Geographist

Do you ever think about what you think about?  I don't think my dog spends much time thinking about much besides food and squirrels...and maybe how he'd like to finally catch a squirrel so he could have it for food (and that's never gonna happen).  Do you think it matters if you think about the right things?  I do!  What you think about most tends to affect the things you do, which eventually determines what kind of person you become.  And how do you control your thoughts?  Through words!  Our brains have a lot to do, but fortunately for us they usually do a pretty good job of handling everything.  A mentor of mine once compared the brain to a 3-pound computer that never stopped running as long as a person was alive.  Scientists have shown that even when we're asleep our brains keep working hard - in fact, the important work they do then is one of the big reasons we need to get so much sleep!  If the brain is the computer, then our mouth...

The lowest point on the surface of the earth is also one of the saltiest - the Dead Sea, a lake situated on the border of Israel and Jordan, sits over 1300' below sea level.  Because of its extremely low elevation, no streams or rivers are able to flow out of the lake, creating what scientists call a "closed basin".  That means whatever salt (or any other debris) a stream brings with it will stay in the lake, long after the water itself has evaporated away.  The salt may be valuable to companies that mine and sell the stuff, but it certainly does not lend itself to supporting life...which might have contributed to the name of this famous body of water.  As we each try to figure out how to have our own better life, we can also learn a lesson about how important it is to focus on more than just receiving.  We have to learn how to give back . Up to this point, our topics have been mainly focused on what we can receive.  Mentors and authors, as we have discusse...

I never enjoyed reading when I was younger.  Why?  Because I'm extremely competitive and my brother was better at it. That's right, I don't like doing things if I'm not able to be the best at it.  My older brother could finish huge novels over a weekend, but I always seemed to fall asleep or get distracted whenever I tried to read for more than 5 minutes at a time.  Imagine how I felt when one of my mentors told me that the saying "readers are leaders" was true!  I remember my dad handing me the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki when I was heading back to college after a weekend at home.  When I told him I didn't really like to read, he suggested that the alternative was to "stay stupid".  As someone who had gotten out of high school early and had already finished an associate degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA before the age of 18, that caught my attention.  Clearly my dad did not question my ability to think, but he knew something I hadn...

Most people, as they get older, can easily remember someone who made a big impact on them as young people.  Often a teacher or a coach from childhood, those who take time to pour a little bit of themselves into others are never forgotten.  But sometimes people don't realize how important it is to have someone help them reach certain personal goals.  For our chat today, let's call all of these helpful people mentors .  I played basketball while growing up.  For eight years I was a part of several teams with various levels of success - for instance, one never won a game and another reached a state championship game.  When playing sports, it's easy to recognize that your coach is the one with the ideas that the team should follow.  The same thing often applies to music directors, school teachers, and church leaders.  When someone has taken time to study the best ways of doing something, they're much easier to follow.  But it's not always that ea...

When I began writing this blog, do you think I knew all the things that would be included over the years?  No way!  But do you think I had any plans?  Absolutely.  That's because whenever you start a journey it's always a good idea to know where you want to wind up.  The things you want to do are what we call your goals .  My interest in maps began when I was young, as my family used to take a lot of road trips.  A good road map will include your starting point and a destination, as well as different options on how to go from one to the other.  When you start thinking about what you want to do, you'll need to be honest with where you really are, and then have a good idea of where you're going (or what you're doing).  Most success experts agree that there's no point starting without a destination.  It's like playing basketball with no goals - after all the dribbling and passing, how do you know who wins? So we need a destination.  Bu...