Comedian John Branyan said, “We didn’t think up laughter; that wasn’t our idea. Laughter was given to us by God, who knew we were going to need it to get through life. He knew we were going to have hardship, struggles, and stuff was going to happen. Laughter is a gift.” 

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of the KISS principle. KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid, is a military term focusing on simple design. The thought behind the acronym is that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Simplicity should be maximized, and complexity should be minimized. 

Recently, I made a new friend, and we met for a coffee and a chat. During the “Get to know you” part of our conversation, he shared an interesting story from his family history. The story graciously illustrates that change happens over time. Now, I don’t have enough...

What a team we were. Some of us had been together for years. We went to football camp together, trained in the blistering heat of August and September, practiced and played hard, ran hard, tackled hard, challenged each other, and won and lost together. We had big dreams and high goals. We were champions, and we made each other better! 

That’s my wife Lisa posing with the “Big Bear” at Build-A-Bear Workshop. For the last twenty years, Lisa worked in banking, but when she decided to leave the banking world, she said, “I want to work at a fun place.” How ironic, the Build-A-Bear motto is “The Most Fun You’ll Ever Make.”

One of my favorite Ledford Senior High School teachers was Larry McAlpine (pictured above – 1976). He taught World Studies (history), which was not a popular subject but was required. In addition, he was the Assistant Principal, and I had the opportunity to visit his office often.

I grew up in a caring family, and I learned to care for others because others cared for me. Many people don’t feel cared for today. So the simple truth is that Caring always comes first! My Grandmother, Lottie Mae Lindsay Brown, was one of the primary shapers in my...

My Dad was a CBer. A CBer is a person that uses a Citizens Band radio to communicate to others. This was big stuff back in the 70s. He had a base radio, a lollipop microphone, and over our house was a huge Moonraker box-shaped antenna. I am not sure what my Mom, or the neighbors were thinking, but my Dad was “all in” to CBing!

Good People Leaders make people BETTER. They know that making people better will make their team, department, business, or organization better. If you start with making people better, it will allow you the opportunity to make everything better. You can make a better world following this formula.

My word for 2022 is BETTER. Some of you know I recently completed the 2022 One Word Challenge, and I challenged you to find your word for 2022. You still have time to discover your word.