Gratitude Bugs -- books for children!

G-Bugs “The Gratitude Bugs” is a series of books for children by Jackie Jones.

These books have stories that teach and promote character. They consist of: acceptance, gratefulness, self-esteem, honesty, integrity, responsibility, respect, forgiveness, loyalty, and friendship.

Parents should get these books and read them and re-read them to their children.

I’m going to get all of the books from this series for my nephew Gage who is 3-years-old.

Therapeutic Recreation: Bibliotherapy.

Recreational therapists use a variety of activity interventions to help people get better. I provide services for children at a residential treatment facility. Many of these children have a need to develop positive social interaction skills. I plan to use these books to help the children to increase awareness of qualities of character.

Here is my video review for this neat little book:






For more information, visit:

---> http://g-bugs.com/

New Discovery Reveals How Being Happy Can Help You to Become Great! is the title for chapter 7 in my best-selling book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom. It is a self-improvement book on becoming great. This chapter includes a full section on gratitude. If you're looking to improve your life, I encourage you to read a lot. If you want to improve your child's life read The G-Bugs to them. If you want to improve your life... read... Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom.

Dr. Carson - inspiration and motivation.

Dr. Ben Carson is a professor at John Hopkins and a neurosurgeon.

He is known for his amazing work separating conjoined twins Julan and Joseph Gibson in Africa. They were joined at the head. Neither of the boys had any brain damage. This was a major success because it was the first time this type of surgery had been completed successfully.

You may be interested in watching, “Gifted Hands,” a movie about Dr. Ben Caron. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Dr. Caron. It is one of my favorite movies.

Here are some resources that you may enjoy:

I had the privilege to listen to Dr. Carson speak at the Leadership Training Program on May 7, 2010 that was sponsored by Chick-fil-A.

Here is a summary of some of the wisdom that I discovered from Dr. Caron’s inspirational talk:

Dr. Carson asked:

What am I really good at?

He gave a disclaimer that his intention is not to offend anyone during the session. He says it like it is. I found him humorous at times.

He said he liked working with kids a lot more because he had a greater return. The kid could go on maybe 50 years of good health because of a surgery. An elder person may die a few years later from something different. He said he was joking and of course, he cares about people who are elder, too.

Caron says that we need to be civil with people who we disagree with.

Caron said that his mother never developed a victim mentality despite having had a rough life. Caron said that she didn’t put up with his excuses either.

Start to look for reason to do something and have some responsibility in life.

Caron admired students who did well when he was in elementary school.

Dr. Caron’s mother would not allow him to watch television, but to read two books a week from the library and submit a book report to her.

AS a reminder, in my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I suggest that the number one way for becoming great and successful in life is by becoming an avid reader.

Dr. Carson said that after a few weeks he started to enjoy books because he could go so many places. ?he began to know things that no one else knew. He went from the bottom of his class to the top.

Guess what He had the same brain when doing poor as he did when he did well. All he did was to change his self-concept.

The brain is very powerful. You can believe Dr. Carson since he is a neurosurgeon. It is amazing what you could really put your mind to doing.

Carson pointed out in the 90s the United States ranked 21 out of 22 countries in math. This isn’t good because we’re in the technology age.

Danny Pettry’s comment: This reminds me of someone else who asked, what is your favorite sports team? How would you feel if they were ranked 21 out of 22? What would you want to take place? Naturally, you’d want your team to improve.

How can The U.S. improve? Every great empire in the past has had their time and they have fallen. The British Empire, The Roman Empire, the Greek Empire have all risen and fallen from greatness.

Can we, the United States be the first nation to take action and prevent ourselves from falling? We don’t want to be the next Brittan, France, Rome, or Egypt. We want to continue to be the best and to be on top. How can we do that when we’re ranking 21 out of 22? Education is important.

Dr. Carson said that the writings of George Washington and our founding fathers showed great faith.

During WWII nations were falling to tyrant powers. All of them fell except the U.S. and we fought wars on two fronts.

