Individuality

It's been a while since I pulled a thought from M*A*S*H so I thought the time was right today. I suppose in the climate that this show was produced the idea of individuality was a big deal (read: Communist Russia). This isn't the way that I took the idea of individuality the first time I read this quote.

The last couple years I've really been exploring and modeling the idea of blazing your own trail and not going with the herd. So what about individuality? I say that this sense of trailblazing is a the purest form of expressing your individuality. Be honest with yourself, when was the last time you did something absolutely trail-blazing because you honestly thought it was the right thing to do? I think there's precious few people out there who can find a personal example. Don't forget about your individuality. Go exploring. Don't worry so much about going with the group, go your own way.

Details

Today's Thought is one that I initially never would have picked up on. After all, the Nike swoop is just clever branding, right? That changed with one email this summer. My supervisor and mentor sent a message to me with the idea that we need to "Just Do It". He said, "...think about that idea that you thought was next to impossible, and "Just Do It". Take that first step, the rest will sort itself out."

Have you ever had an idea that you thought was utterly impossible? In my life there have been many times where it seems like I simply CANNOT be a good teacher. And yet I am still here working toward my licensure. You see, don't sweat the small details. I think so much of the time we get caught up in the little issues that seem to be HUGE roadblocks and yet are relatively insignificant. Think back to your own life. Has there ever been times when you have a fantastic idea? My guess is that at least in some of these situations all you could see were the small details blocking your way. I bet you didn't follow through on your idea. Don't sweat the details. Just take that first step toward your crazy impossible idea. Just Do It.

Roles

I think one of the ongoing debates in education circles is the definition of the teacher's role in the classroom. Today's Thought sums up my thoughts on this debate fairly well. Today was my first day of teaching at my fall placement site, the School of Environmental Studies. As I taught my lessons, it somewhat hit me just how much as a teacher my goal is to inspire students. After teaching I looked back in my lesson plan to see that a vast majority of my lesson was made up of activities meant to get the brain juices flowing. Granted, this was through content-specific activities, but the overarching theme was toward encouraging students to think on their own.

I think this whole idea of roles is an important one, no matter what your profession is. What is your role? Is your role that of encourager, mentor, leader or visionary? Or is it of doer, worker-bee or manual labor? I think no matter what our situation is we can be part of the former category. I challenge you to think about how you can be a leader, encourager or mentor in your life. What is your role? Are you providing ready-made products? Or are you creating conditions for new inventions?

Failure

I think that Alfred Pennyworth is the most underrated character in the Dark Knight Trilogy. Today's Thought is just one of his many words of wisdom that he shares throughout the movies. Hearing this quote I always think back to the many times that I have failed. As a youth I took piano lessons for a number of years. There was always a big state competition that I took part in, always with the goal to make it to the state competition. Time after time, I prepared for weeks. And time after time, I failed to reach my ultimate goal of getting to state. Yet, I kept trying, I kept learning to pick myself up and try again. Finally, in my last year of eligibility, I made it to state. Quite a turnaround I'd say.

One of my least favorite interview questions has to be, "If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?" My life is all about learning. I firmly believe that failure is the best way that we can learn. Without failure, how can we have learning?
Perhaps you came out of a failure with not quite the best attitude. Have faith, your failure is only setting you up for future success. Just like my piano competitions, failure is teaching us to pick ourselves up and try again. Don't be afraid of failure. Embrace it and learn from your failures. Learn to pick yourself up.

Perspective

I must confess, today's Thought was posted yesterday, I simply forgot to write a blog post. But all wrongs are righted and so here I am. I'm not sure when I first heard this, but I can't help but think back to my own personal experience. As a senior in college, you tend to reflect back on the past 12 years of your life. What has changed? Have I changed?

Looking back at my years, I have indeed changed. I can't help but give a little cringe when I think back to myself in freshman year. Just the way I held myself was very different than it is today. I'd like to think that most of this change is for the better. I'd like to believe that I'm a better person than I was four years ago. So what has changed? My perspective.

