Life Optimized
By Scott Westerman Of all the natural wonders that caress our beautiful campus, the Red Cedar River is, perhaps, most symbolic. Its waters flow inexorably toward the west, reminding us that we must continuously expand our own horizons of thought and explore new vistas beyond our comfort zones. It…
By Scott Westerman Listen to an audio version of this message. So many challenges compete for our attention these days that it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling that something is not a real problem.. until it affects us personally. Some call this “privilege”. Others argue we have only so…
By Scott Westerman Listen to an audio version of this message. “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.” Daniel Webster My first radio job involved reading commodity prices on our local radio station. I was just 14 and did not yet have…
By Scott Westerman “Excellence is not a skill. It’s an attitude” ~Ralph Marston I never worked in a role where I was “protected” by a union and quickly progressed to a level where my employment was “at will”, meaning that my boss could let me go at any time for…
By Scott Westerman Listen to an audio version of this message. “Face your unpleasant current realities head on, but never lose faith that you will prevail” ~Adm. James B. Stockdale The death of a loved one, an unexpected health diagnosis, losing a job, a breakup, moving to a new community,…
Listen to an audio version of this message. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Denis Waitley The quickest way to get blown out of my social media stream is to talk about politics or religion.…
By Scott Westerman “True merit is like a river: The deeper it is, the less noise it makes.” – Edward Frederick Halifax We are on the cusp of another renewal of the Michigan State / Michigan rivalry. I always use this event as a reminder to think about the importance of humility.
By Scott Westerman The keys to turning thoughts into accountable, productive actions may feel elusive. But they are within your grasp. “You are today where your thoughts brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” ~James Allen “You’ll get there a lot faster if you recruit some…
Listen to an audio version of this message. Scott’s Maxim: “Most of our bad juju is self created and a result of continuing to think about what we might have done, instead of what we still can do.” Class reunions are a time for reconnection and reflection. As the years…
Do you know someone who seems to love to wallow in self pity? There are people out there who thrive on unhappiness. Most of them don’t do it intentionally, but they like nothing better than a good audience to listen to them tell you how horrible their life is. And…