Innovation makes the United States unique.

Dr. Carson and his wife have a scholarship program that starts to recognize 4th graders who have humanitarian interest and academic success.

Two tips:

Develop your brain
Care about other people

What will you be doing in 20 years? The year will be 2020. Time flies.

Dr. Carson said that he had chosen to go to John Hopkins to study because it was the best for preparing neurosurgeons.

Danny Pettry’s comment: I had chosen to go to Indiana University to purse my graduate degree in Recreational Therapy because I felt they had the best program for preparing Recreational Therapists. I admired Dr. David Austin who was over the program. Austin had written many of the text books that I had read during undergraduate school at Marshall University (Huntington, West Virginia). Both of my degrees are in recreational therapy.

Dr. Carson said that no knowledge is irrelevant because you’ll never know when it is needed. Carson also said take it from a neurosurgeon; you can’t overload your brain.

Dr. Carson said to think of win-win situations. Make it work for everyone. He talked about working during the summer breaks when he wasn’t at Yale. He worked as a supervisor for a crew that collected trash along the main roads. The workers weren’t motivated to work. Caron had a few tips. He encouraged them to show up earlier when it was still dark outside because it was cooler. He also said that he’d let them leave early if they got the required quota of bags of trash and he still paid them for the full day. He said they increased their productivity and started collecting a lot more trash to get the job completed.

Dr. Carson pointed out that the twins he separated will be graduating 6th-grade in a few weeks. As a reminder, they were the first set of twins joined at the head who were successfully separated.

Dr. Carson pointed out to:

Love our fellow man.
Care about our neighbor.

Develop our talents to our best and help others people.

Have strong principles and values.

Be the one.

It isn’t about me. It is about helping.
Be the bridge builder.

Be the one to make the difference and to serve others.


Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Steve Uzzell - inspiration and motivation.

Steve Uzzell is an award-winning photographer who I find inspirational and amazing. I had the opportunity to listen to him speak at the leadership training on May 7, 2010 that sponsored by Chick-fil-A. Uzell showed his photography on a large screen in the background during his inspirational talk.

I wish I had permission to show some of his amazing art at my blog, but regret to say that I don’t have permissions.

However, here is a link to his web-site:
http://www.steveuzzell.com
You may want to add his link to your favorites.

Here are some of the inspirational tips that I received from Uzzell during his talk:

The first step is to know where you’re going.
Find spirit and inspiration in the open road.

Allow for imagination.

Seeking sets in motion the conscious universe. It reminds me, Danny Pettry, of the quote: seek and you shall find.

He says a person needs to make preparations for creative problem-solving.

Uzzell said that every road also has the wrong roads.

Danny Pettry comment: stories go so good with pictures. I think I’ll add more pictures to my upcoming book on being a nicer person.

Uzzell points out famous quote: chance favors the prepared mind. He sited the original author, but I couldn’t understand the name. I had used the same quote in my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom. I sited hearing it from my professor in graduate school.

Uzzell pointed out that our eyes only see what we’re prepared to see.

Danny Pettry comment: I had once heard that the Native Americans would look out into the ocean, yet they would not see the ships from European sailors because they were not prepared to see it.

Uzzell points out that chance and preparation creates magic.

Uzzell reminds us to focus on the 6 questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how of journalism for creative problem solving. Uzzell adds a 7th question: are you sure?

Become known for the problems you solve.

Solutions are sometimes found in odd places and unexpected places. Uzzell points out how his grandmother had helped him in math. He didn’t realize that his grandmother had had a degree in math from 1900. I, Danny Pettry, had forgotten what type of math degree she had, but it was very advanced.

Teach people a craft that you know so well. Change lives.

Each of us has a unique knowledge and talent and skills. Some of us have secret wisdom that no one else in the world knows about. Share this with others.

Uzzell also reminds me to thank teachers who have taught me to have a love for learning.

