S.U.M.M.I.T. Leadership

"The easiest thing in the world to be is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position." -Leo Buscaglia   The urge to please others is powerful, even when it pushes us to be someone we are not. When we try too hard to please, however, we usually fail to please anyone.   Not the person we were aiming to please and certainly not ourselves.   If people can't accept us for who we are, then we might have to ask ourselves why we would want to have a relationship with them to begin with. We should never have to be inauthentic to earn someone's love or respect.   Remind yourself: I am who I am. While I can always improve myself, I will not let anyone try to make me what they want me to be. Be yourself...no one else is qualified to do that job. Make today great! Curtis   "The sooner you come to appreciate that you are enough as you are, that you are good as you are, that you are worthy ...

"Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions." -John Randolph   Time is perishable. It doesn't last forever. There is no such thing as saving time. It can only be spent. The only thing you can do with it is to spend it differently. Focus on spending time toward activities with higher value. Work hard not to waste time, for once it is gone, it is gone forever.   We know that everything we choose to do, requires time. Even if we do nothing, time continues to march on. We take time to daydream, we spend time complaining, we use time by sleeping in. Everything requires time. Time is either well spent, or lost.   That is not to say that sleeping in or doing something relaxing is a bad thing. It may be a necessary thing or something that you need to do to maintain your health and sanity. It's ok. You just need to realize that you have the choice and that you must feel good about your choices.   It is important that you...

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude…to me, is more important than facts.   It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, an organization, work group, family, home or person. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past.   We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.   We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.   And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes." - Charles Swindoll ...

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high And all you want to smile, but you have to sigh When care is pressing you down a bit Rest, if you must, but don't you quit!   Life is strange with its twists and turns As everyone of us sometime learns And many-a-failure turns about When we may have won had we stuck it out Don't give up though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow   Success is failure turned inside out The silver tint of the clouds of doubt And you never can tell how close you are It may be near when it seems so far So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit It's when things seem worse That you must not quit!   We were not made to quit, we were made to overcome. We come from the greatest over-comer that ever lived. The problem with most people is they don't understand what they are going throug...

"Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them." - Orison Swett Marden   It is important for us all to live our lives one day at a time, and realize that RIGHT NOW this is enough. Reflect on the past for what you have learned from it, but do not grieve over it for it is gone. Look forward to what lies ahead of us in the future, but do not worry about it, for it has not yet arrived. Life starts NOW, Live in the present, and make it so great it will be worth thinking about later. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. Don't wait for it. Go out and achieve it. High achievers spot rich opportunities swiftly, make big decisions quickly and move into action immediately.   What is it you want to do for yourself? Improve your health? Exercise? Eat better? Cut out something that's not benefiting you? Improve or learn a new skill? Start a new project...

"Life has no limitations, except the ones you make." - Les Brown    Someone once said, There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama and the people who create it. You need to surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't.    Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. Learn from the past, live in the now. Being alive is a gift, being happy is by choice!   Life is what you make it. Choose to make it great! Make the most of it every day. Don’t take it for granted for it is valuable.   This is your life. Live the life you deserve! Start today! Make today great!   "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln

Think about it. Athletes who have the strong desire to perform at their peak, succeed and to win, have to continually exercise to stay ready and strong. Yet, regardless of how strong, fast or physically prepared they may be, you always hear about the "mental side" of the game. Top athletes and teams need to also be mentally prepared in order to be focused, confident and ready to compete. You have to practice well in order to perform well. Practice doesn't always make perfect, it makes you better. Perfect Practice makes perfect. It is the mindset of champions. This mental state can be applied to anything you do in life. Think about where your are at in life as opposed to where you want to be? What things do you want to accomplish? What goals have you set? Whatever you are focusing on improving...whether it be your job, career, family situation, relationships or other aspects of life in general. It has to begin internally first, before you can make changes externally. What ...

