During a semi-pro basketball game, a referee by the name of John Sculli, had a sudden and severe heart attack. His type of heart attack actually has a nickname – the Widow Maker – because only 1% survive such an episode. However, what put him in the 1% was a basketball player from Toledo who had just graduated from Firefighter ... Read More The post Basketball Player Saves a Referee’s Life appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

In a recent interview between Dr. Phil and Joe Rogan, Dr. Phil spoke about the negative consequences of cell phones and social media. In a nutshell, he argues that smart phones are the biggest societal change since the Industrial Revolution. He notes two huge societal changes since the advent of smart phones in 2008. People no longer walk around with ... Read More The post Are You Watching People Live Their Lives or Are You Living Your Life? appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

Pete Rose died today at the age of 83. For those who never saw him play baseball, he was the epitome of all that was good in the game of baseball. Fathers told their sons, “That’s how you do it. That’s how you play the game.” His nickname was “Johnny Hustle.” He gave it everything he had on every play ... Read More The post Pete Rose Dies – A Lesson on Character and Legacy appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

Angela Duckworth is a former teacher and psychologist. She has studied West Point Cadets, teachers, students, spelling B contestants and salespeople. Her main research question is, “Who is successful here and why?” She discovered that success had little to do with a person’s IQ, looks or personality. Her finding is that “grit” is the factor that determines the level of ... Read More The post Defining Grit appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

The Rule of 100 states that if you spend 100 minutes a week focused on one thing, you will be better than 95% of the world at that one thing. That amounts to 18 minutes a day for one year. It doesn’t matter if that is learning a foreign language, playing the guitar or playing a sport. Joe’s Perspective: My ... Read More The post The Rule of 100: Getting Great At Anything appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

There is a high school in Dubuque, Iowa that provides PE credit to students who do yard work for senior citizens and disabled people in the community.  Instead of playing sports or doing laps in gym class, these students volunteer 2 hours a week to help those who could use the help. Joe’s Perspective: Some people love PE class, others ... Read More The post Doing Yard Work to Earn PE Credit appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

This is a simple 60-second video that captures the truth about life, delivered by Coach Saban. He contends that “Life owes you nothing. Nobody owes you nothing.” Every day you must earn it. If you have talent, but you aren’t disciplined or your don’t focus or pay attention to detail, you will end up with nothing. So, it is incumbent ... Read More The post You Are Entitled To… Nothing appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

Hello and welcome. If you are reading this blog, this means that you are in a class where a teacher is using the Character Development and Leadership Curriculum.  This program is designed to help you develop who you are as a person and to improve your leadership capabilities. This program should be fun and engaging. The blog post is one ... Read More The post Welcome – 2024 Blog Begins appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

This is the first blog post of the 2024 school year. Typically, this is about a current event related to sports, but today I just want to hear from you.  I also want to introduce you to this program – an app-based program we call the Student Athlete Program.  This program is designed to improve the character, sportsmanship and leadership of ... Read More The post Welcome – 2024 Sports Blog appeared first on Character and Leadership ..read more

I have to be honest.  I have no idea who this guy is. My guess is he is a special forces guy in the military. My guess is he is part of an elite fighting force. My guess is he has had more training and leadership development than any of us will ever receive. Given all that, he says there are three things that he looks for in a teammate. 1) Dependability – be where you say you are going to be when you say you are going to be, 2) Skilled – that you are very good at completing the task that you are charged to do, & 3) Selflessness – making sure the needs of others are taken care of befor ..read more