Danny Pettry: send a thank-you card and a brief message to several of your favorite teachers.

Here are some of the final tips from Uzzell:

Listen to your inner voice.
Joy is a journey
Look for inspirational and connect to the universe.

He quoted Merlin, we must put ourselves in that path of God to connect.
Feel blessed and grateful.
The universe is full of abundance.

We are homosapians. That means: wise people.

There will be the age of knowledge and the age of wisdom.

Be the one.

Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Leadership Guru John Maxwell on Leadership

John Maxwell is a best-selling leadership author. I, Danny Pettry have always enjoyed his books. I had the fortunate opportunity to hear Maxwell speak for the first time at the Leadership Training that was sponsored by Chick-fil-A on May 7, 2010.

Here is a link for Maxwell’s newest book, which is on my personal list of books to read:




I found Maxwell to be humorous, motivational, and easy to listen to. I like him a lot more after hearing him speak. Prior to this event, I had never heard him talk. He walked out in a nice business suite with bright red tennis shoes. They were funny. He may start some type of trend with this.

Here is my summary of Maxwell’s tips and wisdom that he shared during his talk.

Let your kids live.

Everyone communicates.
Few people connect.

Here is how Maxwell defines connecting:

It is the ability to identify with and realize with people so that it increase influence with them.

He suggested using social networks like twitter to influence people. Here is his twitter link: http://twitter.com/johncmaxwell

He posted chapters for his book on connecting with people online and let them give suggestions. He gave them credit in his book.

Connections are all about other people. It is not about us, but others.

Maxwell told of a time when he went to listen to a Zig Ziglar speech. He said Zig looked right at him in the audience and said his famous quote:

If you help others get what they want then they’ll help you get what you want.

Leaders connect with people. Leaders bring people to the top with them.

Here is the quote you want to hear:

You’ve done so much for us. Now, what can I do for you?

It’s not about me. It is about them. How can I add value to people?

He uses dating and marriage as a metaphor.

People put in energy during dating. During marriage they have a power outage.

During dating, she’ll say, honey, will you pick up something for me. He’ll say, sure, I’ll do that on my lunch break. During marriage, she says she forgot to pick something up and asks if he’ll get it for her. Then he says something rude: you’ve got arms, right?

Connecting with people takes a lot of energy. A person must continue to put fourth energy to connect with people.

Stories make it fun! A story is a good way to get people interested.

Maxwell asks an important question:

Who do I need to put more effort in order to connect with them?

Find common ground with people. Focus on the similarities and not the differences.

Maxwell said that he has techniques to help get people from common ground to higher ground in his new book on connections.

Here are some techniques:

Walk slowly through the crowd.
Care for people
Be open.

He says to go out and increase my influence with others by connecting with them.

I think, I, Danny Pettry, would love his new book.



Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

How to Change

Chip Heath is the author of the book made-to-stick.

Heath presented at the leadership training program that was sponsored by Chick-fil-A on May 7, 2010.

I had the privilege of attending his speech.

Here is a link for Heath’s book:




Here is my summary of what Heath presented:

Heath said that people seem to resist and hate change.

However, this is not always true according to his research on Flickr. He sought out pictures that showed people who were happy about change.

There are two major life changes, which people are often happy about. These include:

Marriage
Having a baby

Heath showed several pictures of couples smiling at their wedding.

Part of us wants to change and part of us don’t.

People have love and comfort with the familiar.

There are two parts. One part is the emotional side of change. It is like an impulse for a cookie.

The emotional side is like a large elephant. The other side is the tiny human rider who is the logical side.

The emotional elephant says eat it all. This wouldn’t be good for the tiny rider to eat that much.

Elephant sometimes says:

Wouldn’t it be cool to…

The rider is not always the hero. Sometimes the rider will over anaylize things.

Change requires both the elephant and the rider to go the same way.

How do I get there?

Both the elephant and the rider will need different things.

The rider needs direction.
The elephant needs motivation.

