Launch Week of 10/4-10/8/2010 Circle Up!

LAUNCH for Tuesday October 5, 2010 Teen Leadership Class THE POWER OF RIGHT CHOICES Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. What will you do for your career? Who will you marry? Where will you live? How much education will you get? What will you do with today? But one of the most important choices you will make is who will you become! Life is not merely a matter of holding and playing a good hand as you would hope to do in a card game. What you start with isn’t up to you. Talent is God-given. Life is playing the hand you have been dealt well. That is determined by your choices. The talent-plus people are the ones who maximize their talent, reach their potential, and fulfill their destiny. I was reading a book by Dr. Seuss to my grandchildren called Oh, The Places You’ll Go! In it, I found a wonderful truth. It said, You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. I believe that with all my heart. My prayer is that you steer yourself in the right direction and make right choices that will empower you to become a talent-plus person, build upon the foundations of your abilities, and live your life to its fullest potential. MAXIMIZE YOUR TALENT BY STEERING YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. Excerpt from the book, The Maxwell Daily Reader, by John C. Maxwell 10/5/10

Circle Up! P.1&2 LAUNCH for Wednesday October 6, 2010 Teen Leadership Class, periods 1 and 2 GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT Too many leaders expect their people to encourage themselves. But most people require outside encouragement to propel them forward. It is vital to their growth. Physician George Adams found encouragement to be so vital to a person’s existence that he called it “oxygen to the soul.” New leaders need to be encouraged. When they arrive in a new situation, they encounter many changes and undergo many changes themselves. Encouragement helps them reach their potential; it empowers them by giving them energy to continue when they make mistakes. Use lots of positive reinforcement with your people. Don’t take acceptable work for granted; thank people for it. Praise a person every time you see improvement. And personalize your encouragement any time you can. Remember, what motivates one person may leave another cold or even irritated. Find out what works with each of your people and use it. UCLA basketball coach John Wooden told players who scored to give a smile, wink, or nod to the player who gave them a good pass. “What if he’s not looking?” asked a team member. Wooden replied, “I guarantee he’ll look.” Everyone values encouragement and looks for it – especially when his leader is a consistent encourager. LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE YOUR TEAM/ FRIENDS TODAY. Excerpt from the book, The Maxwell Daily Reader, by John C. Maxwell 10/6/10

Circle Up! P.4 LAUNCH for Wednesday October 6, 2010 Teen Leadership Class BREAKTHROUGH Every major difficulty you face in life is a fork in the road. You choose which track you will head down, toward breakdown or breakthrough. Dick Biggs, a consultant who helps Fortune 500 companies improve profits and increase productivity, writes that all of us have unfair experiences; as a result, some people merely exist and adopt a “cease and desist” mentality. He continues, One of the best teachers of persistence is your life’s critical turning points. Expect to experience 3-9 turning points or “significant changes” in your life. These transitions can be happy experiences…or unhappy time such as job loss, divorce, financial setbacks, health problems and the death of a loved one. Turning points can provide perspective, which is the ability to view major changes within the larger framework of your lifetime and let the healing power of time prevail. By learning from your turning points, you can grow at a deeper level within your career and life. If you’ve been badly hurt, then start be acknowledging the pain and grieving any loss you may have experienced. Then forgive the people involved – including yourself, if needed. Doing that will help you move on. Just think, today may be your day to turn the hurts of your past into a breakthrough for the future. DON’T ALLOW ANYTHING FROM YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY TO KEEP HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE. Excerpt from the book, The Maxwell Daily Reader, by John C. Maxwell 10/6/10