More about the speech

I've been working on my speech a lot this week. It's showed me about how leaders need to be 100 percent if they are going to lead a group of people. If you're going to follow someone you have to believe in what they're trying to tell you and that's hard to do when they don't show that they're fully committed. So be the best you can be and take advantage of the resources given to you to succeed!

Guest Speaker Mr. Atkinson

Yesterday in class we had Mr. Atkinson as our guest speaker. He talked about how fear of failure can paralyze you from ever taking risks. He said that leadership begins in the dark where no one else can see you. So leadership isn't a thing that is learned in public, leadership skills have to be learned. If your pride is left unchecked then in the end it can ultimately destroy you. You are a leader worth following if you have integrity and patience with the people that you want to lead. Also, leadership must be something earned, it's not going to be appointed or given to you.

Persuasive speech

The persuasive speech project has turned out to be difficult for me. I had a hard time finding a subject that interested me and that I could work into leadership. Fritz finally helped me find "dietary supplements". He said to use the idea of a sports conference where I'm talking to other coaches about motivating athletes. In order for us to expect the best from our athletes we need to ourselves be the best. We need to push ourselves and use all the resources given to us to succeed. 

90/10 Principle

Yesterday we had Mr. Jepson as our guest speaker. He talked about the 90/10 principle. That states that 10 percent of our lives can't be controlled, but 90 percent can be. This really started setting in with me last night at the game. For the most part we couldn't control the loss, but what  we can control is what happens next. We can control that we're going to practice harder and prepare better for next week. In the huddle last night Coach Ritchie said that loosing isn't bad, what's bad is when you don't pick yourself up after the loss. I agree with what he said a lot. So lets use that 90 percent of what we can control and get better!

Seeing Things Differently

What influences how I see things? I think that the kind of environment we're in helps to influence us one way or another. If we're in a positive environment then we are more likely to see situations as positive, where on the other hand if you're in a negative environment then you might see things in a more negative light. The friends you hang out with can also help to influence you, whether positively or negatively. How you're raised also kind of goes with your environment but it can leave a more lasting impact on you. If your parents are always negative around you then you're more likely to be negative when you're older. So be as positive as you can be so that you don't have a bad influence on others.

Guest Speaker

The other day in classs we had a guest speaker. He talked a lot about the qualities that companies want when they're hiring people. He said that we have to make smart risks, but not just leave it at that, we have to learn from the mistakes we may make through those risks. He also said that we have to respect everyone in the company, no matter how big or small their role is. I think that's the same with life, we have to respect everyone with the same amount of respect that the next guy gets. Another thing he talked about was always jumping at opportunities. Also, take the initiative with things. Don't wait to be told to do a task, do it before someone says something about it. I think this weeks speakers were both very good.

Frame

Yesterday in class we talked some more about the frame principle. Fritz told us to use the words, "Perceive, Purpose, Plan, and Pursue." Then he gave us a situation to think about and to work out using these ideas. We had the situation of a captain of a team being late to practice and how we would deal with that. We came up with some ideas, for "Perceive" we said to have them realize that the mistake affects everyone on the team, not just them. In "Purpose" we said that you should get to practices on time, in "Plan" they could leave earlier to be at practice on time, and on "Pursue" that's our final goal, the place that we are striving to achieve. So, I plan on applying this the next time I am in a situation like the captain was in the example.

Tower

The other day in class right away Fritz told us that we had 5 minutes to build a tower with limited supplies. I thought that this was a good project because it showed us our natural leadership abilities. Mine was I sort of took the initiative and got the ball rolling on things. I started the talking with ideas of how we could build this tower. It also showed me the abilities of the other people in my group.
I liked this activity because we didn't have time to mess around, we had to act right away. So all in all good job with the project Fritz.