Here is a tool: look for the bright spots.

People will often look at the negative picture when a negative and a positive picture are both shown.

People will analyze games they lost more.

People will often talk a long time about problems.

A person may talk 30-minutes about what is not working.

Here is the solution. Look for what is working and see if we can do more of it.

Heath talked about how a man went to Vietnam many years ago to help with the malnutrition problem. He only had 6-months to make a difference because of politics.

He basically had mothers in small community to get the weight and height of all children. They looked for the small bright spots of children who were identified as healthier and figured out what was done differently. Vietnam is a country that grows rice. Some of the mothers had cooked other small things in the rice: plants and small shrimp.

Heath said now we get direction from the rider and teach others.

TIP: Look for the Bright Spots and Study Them. Copy them. Apply them.

The man who had went to Vietnam to help didn’t have a lot of time or resources. He used this approach to looking for bright spots and made a major difference in helping improve the nutrition for children in the country.

Here are important questions to ask:

What is going right?
What goes well?
Can we do more of it to get better?

Ask top people in company about their success and what is going right. Study what they’re doing and motivate the elephant for long-term change.

Here is Chip's book again:




Here is a book by Chip's brother Dan that I really want to read, too:



Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Life is a Story. Lessons on Leadership by Mark Sanborn.

Mark Sanborn, best-selling author of “The Fred Factor” presented at the Chick-fil-A Leadership Training Program on May 7, 2010.

Here is an Amazon link for Sanborn’s book:

Here is Danny Pettry’s summary of Sanborn’s talk:

My life is a story and so is yours. Children love hearing a story. Stories make a great medium.

People want to know stories. What is your story? Is it a comedy? Is it a tragedy? It could be several genres.

Danny Pettry’s comment: stories are great for press releases and selling, too.

Our personal story ends at death. Be actively involved in life.

Here is an important question to consider:

How does working for me affect another person’s story? Are they a better person for having come in contact with me?

My job is to make their story better. We want leaders who can make someone else’s story better.

WIP is a work in progress.
WAC is a work already completed.

It is important to treat people as if they’re a WIP.

Leadership is about influence. It isn’t about control. That is why it isn’t called Controller-ship.

Stuck is when a person has given up hope. They don’t need a kick in the butt or more discipline. They need hope. Re-sell them on themselves. Remind them of their potential. Help them to have big dreams. Believe in their value.

Guarantee not to let them fail. This doesn’t mean taking responsibility for them. That is their job. It does mean that you’re not going to give them permission to fail. That is when you treat them as a WAC (work already completed).

Give them hope by offering something new to try and be willing to try. Give people options and alternative futures. Give them some struggle so they can be a hero who conquered. Provide encourage because no one is exempt from struggles in life. The big focus should be on hope and victory and not the current struggle.

Failure is something that happens. It is not something a person is. Failure is an indicator of success.

No resistance means no hope. Two people who have similar experiences can have very different outcomes.

Look for lessons.

Deal with life and look for a destination.

Danny Pettry’s note: Enjoy the journey in life and enjoy the present, too.

Back to Sanborn:

Leave a legacy that lives beyond our own life. That is a good destination for life.



Realize that my story has an impact on others.

Respond to a person’s story. Don’t reject the story or the person.

Provide unconditional acceptance. This does not meant approval of their story. None of our own personal stories are perfect.

Here are Sanborn’s 3 Questions:

What is your greatest hope at business? And in life?
What is your greatest fear?
What do you want to learn most?

Feel and listen with the heart.

Tell a story.

It’s not about me, but how their story can be better based on what I’ve learned.


Sanborn pointed out that he was inspired when he interviewed Tony Dungy because Dungy had pointed that that there were so many people who had poured into his life. These mentors, teachers, and family members helped to make Dungy’s story better.

Ideas and experiences come from people.

What do you do to help others? Get their story and help to improve it.

Sanborn talks about a “Generous actor.” This is a person who is not there for themselves. These people are there for others.