Do you see the world the same today as you did four years ago? Perspective is a powerful thing. It affects how we act, how we speak, how we dress, even who our friends are. As we get older I am convinced that we become wiser. That's not to say that our young perspective is bad, it simply isn't as well developed. How do you look at the world today? Has your perspective changed?

Honor

In today's Thought I return once again to the manly mind of Ron Swanson. British english aside, I truly believe that this quote holds a lot of truth. As I've gone through a number of my courses designed to train me as a teacher, I have consistently found an issue explaining what I feel. It's as if I KNOW what the professors are talking about and I KNOW what it looks like in the classroom. Sometimes I even KNOW how to put an idea into practice. Yet despite all this, I can't explain it.

Honor is in the same boat. When people ask what it means to be an honorable person, I simply don't have an answer for them. It's something that comes from within. Like religion, it means something different to everyone else. And like my education ideas and concepts, it cannot be verbalized. If you need it defined in order to know if you have it, you don't have honor. It's one of those things that is only apparent and explainable through actions and thoughts. Can you define it? I say no.

Kings

I must admit, today's Thought has garnered more than one quizzical look followed by a cryptic answer on my part. As it turns out, each of the four kings in a deck is representative of a real 'king'. The king of spades represents King David (of Biblical origin), the king of hearts represents Charlemagne, the king of clubs represents Alexander the Great and the king of diamonds represents Julius Caesar. What do all of these have in common? The fact that each was a great leader in his time.

However, each had his own faults. For instance, Alexander the Great killed thousands of innocent people, Julius Caesar's hubris led to his eventual murder and even King David was guilty of adultery and countless other heinous crimes. And yet, I think each of us would strive to be, at least in some part, like each of these great leaders. What faults do you have? Do these faults significantly limit the influence you are able to exert as a leader? I would bet that a majority of your faults, like mine, are hidden behind closed doors. You see, despite all of our faults, we all have the potential to be great leaders. It doesn't matter what kind of leader. Maybe you could lead a sports team, a club, a nation, a WORLD. The key is not being afraid of these faults. Always do what you think is right. Realize that even great leaders stumble sometimes. Lead with no fear.

Bro

I must confess, today's Thought is on the humorous side. If anyone's familiar, the gentleman in the bowtie is none other than Bill Nye, the science guy. Awesomely enough, he's actually a well respected scientist. But onto the meat of tonights Thought. How many times have you said a question to this effect? I think the classic one is "Bro, you mad?" While most of these are meant to be humorous, the fact that you are asking someone a question in the context of being a brother (bro) shows a level of care and concern for another's welfare.

Do you care for your fellow human being? I think a lot of us care much more than we care to admit, even going so far as to camouflage this caring under the guise of a humorous questions. This has gone on far too long. Don't be afraid to show just how much you care. Instead of "Hey Bro, you mad?" let's try for a little more of "Hey Bro, how can I help you?" It's a basic human emotion to want to belong. Don't be afraid to show someone that they indeed belong to you. Don't be afraid to show you care.

Hope

Today's Thought is an image from the fifth and final season of Fringe. If you are unfamiliar, in this season the (future) world has been taken over by the totalitarian government of the Observers. These men are characterized by their hats and suit-and-tie dress. The poster in the background of this picture is a symbol of the Resistance. It is a symbol of hope for all the human inhabitants of Earth.

Today I was able to hear a phrase from the National FFA Creed: "in the promise of better days through better ways". You see it's this whole idea of hope that keeps us going. While we may not be oppressed by a dictatorial government, we too hold on to hope of better days ahead by doing our best in the present day. It's the American Dream. If I work hard today and play square with those around me, I can reasonably expect that my efforts today will be rewarded tomorrow. Will you provide hope? Will you do your best to ensure a bright future?

Teach

Yesterday one of my professors brought up a quote that I felt was very profound, at least in my experience. Thus, today's Thought was found.