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me." - Jim Valvano  Fathers come in many forms. Some are here, some are gone. Some are biological, some adopted, and others are simply chosen. But the common thread that weaves throughout each and every one, is an undying devotion to serve something greater than himself. Being a father is no small task. A man must make the choice to step up every single day, to work tirelessly to give his love, care, and unwavering passion to another. Because there is a massive difference between a man who can talk a good game as a father, and a man who truly lives that game. When it comes to those you love, this is the place where you can find the most powerful inner strength. Where you can do more than you ever thought possible to take care of someone else in a way that you’d never do for yourself. The sacrifice, the protection, the unmitigated love — you, the true fathers in this world, are courageou...

Do you remember who gave you your first break? Someone may have seen something in you once before.   They may have given you a break, a kind word or a random act of kindness.   That may be partly why you are the way you are today.   Partly who you are today. A thoughtful family member or relative, a perceptive teacher, a demanding drill sergeant, an appreciative employer, a persistent coach, a caring co-worker, or just a friend who dug down in his pocket and came up with a few bucks when you needed it. Whoever it was, they had the kindness and the foresight to bet on YOU…and your future.   Those are two beautiful qualities that distinguish the human being. In the next 24 hours, take 10 minutes to write a grateful note, or give a quick phone call to the person who helped you.   The person who, whether they knew it or not, made a difference in your life.   You'll keep a wonderful friendship alive.   As a matter of fact, take another 10 m...

"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together." — Desmond Tutu   Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.   This year will mark 155 years since the original Juneteenth. And while it has been more than a century since enslaved p...

"The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be." - Marcel Pagnol   Happiness is an aspiration that all of us share.   We’ve all seen people who always seem to be happy – even amidst agonizing life trials. I’m not saying happy people don’t feel grief, sorrow or sadness; they just don’t let it overtake their life.   We assume that happy and unhappy people are born that way.   But both kinds of people do things that create and reinforce their moods.   Happy people let themselves be happy.   Unhappy people subconsciously continue doing things that upset them. Happy people do not experience one success after another and unhappy people, one failure after another.   Instead, surveys show that happy and unhappy people tend to have had very similar life experiences.   The difference is that the average unhappy person spend...

Let's talk about the most prevalent four letter "F" word in our lives. Take it easy, I'm talking about FEAR. We all give fear much more credit than it deserves. I know I have done it far too often. Because we live our whole lives with it and are forced to do battle with it every day. But we have to realize that we are the ones relinquishing that power. We give it the power over us to make us unhappy; to hold us back from success; to keep us from getting that promotion we deserve; keeping us from living the life we deserve. I mean, I know we need to acknowledge that fear exists, but also that it only exists in our minds. It does have its purpose. We need it so that we are cautious enough that we aren't putting ourselves in harm's way, and we remain observant to our own personal needs, health and safety. But we need to be the one to stay in control and not let fear control us. We need to make that crystal clear in our minds. We are in control. Dale Carne...

"Ideals are like stars; we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them." - Carl Schurz I think we all want to improve ourselves in some way, shape or form. And in order to live life to the fullest, and to strive to become the best versions of ourselves we need to want improve. But sometimes, I think we become frustrated with ourselves in the process. We shouldn't become frustrated because we sometimes feel like we are never quite as good as we'd like to be. Or that the world never lives up to our expectations. We may never reach all of our ideals. But we still need to have ideals and make working towards them our life mission. Without ideals, we would have nothing to strive for. Although we may never be as good as we would like to be, we can always strive to get closer to our ideal self each and every day. Start today. Make today a great day!

Remember how simple things seemed to be when we were a kid? Not a care or a worry in the world. One of the terms I like to keep in mind at all times is to "Be Kidlike". In other words..."Keep it Simple" - don't over-complicate things more than they need to be. Don't worry so much about what other people are thinking, saying or doing...just be yourself. Know what you want and need, and take immediate action to get it. Dream often and use your imagination. Say what's on your mind and believe in other people. Have best friends and rely on them to be there for you when you need them. Get excited about the little things. Take time to sing, joke, smile, laugh and play...daily. All and all...have FUN doing WHATEVER it is you are doing, NOW. There is a great guide written by Robert Fulghum, titled "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN", which really illustrates this point. Read it and think about how things are currently ...