Be a generous leader. Be there for other people and not for yourself.

Provide stories of hope and encouragement.

Be shapers of stories. Help make their stories better.

Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Coach Tony Dungy on leadership

Make Sandorm, best-selling author of “The Fred Factor” interviewed legendary football coach, Tony Dungy for the Chick-fil-A Leadership Training Program on May 7, 2010.

Dungy was the first African American coach to win a NFL championship. He coached the Indianapolis Colts.

Here are some books that Dungy had written on leadership:






Here are some of the tips that Dungy presented:

There is a desperate cry for leaders of integrity.

Dungy said that he was very fortunate to have had mentors, coaches, and teachers who had helped him along the way.

Coaching is like parenting. Dungy coached like his parents. He teaches his own children the same way.

Help people to see their potential. Help them see what they’re capable of.

Be a great salesman as a coach. Get people to believe what is right.

All of us strive for this goal. Everyone is counting on me for the team. We’re all in this together. Perseverance is way. Keep at it. Point out progress at any level. Point out what is better. Coaches believe in what people can do.

See leadership potential in all people.

There are different ways to win. Dungy says to be yourself and lead in your way.

Try to help people because people cherish that most. Help players to do better.

Don’t deny character. Be a good teammate and part of a group.

Take people with potential and help them. Treat people right. Be honest and up front.

Winning is the goal. But most important, give back to the community.

Avoid getting a big head. Know where success comes from. Dungy says that talent is God given. Praise is people given. Be humble.

Stay focused during times of stress.

There is a difference between mentors and being a disciplinarian.

Discipline is hard up. There big goal is helping a person. Education is for helping people so they won’t make mistakes. Figure the right element for the situation. Some people react differently. It could hurt a person in the long-run by being too harsh.

Look for character when recruiting talent. This is important. Are people going to work together? Are they taking care of their responsibilities? How will they behave?

Be the best at what you’re doing and balance that with home life. Family has to come first because they’ll be with you all of your life.

Dungy left the Colts after a career of 28-years coaching. He said he enjoyed it, but felt that God wanted him to reach out and help people in a new way.

Dungy says it is important to realize when it is time to do something new.

Here is Dungy’s quick pep-talk as summarized by Danny Pettry.

#1: God put me here for a reason. I’m impacting people regardless if I realize it or not. Preserve. People should benefit from me. Be determined to be the person to make the big play. Make a difference. Look inside and figure out what I can do to be the one.



Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Lessons on Leadership by Jim Collins

Jim Collins was the 2nd presenter at the Chick-fil-A Leadership training on May 7, 2010.

Jim Collis is known for these books:





Here are some tips suggested by Jim Collins on leadership.

Build a pocket of greatness.

Good is the enemy.

Failure teaches us more. Failing is a good thing.

Danny P. comment: reminds me of Edison saying he didn’t fail at inviting the light bulb 999 times. He found 999 ways it didn’t work. He persisted despite failure. Had he made one mistake and given up then he would have been a failure. Dating coach for men, David DeAngelo had said that single men who aren’t making mistakes or getting rejected by women probably aren’t taking initiative. The man won’t get rejected if he doesn’t talk to any of them. Failures are good.

Collins pointed out that the very best for the last 6,000 years have made mistakes.

The mighty fail when they’re self-destructive. Collins points out that there are five stages to destruction. He relates them to cancer. If caught and treated early they could save a person. Many people don’t do anything until they’re in the 4th out of 5 stages. The final stage is death or irrelevance. The company has closed.

The first three stages may look good on the outside.

People have control over greatness. It is self-inflicted unlike many types of cancer. Greatness is something you do to yourself.

People can bounce back after a fall as long as they don’t go to stage 5 of Collins identified stages.

Collins says that the # 1 skill is humility. There should be value on work and ambition. Be more plow horse than show horse.

The focus should be on the company or the team and not me.

Stage 1: What am I in it for? Who am I in it for?