I have long held the belief that as a teacher, I am constantly learning. However, this Thought put a whole new spin on my philosophy. Sure you can learn something. You may even be able to pass a test on it. But can you teach it?

You see, in order to teach a topic, you have to know that topic inside and out, right side up and upside down. As a student you have the luxury of only learning something the way it makes sense for you. As a teacher you have to learn something so that it makes sense to everyone you're teaching.

Many times I hear stories of teachers 'learning' something the night before they are supposed to teach it. I suppose throughout the next year this will become familiar to me as I continue my quest toward being a high school teacher. You see, it's not as if these folks are truly learning an idea the night before, they are simply taking a new look at it, finding all the angles so that they may more effectively teach their students.

Pride

When I originally saved this picture to use as a Thought of the Day, I had one thing in mind. However, as time has gone on, I have found a new meaning for this phrase, a new foundation to tie this Thought to.

A line of my fraternity's Object states that "every member shall be honest with himself, as with his brothers."A key part of that honesty is knowing when to ask for help and when to speak your mind. This is something that I particularly have struggled with at times. You see, I hate asking for help. I hate appearing weak and unable to take care of my own business. By not asking for help, I sometimes do not tell my brothers what is actually going on in my life.

I think we all can relate to this situation. As prideful humans, we don't want to appear that we need help. Let go of your pride. Be honest with your brothers, your friends, your family. Will you ask for help?

Happiness

I must confess, today's Thought was one of those happy coincidences that just fell into place. Heck, I didn't even find this Thought. Usually when I wake up I look for a new Thought of the Day and I post it on my fraternity's bulletin board. As luck would have it, someone beat me to it today. To be completely honest with you, I have no idea whether this story is actually something that happened. For all I know, the poster could have made it all up.

But I prefer to believe in the goodness of humanity, so we'll roll with this Thought today. Buddha is implying that in order to find happiness, you must remove ego and desire from your life. I can see the merits of this. How many times have you messed something up because your ego prevented you from admitting that you were wrong? I know I've been there. But is finding happiness really this easy?

Each and every one of us has a unique take on happiness. We all find joy and happiness is something different. One of my greatest sources of happiness has been teaching. Something about seeing a student understand an idea and apply that idea to their own life just gets me every time. For me, teaching isn't an isolated event that happens only in the confines of a classroom. For me, teaching is a way of life. And by extension, the happiness wrought from that teaching is a way of life. You see, teaching is one of the most selfless acts out there. It's not about you, it's about the students. It doesn't matter what recognition you want. It's going to come down to what the students want. With that, desire and ego is gone. All that is left is happiness. What does it mean to live out happiness in your life?

Hungry

Today's Thought comes from the great mind of the late Steve Jobs. While this isn't his most popular quote, I do believe it speaks strongly to folks of my age. It's so easy to get caught up in trying to do things by the book, get the A+, get a good job that we forget what it's like to be hungry and foolish.

At the beginning of my summer, I thought back to another great summer experience: attending Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) through FFA in Washington DC. What made WLC such a great experience? What made it fun? In the end, I came down to two points: 1) I had no expectations and 2) I had a desire to prove myself. In short, I was hungry to show what I was all about, I wanted to prove my worth.

Think back to one of your best experiences in your life. What made it so great? I'd venture a guess that you too had this sense of hunger to prove yourself. Or maybe it was on the other side of the spectrum. Maybe you just didn't care what people thought of you. You found a way to stay foolish. So don't worry so much about what's supposed to happen. Don't worry about following the path. Maintain that sense of hunger. Stay foolish.

Rabbits

Now I realize a lot of you are likely confused by this Thought. What does it mean? After all, isn't it just a stuffed energizer bunny? Well, yes, you would be right. It is 'just' a stuffed rabbit. However, the message behind it is what I am trying to get at.

Throughout this summer I was always amazed at the ability of my co-workers to identify and stay true to our organization's mission and vision. Sure, they were always looking for new ways to fulfill that purpose, but the purpose itself was never in doubt.

