Warrior Dash April 2012

To be the best you can be; that is always the goal!  In running, setting a personal best time becomes harder and harder with age.  When the going gets tough, change the rules.  We did - instead of the status quo, the same old 5k runs, we took on a new challenge - 15 obstacles in 3.2 miles.  And guess what?  When you do something new for the first time, it is always a PR - a Personal Best!

Todd Snyder gave us a compelling and dramatic talk about stopping someone from being bullied during our session 7 class.  I would like to share with you the email he received from David, who was the subject and target during school.  Thank you Todd for sharing your experiences with us!

David’s Story - his email:

In honor of Spirit Day, I'll be wearing purple tomorrow to help bring awareness to the Stop The Bullying Campaign. But today, I want to tell you a story about why it's important. So, if you have a moment, please stop and read this post. I understand that people will have strong feelings about this story. That's ok. So do I. After all, it's my story. I want you to understand that I both loved and trusted my parents, and I still do. I honestly believe that if they could have tilted the world on its axis to save me, they'd have found a way. And I believe that more than once, they tried.

This story isn't about blame. This story is to make you aware of what can happen. This story is to open your eyes. This story is true. I'd like you to imagine for a moment, that I was a Very Happy child. That's what mom tells me, and I sort of remember that. Things went good early on. There was no school, days were sunny, and I played a lot. But life goes on.

By the time I was in 3rd grade, "different" was an understatement. I stopped doing my homework so I could get detention so I couldn't be the designated "Queer" in the recess game of "Smear the Queer." And I never told anyone.

When I was in 5th Grade, I got hit, repeatedly, with an Aluminum Baseball Bat because I was wasn't playing the cool games at recess. And I never told anyone. When I was in 7th Grade, I got spit on every day in Gym Class. I told the teacher. And he did nothing. I didn't tell anyone else. Later on in that same class, I got my forehead smashed into the edge of a sidewalk and needed stitches. I didn't have a choice, so I told someone. A kid got detention. And I got told it wouldn't have happened if I stood up for myself.

Later that month, I kicked the kid who did it right in the nose. I got suspended. And I got told that violence wasn't the answer. I guess he told someone.

In Eighth grade, 3 weeks in a row, I had to wait in the locker room, naked, while my clothes got washed in the Home Ec room, because I got peed on. I told someone...and they told me to bring extra clothes. Later that year, I got rolled down a staircase in a trashcan, naked. I told someone. And nothing happened.

In 9th Grade, I got thrown off a second floor balcony. And I never told anyone. My entire Freshman year, I spent every lunch period trying to find a way through the lunch room that didn't include my food getting spit on. I never found one. And I never told anyone. I threw up every day of my freshman year, before Earth Science, to avoid the lockers on the 3rd floor...because I fit in them. And I never told anyone.

I was hospitalized that year for losing weight, vomiting, and not eating. I had to tell someone. And they didn't believe me. I was cornered in a room and threatened with rape.

And I never told anyone. In the middle of the night, I still wake up sometimes, too scared to breathe. When I walk down the hall, I look over my shoulder. I don't sit with my back to doors. And I don't tell anyone why. Some of you are thinking that it's just some schools... but I went to NINE. Some of you are thinking that it's because I didn't stand up for myself... but I did. Some of you are thinking that it's because I didn't tell anyone... but I did. Some of you have solutions that worked for you. Some of you have solutions that might have worked for me. Some of you have an answer. Some of you have questions.

But all of us together have an obligation. An obligation to make sure this never happens to a child again. We have an obligation to protect everyone's children. It doesn't matter how different they are. It doesn't matter how they spend their recess. It doesn't matter what they wear. What matters is keeping our children safe.

Tomorrow, as a sign that we want to stop the bullying, we have the option to wear purple. I'll be wearing mine. Will you?

Vince Lombardi once said that "Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." As we look ahead to what comes after graduation, we can rest easy in the confidence that we have all gained from "chasing perfection" while building stronger relationships with those who matter to us.  In learning that we can become excellent at what we do, we strive to make our world a better place, and in doing so, we open the doors to those goals and dreams that will fulfill us.  


Together, we learned that we all have things in common and that life's struggles are not only unique to us.  Individually, we learned that we could move outside our comfort zone and take control of our own destiny despite outside influences.  


May each of you continue to discover, explore and enjoy your new freedom of expression in everything you do!


-David

Congratulations to our Session 8 award winners!

New Dale Carnegie Class Starts on April 25th


We have a new date for the start of our next Dale Carnegie class; Wednesday, April 25th, at "Ottawah University", located at 10020 N 25th Ave, Phoenix, Az 85029.  Make up schedules will be available in our graduating class for those who have missed one or more sessions.

Viktor Frankl once said that "life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives." As we focus our energies on both celebrating our achievements and looking ahead to new frontiers, we can begin to see the forming of habits that lead to continuing growth and an expansion of our abilities. The fuel for this change can be summed up in one word - "motivation!"

We have the tools to change our lives and all we need is to keep the motivation to climb to new heights, build better relationships with those we know and love, and create more opportunities than is handed to us by life itself.

Let me tell you about a class member.  Her name is Tiffany Carson, and she was in my class almost 10 years ago, but I will always remember her.  She was like many class members, shy at first, but with a driving motivation to get over it.  She did, with flying colors!  You will remember our session where everyone taught the class how to do something in 4 or 5 easy steps.  She showed us her version of goal setting - "Tiffany Carson's Excellent Adventure!"

Simply put, list five dreams that you might like to accomplish in your lifetime.  For me, I included things like "travel in space", "run the Boston marathon", "see the Titanic from a sub", and "visit the set of a Startrek movie".  Yes, they were hard dreams, but the point was that Tiffany got us all to think in terms of hard dreams.  I achieved one that very year - the Boston Marathon!  Each time I achieve something on the list, it opens the door for a new one to be added.

Tiffany, you showed us all that we should "Think BIG" with our goals and dreams!  Thank you!

Now you too can create "the list"; just print the form below and fill in your name and your dreams!

Trivia time:  In 1938, this board game was created and sold.

Based upon the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People", this game takes players into a number of  human relation situations.  They have to "talk" their way out, with a speech that is critiqued by the other players.

There will be an original of this game displayed at our "graduation" this Wednesday night!