Stage 2: Overreaching and going to far may not be the best. Have the number of right people in the right places. Life is about people, so get the right people.

Stage 3: Denial of risk. Evidence is there. Truth is there. It could happen.

Stage 4: You fall and you can’t deny it. How do you respond? The response is important in determining rather you success or fail.

Greatness is not a single event. There is no real overnight success. Keep pushing. Focus on passion. An overnight success is really 20-years in the making. Starbucks was in business for many years before they ever opened a second store.

At stage 5, people don’t come back.

Just because we’ve fallen doesn’t mean we can’t get back up.

You must find a Reason to Fight and struggle beyond money.

Many years ago Disney was in trouble. What would the world have lost had Disney closed?

Why would it matter if you disappear? Why would it matter if I disappear?

All companies from “Built to Last” made it. If they lose their value then they lose their soul and will lose it all.

Don’t abandon values.

Practices have to change over time.

Share values.

Have Big Hairy Audacious Goals a.k.a. (BHAGs)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident” and “I have a dream.”

Don’t allow anyone to make you feel like you need to fail.

Here are Collins 10 Tips for Building a Pocket of Greatness. Collins made it clear that he wanted me to share these tips with people, so here they are:

1. Best leaders never run the show. Take responsibility for making my section a packet of greatness. Do my job to the best of my ability. Take care of my responsibilities.

2. Take Jim Collin’s self-assessment tool online at his web-site http://www.JimCollins.com

3. Get the right people in the right places.

4. Develop my own personal board of directors. Collins talked about a college kid who had called his father for advice. Have my own team of mentors and directors for my life both personally and professionally.

5. Create time for solitude and reflection. This isn’t a time for connections. It is time for mindfulness. Take time to relax and think.

6. Made error in my notes. It said: How to get right questions. The right people. Not sure what this meant now.

7. To do lists are great. Create a stop-doing list.

8. Experiment with moving titles. I don’t have a job. I have a responsibility. This tip reminds me of the recent book, “The Leader Who Had No Title.”

9. Articulate core values. Be prepared for next big shock or surprise. Have big goods. My best book will be “the next one.” Collins told of an author who had written 1/3 of his books by the age of 65. We all have a lot of usefulness. Maybe the marker doesn’t start until we’re 50. Paint a masterpiece.

10. Be useful. Don’t worry about success or survival. Just be useful.

What would be lost if you disappeared? What would be lost of I disappeared?
Are we making enough impact on others? Strive to do better.

Danny Pettrys comment: create a to-do list of five ways to make people’s lives better and five things you could stop doing that are making others lives miserable.




Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Personal Choices are Important!

Connie Podesta was the first presenter at Chick-fil-A Leadership conference on May 7, 2010.

Connie is an experience in psychology and learning.

I found her talk to be inspirational and humorous. Here is a basic summary of what she said. I added a few of my own personal suggestions to her comments.

Connie asked two main questions:

1.) Am I proud of the professional choices I’ve been making?
2.) I am proud of the personal choices I’ve been making?

Both of these questions are vital to being “the one.”

Note that personal and professional choices are not separate. This is especially true in today’s world of technology of instant messaging and social networks. People get personal messages at work and work messages at home. Boundaries seem to have blurred between these two areas.

Connie pointed out that choices we make outside of the office (our work place) determine more about my success and career than what I do on the job.

Here is an example. I could spend all of my time off the job reading books, taking classes, volunteering to help others, improving my talents and skills, and living a good, decent life.

I could also make choices like being lazy, complaining, or start a bad habit.

Connie also pointed out that people should communicate clearly.

Here is an example. Don’t ask a question to hint at what you’re wanting. A woman may ask her husband if he’s hungry to hint that she is really hungry. Be more assertive and say what you want.

Connie pointed out that we should be careful with spending. Purchase what we need and be careful when buying material possessions that we want. It’s not good to get in debt for things. She points out that relationships are in the “Want” section. They’re not in the “Need” section.