I wondered about this until the CEO and President told me a story. He said that a number of years ago, when the organization was just starting out and starting to gain traction and expand, there were many many different directions the organization could go. The temptation was great to stray from the core mission of the organization into other (very worthy) causes. For Christmas one year, his co-workers gave him this stuffed rabbit. It came with the message "Don't chase the rabbit". Wait, what? What rabbit? Don't worry, I was confused for a second too.

You see, his co-workers equated these worthy, though ultimately off target ideas to rabbits. So by saying "don't chase the rabbit" they were telling him to stay on target, stay on sight with the organizations purpose.

Have you ever gotten off target? It's easy to do. With life, there is no manual. We just have to go with what feels right. And many times, there are ideas or activities that while seeming to be ok, are truly off target with the people we are striving to be. This target or purpose would be called your values and morals by many people. Strive to stay on target. Don't get away from the values, purposes and visions that you hold dearest. Don't chase the rabbit.

Repair Man

I have to start out by saying, I love this line. I thought this line from the television show Community hits particularly close to home. My fraternity has the motto "Builders of Men". This motto sums up our entire purpose, our Object that I wrote about in an earlier post. I believe that this line says the same thing.

Recently, I have been struggling with a very difficult decision. I can't say what that decision is but I can tell you that it's one of the hardest things I've ever done. It seemed like no matter what I did, I would be in the wrong. As is usually the case though, someone is always there. In this case it was one of my best friends and best brothers from my fraternity. He spoke truth that I wasn't able to speak to myself. In the end, he was simply looking to help me, he was looking to repair man. Maybe you have someone like this. Maybe you're that person. No matter what your place is now, we all can be a True Repair Man. In all things, seek to help your fellow man. Seek to be a True Repair Man. Will you repair man?

One

Today's Thought comes from the character that is Ron Swanson of the television show that is Parks & Recreation. I apologize if anyone is upset by the language present in this piece, but I believe it is a great message.

How many times do we multi-task in life? Tonight at my fraternity's meeting, one of our advisors spoke a few words on the idea of multi-tasking. I'm not sure of the exact text of her speech, but it had something to do with this idea of doing too many things at once. When we divide our attention, we don't do any of our tasks justice. We must devote our full attention to one thing at a time.

Do you 'whole-ass' one thing? Or are you more of a person to nibble around the edges of multiple projects? I know in my life I have struggled at times to maintain the balance. At those times nothing that I was working on turned out very well. Correspondingly, when I focused my entire attention on one thing, it turned out pretty good. Don't divide your attention. Do one thing and do it all in.

Awakening

I suppose I should be grateful to have any readers after my brief hiatus. It has certainly been an eventful last few weeks. Let me take you through it. First, I ended my internship in Kansas City. That experience alone was huge for me, I owe so much to the people I encountered and worked with. Next, I moved to Minnesota just in time to work all twelve days of the Minnesota State Fair. Neither heat, humidity nor crowds stopped me from doing my job. Which brings us to today. Tomorrow is the first day of classes at the University of Minnesota, also the first day of my last year at college. After a while of all this moving around, you get a little run down, feeling like you just are in a fog. You need to wake up.

Today's Thought is courtesy of Anonymous from the movie V for Vendetta. Fantastic movie with an interesting social justice-y type theme. In the movie, Anonymous is trying to upset the established order, a tyrannical dystopia controlled by a wealthy few. He calls for this idea of global awakening. While starting school is no earth-shattering awakening, it is a nice reminder to constantly be awake to the new day's opportunities. My awakening from the fog of constantly changing jobs and venues is loading. Tomorrow it takes it's flight. What awakening are you seeking? Perhaps it's taking the next step in your education. Maybe it's a little deeper than that, waking up some dormant internal state that urges you onward. Begin loading your awakening so that when tomorrow comes, you are prepared to seize the opportunity.