John Farrell is Rider University’s College of Business Administration’s Interim Assistant Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs and the Director of the Center for the Development of Leadership Skills. Today’s message is dedicated to him.

Let’s face it, communication is changing. We talk to people via text messaging. People are getting emails on their phones. Children go into convulsions if you take their cell phone away. They are even texting during practices and competitions!

Everybody has a Blackberry, or should I say Crackberry, since they seem so addicting.
UNPLUG, people! Focus on doing BETTER instead of doing MORE. Stay in the present.

The article below from Yahoo Headlines shows how things are getting out of hand…

CHICAGO – The warning came too late for Barack Obama’s adviser: Don’t walk and text at the same time.

Obama aide Valerie Jarrett fell off a Chicago curb several weeks ago while her thumbs were flying on her Blackberry.

“I didn’t see the sidewalk and I twisted my ankle,” Jarrett said. “It was a nice wake-up call for me to be a lot more careful in the future, because I clearly wasn’t paying attention and I should have.”

Jarrett got off easy and didn’t need medical attention.

But in an alert issued this week, the American College of Emergency Physicians warns of the danger of more serious accidents involving oblivious texters. The ER doctors cite rising reports from doctors around the country of injuries involving text-messaging pedestrians, bicyclists, Rollerbladers, even motorists.

Most involve scrapes, cuts and sprains from texters who walked into lampposts or walls or tripped over curbs.

Still, ER doctors who responded to a recent informal query from the organization reported two deaths, both in California. A San Francisco woman was killed by a pickup truck earlier this year when she stepped off a curb while texting, and a Bakersfield man was killed last year by a car while crossing the street and texting.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has no national estimate on how common texting-related injuries are. But among the reports it has received: A 15-year-old girl fell off her horse while texting, suffering head and back injuries, and a 13-year-old girl suffered belly, leg and arm burns after texting her boyfriend while cooking noodles.

Giancarlo Yerkes texted his way across a busy Chicago street Tuesday and escaped unscathed. But the 30-year-old advertising employee admitted he once walked straight into a stop sign while texting and bumped his head.

Yerkes said that he texts while walking to maximize his time, and that the emergency doctors’ warning probably won’t stop him.

“There’s a lot of things you shouldn’t do — this is another one on my list,” Yerkes said.
Dr. James Adams, chairman of emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said he has treated minor injuries in several texters.
“Common sense isn’t always common,” Adams said.

Sometimes even among doctors.

“I have to admit that I started a text while I was driving and then I said, `This is so stupid,’ so I stopped,” Adams said.

Dr. Patrick Walsh, an emergency physician in Bakersfield, Calif., said he is a texter, too, but tries to remind himself to do it intelligently.

“We think we’re multitasking, but we’re not,” he said. “You’re focusing on one task for a split second, then focusing on another one, and with something moving 40 miles an hour like a car, it just takes a couple of seconds to be hit.”

Walsh, a native of Ireland, said that on a recent visit there he noticed an effective government TV ad campaign against texting and walking, aimed at teenagers.
The message echoes the new advice from U.S. emergency doctors.

“We don’t want to sound like some stern schoolmistress, telling people don’t text on your cell phone,” Walsh said. “But when you’re texting, look around,” he said.
The ER group also says people should never text while driving, and should avoid talking on a cell phone or texting while doing other physical activities, including walking, biking, boating and Rollerblading.

Well, there you have it.

Do yourself a favor and turn your cell phone off, take a walk in nature or do some meditation…

It’ll be okay. Everything will still be there when you get back.

Oh, and don’t forget to look both ways when you text.

Thanks for reading.

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Marc Vecchiolla.

Here’s a new principle I thought of recently…

Focus on “The Way” not “The Win.”

See, too many people focus on winning and I think that’s not a good thing. And when I talk about winning, it’s not just about winning in sports; it’s winning in business, relationships, school – everything.

We all know the fable of the goose that laid golden eggs, right? Stephen Covey uses this metaphor in “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Day after day the goose laid solid gold eggs and the farmer became more and more rich. But then he became more and more greedy and finally cut the goose open to get all the eggs at once. When this happened, there were no eggs to be found and the goose was dead.

If you just focus on winning a tennis match, your form (foundation) will suffer and pretty soon you will develop bad habits. Eventually you will either plateau and not get any better or you will get injured. Winning is the golden egg and your tennis game is the goose.

In business, especially if you are customer service-oriented, if you focus solely on making money (the golden egg), then eventually the goose will die (your customer base).

So instead of focusing on The Win, focus on The Way…

It will get you there.


Thanks for reading.

Tonight: Round 2 of the Cryan Tennis Tournament @ Mercer County Park – Come out and support Ed Tseng and Dan Horowitz at 7:30pm!

If I had just a little bit of wisdom
I should walk the Great Path and fear only straying from
it.
Tough the Way is quite broad
People love shortcuts.

The court is immaculate,
While the fields are overgrown with weeds,
And the granaries are empty.
They wear silk finery,
Carry sharp swords,
Sate themselves on food and drink
Having wealth in excess.
They are called thieving braggarts.

This is definitely not the Way.

-Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Today’s message is especially dedicated to Melanie Guntner in Baltimore.

I recently saw a charm in a catalog and thought it was very clever, as well as inspiring…

Front: “Live the life you love.”

Back: “Love the life you live.”

What are YOU going to do today?


Thanks for reading.

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Hannah McFadden and Colbie Bratli from Baltimore, Maryland.

I will never complain again in my life.

Yesterday I went to Rutgers University to support some athletes. Some amazing athletes. The sports I watched were table tennis and swimming. As I walked up to the table tennis area, I saw a girl walking with a prosthetic leg. And then as I entered the area, I saw the other athletes, most of whom were in wheelchairs.

It was the 2008 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation Junior World Games and the National Junior Disability Championships.

Many of the athletes have spinal injuries, cerebral palsy, visual impairments, amputations, limb deficiencies, or other congenital anomalies. They came from 20 countries, including Kuwait, Brazil, Iran, and New Zealand.

I spoke with the head official, Debbie Armento and she informed me that the athletes were competing in track & field, archery, table tennis, 3-on-3 basketball, power lifting and swimming. And many of the athletes were competing in multiple events!

I spoke with two lovely young athletes, Hannah McFadden (12) and Colbie Bratli (14) from Baltimore, MD after one of their table tennis doubles matches. I couldn’t get over how much fun they were having and cheering on other athletes at the same time. I found out that Hannah and Colbie are not only competing in table tennis but archery, swimming and field! They agreed that the games were exciting, yet they were a bit nervous. This great event allows athletes to reunite with other athletes that they haven’t seen in a while as well as making new ones.

I asked Hannah and Colbie what it took to become a successful athlete and here’s what they had to say:

1. Practice
2. Have fun
3. Concentration

It was amazing what great attitudes all the athletes had and how they are no different than anyone else.

After table tennis, I watched a bit of the swimming.

When I sat down I saw a boy from Mexico was warming up in the pool. He had one and a half arms and half a leg. I was amazed at how well he was swimming. And then he swam up to the side of the pool and did a flip turn! Unbelievable. I will never forget seeing an athlete go up to the side of the pool, get set, and jump in the water and swim – with no legs! I am certain that most of the swimmers could out swim me.

When I watch amazing athletes like that I am obviously inspired and impressed, but it also makes me ask myself the question, “If they can do THIS with a disability, what am I capable of?”

I can still see and hear all the athletes having fun, giving their all and cheering each other on…

We can all learn from them.

Thank you Hannah and Colbie.


Thanks for reading.