Making life worthwhile is our own personal responsibility. It isn’t the responsibility of others to do this for us. Relationships based on need are not healthy. A person who needs us in order to be happy isn’t healthy either. None of us can make another person happy. That is their job.

Connie points out that we should have a need to give something to the world. It is our job to provide some type of service.

Many people are afraid of giving a speech. Connie points out that we’re all on a world state. We’re always performing. The world is watching us.

Be a leader all the time. This includes both professional and personal life.

Employees look for their leaders for ways to act.

It is more important to demand that people, employees, and children to develop compassion, being hard-working, and respectful. Lead this way in life to show an example. Teaching these skills to others will help them develop the tools they’ll need to be happier.

The big question again:

Are you proud of the choices you’re making in your persona life? Am I proud of the choices I’m making in my persona life?

Character is leadership.
This is important. Leadership is all about being a person of the utmost character.

A person’s real character comes out when they’re tired, angry, jealous or experiencing bad times. How does a person act then? This is when they world’s eyes will be watching. We’re all public speakers all the time. We’re always performing. Someone is always watching us.

A person is truly rich when they’re happy spiritually and emotionally.







Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here:

Movie Rental Stores Are Going Obsolete.

Felt upset that the Movie Gallery in my hometown area went out of business last year.
Since then three local Blockbusters have went out of business. These included: South Point, Ohio, downtown Huntington, W.Va. and Rt. 60 in Huntington.

Went to the Movie Gallery in Kentucky, which is right across the Big Sandy River in the Huntington, W.Va. area.

Told the manager that I was shocked that nobody was in there on a Friday night. There were no customers. The manager laughed and said the store was having a good night because they brought in $600 in sales for the night. Felt shocked at comment because I’d imagine a store like that should be making about $600 an hour.

Returned today to find giant, bright “Closing Soon” signs… Everything must go.

This is very disappointing because I love movie rental stores.

However, I realize that it is a tough business. People can rent movies from their home now with technology. They can use netflix and have videos sent to their home, which I imagine netflix may be the next to go.

People can buy DVDs at Wal-mart for $5 in the large bin. Some of these movies are fairly new based on my experiences. Some of these movies were released within the last year or two.

Purchased a few classic, rare DVDs that were on sale there. These included: To kill a mocking bird, Gandhi, teacher Ron Clark Story, one on the Reagans, and Uptown Girls. As you'll remember from my best-selling book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I recommend Cinema-therapy/ watching movies to learn ways to become great. Think there are some good lessons from these movies and they're worth watching again.

Didn’t need any DVDs, but felt an urge to spend today when I should have saved.

Maybe I would have been one of the children who would have eaten one marshmallow now instead of waiting for two marshmallows later. Will work on patience.

Worried about the employees at this Movie Gallery. These feelings intensified when I logged online to find a story that Blockbuster may file bankruptcy. The end of the “Blockbuster-era” is near. I absolutely love my job and what I do to help children. I’d be devastated if something happened to our hospital or facility or if I were laid-off or fired for any reason.

Change is inventible. Things will be different in the future. My professor in graduate school, Dr. Bryan McCormick had once said, “Luck favors the prepared.” Highly encourage people to prepare today.

Dr. Raymond Busbee was one of the professors who I had during undergraduate school at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Dr. Busbee was the academic advisor for students in Parks Resources and Leisure Services with a focus in Park Management. Remember Dr. Busbee once telling students (approximate year 2000) that the United States Postal Service might not be a good career choice for students after graduation. I scoffed at this idea at first because I had grown-up hearing that government jobs had great benefits. Dr. Busbee informed students that there was a growing use of digital communications through email. He said that there would be less mail in the future. He was right. As you already know there are rumors that the U.S. Postal Service is going to stop delivering mail on Saturdays. This may seem like a minor move to save money, but I’m certain that many positions will be cut in this process.

