"The song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day. I have spent my days in stringing and in unstringing my instrument. The time has not come true, the words have not been rightly set; Only there is the agony of wishing in my heart."   by Rabindranath Tagore How many people never stop…

            There is a spirit of enterprise distinctive of all true leaders, who see what needs to be done and do it, without hand-holding or waiting for orders.  Action is a keystone of leadership.    The very concept of initiative stands upon the platform of accepting personal responsibility.  Leaders function while called…

Friendship is a lot like art; we find it difficult to define, but we know it when we see it, or more accurately, we know it when we feel it.  The width and depth of friendships in a person’s life can have a lot to do with overall happiness and sense of well-being.  But a…

Author Richard Brookhiser wrote, "There is no formula for educating a leader, because he must be responsible for much of his own education himself." One of the top priorities for any leader is education.  The formal variety may be fine, but the type of education to which I’m referring encompasses much more than that.  It…

There is a comfortable, easy lifestyle available to anyone who wants it.  You can have peace and even affluence, if you wish.  You can pass through your days without anyone bothering you too awful much, and can slip through the pages of history without so much as an enemy. What is this lifestyle, you say?…

One of the key components in a leader’s effectiveness is his or her ability to build and foster positive, strong, and productive relationships.  Often, this part of the "art" of leadership is overlooked.  Some seem to think that leadership means authority, position, or power.  Rather, leadership is the influence of other people through a strong…

I have had many people ask if Terri would contribute to this fine blog of literary amusement from time to time, and yes, it has finally happened!  Due to a tremendous amount of requests for a copy of the poem Terri’s grandmother had written  (as read by Terri in Columbus, OH and Phoenix, AZ) Terri…

An often overlooked leadership skill is the ability to play on a team.  Cooperation, teamwork, and unity sound easy enough, but there are people that struggle mightily with these concepts.  They can’t seem to get along for long with groups of people in a productive way.  These people end up complaining about their teammates, getting…

The core of becoming a leader is hunger.  This could be hunger for success, hunger for significance, hunger for change, hunger for the rescue of people in harm’s way.  Whatever the nature of the hunger, and there are certainly healthy and unhealthy hungers, hunger is the foundational spark that leads to the influence of others.…

Goal setting is something everyone has heard of and very few actually do.  Of those of us that practice it, or try to, on a regular basis, many of us fall into some traps along the way.  But goal setting done properly can invigorate you and produce incredible results. Don’t be like the average person…