Category: Monday Motivator

Listen to an audio version of this message.“My father gave the me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me.” ~Jim ValvanoThe world needs more father figures. We need more men who listen to us with full attention, pick us up when we stumble, pull us back on the right path…

Listen to an audio version of this message.Scott’s Maxim – “Leading a team is one continual story problem. Those closest to the customer know the answers.”The Apple Campus on “Infinite Loop Drive” in Cupertino radiates innovation. So having lunch with a Spartan who is part of the Apple leadership team had my creative engine turbo…

Listen to an audio version of this message.“Motherhood is.. the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver, Pigs In HeavenRobyn Ackerman wrote a great post this week about a certain group of people who are, perhaps, most likely to develop great…

Our daily challenge is separating the wheat from the chaff. Deciding “What’s Important Now” can make all the difference. I received an email tonight from my friend Brian Willis. He teaches cops the things that they don’t teach at the academy. In his world, survival isn’t just about staying biologically alive. It’s about staying emotionally alive.…

Listen to an audio version of this message. “If it is to be, it’s up to me” William H. Johnson With another crop of Spartans about to write the next chapter of their personal adventure story, it’s a good time to review the rules of engagement.It’s up to You.Life is ultimately Single Combat. And Rick Warren’s opening volley…

“I Don’t Have A Single American Friend..”  Tamerlan Tsarnaev – The Boston Marathon BomberListen to an audio version of this message.He stood in the corner of the room. The rest of the students were coalesced at it’s center, speaking an amalgam of heavily accented English that often slipped totally into their native language. Since my passion…

From a speech I gave to the Spartan Battalion ROTC graduating class on April 16, 2013.Listen to an audio version of this message.Thanks for the honor of spending time with the finest graduates of the best ROTC program in the nation. Normally my remarks are off-the-cuff. But tonight, with your permission, I’ll be working off…

Scott’s Maxim: A fulling life is really a pretty simple proposition. Focus on a dream. Add value. And don’t stop working it until it comes true. Listen to an audio version of this message.During my years in academia, I gave an annual “Last Lecture” to graduating seniors. It was a distillation of a lifetime of…

Scott’s Maxim – “It’s never too late to become the person you want to be.”Listen to an audio version of this message.I was sure this would be an uncomfortable lunch. Someone I had recently fired wanted to link up to talk. Rolling the scenario over in my mind, it was clear that we had done…

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” – Maya AngelouListen to an audio version of this message.It was the highest complement I could receive. Whenever I have the privilege of speaking with a large group, I always love feedback. “Texting, Tweeting, Facebooking…