I pay over 95% of my bills online today. Most days I don’t receive any mail at all. Occasionally I’ll order a book from Amazon and will have a package at my door. However, I’ll be ordering fewer hardcover and paperback books now that I have an Amazon kindle and will be able to download books wirelessly and instantly anytime I want. Again, that may not be a good thing for people who crave instant gratification. Have set a limit to only 2-3 digital books per month.

Morales: Prepare for the future. Save money.

Source:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109097/bankruptcy-is-blockbusters-only-hope

Books for Children

“Read to succeed and become anything you want” is one of my personal mottos.

It was also the basis for my first self-improvement book, “Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom. Basically, I believe wisdom his hidden in books, but a person must be an avid reader to discover these secrets.

Heard some depressing news today about the closing of a bookstore. My parents take little mini-trips from time-to-time. Today they left their hometown of Beckley, W.Va. to visit the Mercer Mall in Princeton, W.Va. Mother informed me that the bookstore in the mall had closed. That is terribly sad. Feel very upset about this news. How can a mall not have a bookstore?

There is a growing trend in the closing of bookstores in my home state of West Virginia based on my experiences:

The Beckley, W.Va. Crossroads Mall once had two bookstores. Now it only has one.
The Kanawha City, W.Va. Kanawha Mall once had a bookstore, but it has been closed.
The Charleston, W.Va. Town Center Mall once had two bookstores, both of them have been closed, but they now have a Borders-express.
The Barboursville, W.Va. Huntington Mall once had two bookstores: a Waldenbooks and a Borders bookstore. Believe they closed the Waldenbooks when Borders bought at Walden.

Believe West Virginia is a place that needs more access to books. Think people could improve their lives by reading more.

There are still a few positive places that people in the state can get books.
Many people are also ordering books online at places like Amazon.com. Many people are reading electronic books online. People can still get books at places like Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, however, the selection is limited. These places only carry current best-sellers based on what I’ve seen. Some people download books to electronic devise like the Amazon-Kindle, which I use and enjoy.

The non-profit First Book provides free books to children in need addressing literacy. They say at their web-site that children’s literacy can be improved by providing children with access to age-appropriate books.

Found a wonderful web-site today. It was recommended to me on facebook. Places like facebook send selected ads targeted to people’s interest and demographic. As a booklover, an interesting page was suggested to me today.

It’s called Children’s Book of the Month Club.

One of my 2010 goals is to buy a new book for my nephew Gage (3-years-old) each month of the year.

In January I got him, 5 little monkey’s jumping on a bed.
In February I got him a little Einstein Book.
In March I got him 10 Happy Puppies.

Think I’m going to join the children’s book of the month club. Will have to look at the prices to determine which would be more affordable between them and Amazon.com, which I currently use to get Gage books.

Here is the link toe the Children’s Book Club so you can check it out too:

http://www.cbomc.com/

http://www.cbomc.com/

Book Recommendation: 5 Keys to the Great Life!

I love books as you already know.

Always want to read the newest self-improvement books, especially ones on the topics of greatness!

There is a book that is being released on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 that I’ve already pre-ordered from Amazon.

As you already know my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom: A Recreational Therapist’s System on How You Can Become Great at Anything was designed to help you to become great. Believe that hidden secrets on success are buried in books. However, you must be an avid reader to discover all the wisdom in books.

You CAN experience a truly GREAT life – Dr. Bryan and Dr. White show you how.

“The 5 Keys To The Great Life” is for anyone who has ever asked themselves: “Is this REALLY all there is to my life – is THIS as great as it gets?

This book will totally change your perspective on your world and on the field of self-change … and open your eyes to just how great you and your life can become!

Don’t miss out on your chance to get it at this terrific introductory price … along with all the great gifts they’ve set aside for you.

Get all the details on Feb. 23, 2010, at this link:

http://www.the5keys.com/promo

Or, if you can't wait -- like me, then go ahead and pre-order your copy from Amazon today: