm, we call judging "performance evaluation" or "performance review." Supervisors judge the performance and work product of those in their charge. Where necessary, they recommend changes, judging some practices inferior to others.

Judging employees assures us, customers, that every Starbucks® will treat us and serve us in a very, very similar manner and that the products we order will be very, very similar, no matter where we are.

From the religious paradigm, we call judging "discipleship," "accountability," or (as with the secular) "mentorship." Christians will surely recognize that the New Testament basis for judging is solid. Paul was not at all keen on people living unholy lives! Jesus called people to live better! Throughout the New Testament, people are encouraged to hold each other accountable, in love, to uphold the ideals taught by Christ.

The idea that people should not judge simply does not hold up. It is a ploy to open the door to any and all conduct. If no one has the right to judge, then nothing we do can be criticized. Yet, in our hearts, we know that we judge and that judging is necessary to keep life moving along. We just don't want our pet vices to be judged!

Rich Is As Rich Thinks

Too many times, it seems to me, people tie the idea of being happy with the aquisition of stuff. This is unfortunate because so rarely does stuff actually bring about lasting satisfaction.

From ‏@lNSPlRING: There are two ways of being rich. One is to have what you want, the other is to be satisfied with what you have.

Having what you want is a tricky proposition. How many times does a person see something they want, purchase it or otherwise obtain it, and then discover that it really does not bring to their life the expected pleasures? It is very easy to over estimate how much joy something will bring. Our wants often mislead us with promisies--vapid claims that if we just have that one more thing then...

Oh, to be sure, I have acquired some things that I am very fond of! The utility and convenience some things bring contribute to my sense of happiness.

I am writting this blog on my iPad, which I resisted purchasing for a long time. When Visible Music College asked me to relocate to the Chicago area to head up the opening of a new campus, I thought the functions of an iPad would be valuable, and I was right.

Does this device make me happy? Hmm... It does not make me happy inherently. Not sitting on a desk. I am happy with what I can accomplish as a result of having this wonderful piece of technology, not just because I have it.

Therein is the key. Happiness does not come from things. Happiness comes from our mind. How we think about the things we have results in happiness--the things themselves are incapable of producing ANY emotional response within us. Our reaction comes from the ideas, values, and beliefs we hold and how those internal predispositions interact with the things in our life.

I have a couple of pictures of my sons that probably cost me less than $20.00 total to have printed and framed. When I see them, my mind is connected to years of experiences and memories. I respond positively; I am happy as a result. The happiness does not come from the "things." If another person who did not know my sons had those pictures, they would NOT respond with the same happiness.

Being satisfied is a decision. Looking at what you have and, if it realistically performs as it should, deciding to be content disempowers the lies of our wants. Deciding to be content will lead to being happy with what you have.

If we define being rich, not as a measure of how much we have, but rather as a measure of how little we want, then it is far easier to be rich by wanting what we have and being satisfied than it is to be rich by acquiring more and more stuff.

Whatever It Takes

When we find ourselves with a clear reasonable goal before us, it would be nice if reaching the goal was simply a matter of following a prescribed, clear plan. It is wonderful when that is how things work out!

In the reality that is my life, however, rarely do things just unfold as planned. Whether in my personal life, in group computer gaming, or in conjunction with my work--most recently with Visible Music College-Chicago,  the normal course from point A to point B is impeded by the unplanned and unexpected.

People and organizations need to anticipate this and prepare. The vital step in preparation for such challenges is a mindset. Embracing an attitude of "whatever it takes" is vital for being ready to deal with unplanned challenges and difficulties.

Groups will suffer harshly if some of its members fail to adopt this approach. Antithetical points of view can stifle success. Espousing the notion that "it's not my job" will leave gaps in getting done those things that must be accomplished in order to see a project to its end or a goal to its fulfillment.

At the time I am writing this, Visible Music College-Chicago is in the process of renovating what will be our campus. In the course of this renovation, I have had to put down my graduate and seminary degrees and take up the tools of a carpenter, painter, trash remover, and many other tasks. At times, there are no volunteers around, and the hired tradesmen need certain things done in a time-sensitive manner. I have to do whatever it takes.

A friend of mine from the video game, Word of Warcraft, is in a team with me that is progressing through a series of "10-man" challenges (called raids). Though it is usually her duty on this team to play a particular role, on one challenge, we were stuck because those of us in a different role were unable to meet the needs of the encounter. This friend stepped up and changed her role--traded roles with another team member--so that we could be successful. She was willing to set aside what she did in the normal setting and was willing to do whatever it took for the team to succeed.  While she could have said, "well the problem is not because of me, and it is not my job, so too bad." But she didn't, and the team succeeded.

There is no end to the scenarios in which success depends on individuals stepping up and doing whatever it takes. The single parent doing whatever it takes to provide meaningful care for children... The athlete who puts in extra hours to hone skills... The student who foregoes social activities in order to pass difficult classes...

The road to success, even when clearly mapped in advance, is subject to surprises. When the unexpected occurs, someone (or some people) will need to embrace the "whatever it takes" attitude, or failure awaits.

Knowing is Not Enough. Do.

I frequently tweet ideas related to overcoming, to seeing things to their end even in the midst of trials and hardships. Recently, I (@BillSnodgrass) tweeted this:

From @Quote_Soup: There is a difference between knowing the path & walking the path. -Morpheus

I think people, too often, find themselves stuck in difficult situations, knowing they need to change. They know staying where they are will result in perpetuating the hardship or undesirable circumstances in which they find themselves. Sometimes, these people know exactly what they need to do in order to to overcome the problems or achieve their desired goals.

Yet, they do not take action. For any number of reasons, they remain where they are despite knowing the path they need to take. They know what to do, yet fail to act. Their inaction results in "unchange." Simply knowing what to do is not enough. Change comes only in doing.

Over the years, I have worked with many people who wanted to experience change in various areas. Some time ago, I worked with a man who wanted to lose weight, so he said.

He knew what to do. He knew he needed to change eating habits. He knew he needed to exercise. Nevertheless, he made no changes to his lifestyle. He continued being sedentary and eating far more than needed. Eventually, I confronted him.

"You don't really want to lose weight," I said. "You wish you wanted to lose weight, but you really don't want to change anything."

Many people wish they wanted to make a change, and what's more, they know the path they need to take in order for that change to be realized. They see themselves stuck in undesirable circumstances, and even know what they need to do to change.

But knowing is not enough.

Doing is required.