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

"It's a bizarre but wonderful feeling, to arrive dead center of a target you didn't even know you were aiming for." - Lois McMaster Bujold I love feel-good movies. The 2001 movie Serendipity starred John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale; they play a couple who search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated on their own ways. Convinced that their first meeting wasn't an accident and that they were meant to end up together. What a great story and a great lesson. The word Serendipity means to discover something good by accident. It just happens. It is the occurrence and development of events by chance happily or beneficially. It comes from the story about the King of Serendip, who sent his sons on a journey. Since they were obedient and faithful, they discovered beautiful and valuable treasures along the way. Sometimes we try so hard to find something when in reality, we aren't even sure what it is we are looking for. Other time...

"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou Who do you remember? You don't actually have to take these quizzes. Just read the questions straight through, and you'll get the point that it is trying to make! Quiz 1: What are the names of the last six Academy Award winners for best actor and actress? What are the names of the five wealthiest people in the world? What are the names of the last four winners of the Miss America contest? What are the names of the last three Heisman trophy winners? What are the names of the last two World Series MFP's? What is the name of the Time magazine Person of the Year, five years ago? How did you do? Did you remember all, some or none? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They may be considered the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forg...

"Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life" - George Arliss Humility is an underrated quality that isn't touched upon as often as it should be. Humility is, in fact, one of the most potent and essential attributes of growth. Being humble helps build trust and facilitates learning, which are vital aspects of leadership and personal development. However, our culture places so much value on external accomplishments and self-appearances that it sometimes becomes a challenge to express humility. We often misinterpret this active demonstration as a sign of weakness, when in actuality, it is an indication of tremendous inner strength. Being humble is not the same as lacking confidence. Humility means acknowledging that we have limits, that we need support and guidance from others, that we cannot go completely alone. We can have tremendous confidence in ourselves while still understanding that it is impossible to be totall...

"One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn't exist. Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist." - Stephen Hawking Why do we often pressure ourselves to perform flawlessly in so many areas? We desire to be perfect fathers or mothers, sons or daughters, friends and lovers. We desire to have perfect bodies, say the perfect things, create perfect offerings to others, and accomplish every undertaking with perfection. Unfortunately, society, social media, our cultures, and sometimes even the people we associate with teaching us to seek perfection. So we end up expecting it from ourselves. Sometimes we feel that people will like us better if we are "perfect." Sometimes we simply don't realize what we are doing. And some of us subconsciously punish ourselves in our quest for perfection by repeatedly setting the stage for failure. The desire to be perfect burdens us as people and ironically is the pathway to ...

"Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality." - John Gardner Life can get rough sometimes. Some hardship is inevitable. But the way we deal with life's inevitable challenges is up to us. We can choose to make the best of challenging situations. But what tends to happen more often is, we indulge in a serious, self-pity party. Self-pity happens when we find ourselves trying to find a reason or an excuse to give up and give in. We must be aware and cautious of the consequences and negative cycle that self-pity can bring along with it. It can drain you of the mental strength you need to be your best. It can get you stuck in an emotional rut, which can be incredibly difficult to pull yourself out of. It can keep you in an unhealthy cycle of unhappiness and misery. It is unproductive and a waste of time. I get it; life happens. We have failures, make mistakes, r...

"Invest the first hour of the day, the 'Golden Hour', in yourself." - Brian Tracy Your morning routine will set the tone for the rest of your day. What we think about throughout the day, we bring about, most of the time. So we must set ourselves up for the best possible outcomes by intentionally preparing ourselves at the beginning of each day. When you create positive and healthy habitual behaviors for each morning, you set your day up for success. So, it is vital to start your day off right.   Here are some tips that will help set you on the right path to making the rest of your days the best of your days! Get up a little bit earlier: Give yourself some time, and learn to use it efficiently. One of the things that create stress in our lives is the feeling of being rushed, or late, or not having enough time to do what you need or want to. The simplest of solutions is to make better use of your time. Give yourself more time, take your time, to ease into your day. Thi...

  "If you feel anxiety or depression, you are not in the present. You are either anxiously projecting the future or depressed and stuck in the past. The only thing you have any control over is the present moment; simple breathing exercises can make us calm and present instantly." ― Tobe Hanson   Do you embrace the moment fully that you are currently breathing in? Think about it. Are you embracing the moment right now?   Today is a beautiful Sunday morning. I woke up early to start my day. The sun was shining through the window, and I could tell it was already a perfect temperature outside. I started out okay, focusing on gratitude and blessings, with my specific focus on ensuring I was approaching the day with the right attitude. But shortly after that, I found myself starting to think about all of the things I could do to feel productive. I was getting ready to make a list of things to get accomplished, and I could feel myself already getting anxious about needing to get...