"To be grateful can be difficult when things seem not worth giving thanks for. Try it anyway. Allow yourself to be in the difficult situation and be grateful inside yourself, in the background. Grateful for what? Grateful for the lessons. Grateful for the growth and expansion you are in the middle of. Grateful for all you have. Grateful for your ability to turn things around." ~ Lisbeth Mahnkopf  When a negative thought enters your mind, immediately replace it with something you are grateful for (roof over your head, love in your life, food on the table, the air that you breathe etc..). Just as with learning anything new, it will require watchfulness and practice until a new behavior pattern is learned. Being mindful of changing your thoughts will eventually create an automatic response process with little effort, thus allowing more room for joy in your life. When we just focus in on "what we have" as opposed to "what we do not" and realize who we ha...

"Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind by being kind, considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all places, and under all conditions, with everyone as well as yourself. This is the greatest gift anyone can give." —  Dr. David Hawkins We need each other. Right now more than ever. Especially when times are tough. And times are tough for everyone. More than ever we need friendship, for a friend in need is a friend indeed. We need kindness, love, smiles, hugs and giving. Here are some great gifts that don't cost a cent: The Gift Of Listening: But you must really listen, no interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening! It will show them that you really care.  The Gift of Affection: Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.  The Gift of Laughter: Share articles, cartoons, and funny stories or even sing songs ...

"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives." -Tony Robbins Belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It's the inner feeling that what we undertake, we can accomplish. For the most part, all of us have the ability to look at something and to know whether or not we can do it. So in belief there is power; our eyes are opened; our opportunities become plain; and our visions become realities. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. It is important to believe in yourself. Don't write yourself off. If you don't believe in yourself you won't be able to function. Across all ages and all groups, a solid belief in one's own abilities increases life satisfaction by about 30 percent, and makes us happier both in our home lives and in our work lives...

I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I'd met my father, I tried to believe he'd changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people. Even as a feminist, my whole life I'd been waiting for a man to love, who could love me. For decades, I'd thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man and he was my brother. By then, I lived in New York, where I was trying to write my first novel. I had a job at a small magazine in an office the size of a closet, with three other aspiring writers. When one day a lawyer called me - me, the middle-class girl from California who hassled the boss to buy us health insurance - and said h...

"We shall surely be remembered for something; something good or something bad; something mediocre or something noble; something great or something small! In all things we do, always and always, let us not forget that we shall either be remember for something or nothing, and be it something or nothing, we shall still be remembered! If you are to be noted for your words, let the words be that which are breath-taking! If you are to be noted for your attitude, let that attitude be that which is solemn and distinctive! If you are to be noted for your thoughts, let the thought be that which gives unique reasons to ponder for distinctive footprints! If you are to be noted for your deeds, let the deeds be that which touches the heart of Heaven!” - Ernest Agyemang Yeboah There's a story of an great older carpenter who had built great houses over the years but was ready to retire. He told his employer, a contractor, that he was going to leave the house building business to enjoy a life...

"Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break." - Akiroq Brost Research shows that we need to take a break and decompress so we can be our best at work, at home and in our lives. Maybe we should ask ourselves if the life we are working so hard to create is fun to live? With everything that is going on in the world today, it's easy to say that there is a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and stress that everyone is experiencing. This might mean different things to different people, as we are all different, have different circumstances and/or just deal with things differently. Everyone has to deal with varying levels of stress. This can be particularly difficult to manage if you also have symptoms of depression or anxiety. When you feel like your stress levels have reached their peak, it might be time to take a quick break to reset. Sometimes taking a mental health day—a day off that's spec...