I grew up in church, and still try to go regularly. It defines a great part of who I am. Now, I know that church isn’t for everyone. But having the belief in something greater than yourself, no matter what it is, needs to be there with you as you walk the path.

I heard an old story about a couple of fraternity brothers, Sam and John, who were driving back to campus during a terrible snowstorm. Visibility was pretty much nothing. Roads were slick as glass. It was terrible.

Sometimes, you’re gonna get lost. It will happen. My sense of direction is notoriously terrible and before Google Maps, I could get lost in the parking lot of Fayette Mall! But James Glenn Caudil once told me that you’re never really lost until you run out of gas.

Sometimes, things will not go your way, even when it should have. It doesn’t matter that you put in hours of work, did the research, made the connections or followed the instructions to a “T,” sometimes you will not win. And it will be devastating.

I’ve expressed my love for pro wrestling before. And growing up, there were few bad guys more devious than “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase. His catchphrase, “Everybody’s got a price!” with that maniacal laugh is as much a part of my childhood as He-Man and Count Chocula.

My high school principal, Mr. Shepherd, was one of the best educators I ever knew. Most school years, he would start by having the students gather in the cafeteria in what would become a lecture on life lessons.

This is gonna sound old-fashioned, at it probably is. But whenever you go to someone's home, bring something. Even if they tell you not to.

When I was growing up, we had several goldfish. Never over two at a time, and never for very long. My mom would ALWAYS stress that my sister and I not over feed them because “They won’t remember that they just ate and will eat themselves to death!” Everyone thought that a goldfish’s brain would reset every 3 seconds, and it was just taken as fact.

Tell people when they’ve done a good job. We don’t do it enough.

There is an old proverb that says the wisest of men will plant trees he knows will never offer him shade. I love this because it speaks to purpose. Why do we do the things we do?

People will show you who they really are. Mark Twain once said “Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often.” I could write a dozen cookbooks on how to be the greatest chef in the world. But if my steaks are burnt, my eggs come out greasy and I under salt the green beans, I am not showing that I can back up what I’m selling.

This is one of the hardest lessons to learn, but also one of the most powerful. People will judge you. They will talk about you behind your back. Some will celebrate your wins to your face and cut you to the quick the moment you turn away.

Understand that you will need help along the way. But there will also be times where you will find yourself alone. Personal growth and goal setting are very personal processes, and no-one can do the work for you.

I am horrible with names. Faces I’m pretty good at remembering, but Dyslexia, Diabetes and Concussions have converged in my brain, causing me to lose names almost as soon as I hear them.

One key to success is to become task oriented. When you have clearly defined goals and objectives, it’s easier to create steps in order to achieve them.

Open doors! I mean this both literally and figuratively.

There’s so much wrong with the world, that we have to celebrate our wins; big or small. Feasts and festivals have been a part of the human existence since we crawled out of the caves. It’s a part of who we are.

You can please some people all the time, and maybe all the people some of the time, but never all of the people all the time.

Ruth Ann Collett is one of the best teachers I ever had. She was a science teacher by trade and a philosopher at heart. I got the chance to work with Mrs. Collett years later when I was teaching. She is a remarkable lady who taught me a lot.

I have loved professional wrestling for as long as I can remember. As a student of Communications and Media, there are countless examples of how this modern art form is a perfect microcosm for our society at large.