Preparation Meets Opportunity
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin Franklin Over the years, I’ve talked with thousands of students concerning their preparation for getting good grades, balancing their schedule via academics and sports, as well as trying to follow their parent’s and or guardians’ leadership. Some years ago, I heard a sermon on The […]
The Hidden Enemy – 7 Phases of Dementia
Do you know any individual and or family that has been negatively impacted by dementia? It is becoming more prevalent on a global scale. In 2019, 1 in every 8 people, or 970 million people around the world were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders the most common (1). In 2020, […]
Happy Easter and/or ‘Resurrection Day’ Weekend
This was the first Easter Sunday without our mother, Celia. Wow! As I was riding my mountain bike early Easter morning, my mind and heart were swirling with emotions: relief she is at peace, sad she’s not here on earth, and motivated to keep making a positive difference in my classroom of life! Easter was […]
Venice Book Festival: Wind, Laughter, and My LIAC Team
The Venice, Florida Book Festival was my first event Promoting our book, “Bloom Where You Are.’ It started great by meeting several individuals and authors from around the world. I was thoroughly enjoying myself until… The dreaded wind started to pick up! As papers started to flutter in the wind, I could see other authors’ […]
Dr. Ali: ‘Our Influence On Others’
Who are you influencing in your classroom of life or sphere of influence? Webster’s definition of influence is the power or capacity of an effect in indirect or untangled ways; sway or the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. Is your sphere of influence […]
Learn, Dream BIGGER & Achieve
Have you ever felt discouraged or overwhelmed in a particular season or time in your life? I have … It’s not fun. Flashing back to August of 2021, I was going through a difficult time adjusting to moving back to Upstate N.Y. to assist my 86-year-old mother, Celia who was struggling with how to cope with vascular […]
Be a Victor NOT a Victim
Over the past several weeks in and out of the classroom setting, I’ve listened to students’ and adults’ issues concerning how they were and or are victims of their circumstances in life. Are you struggling with this negative mindset as well? I fall into this ‘mindset trap’ as well now and then but I always […]
Overcoming Trauma
Over the past two months, I’ve counseled several students on how they could cope with the trauma in their lives and conferred with their parents concerning the strategies I modeled for them. Some of the strategies I implemented with my students: They slowly will blow bubbles with their eyes closed and I tell them a […]
Overcoming FEVR (pronounced as fever)
My nephew, Lucas who I call ‘Lucasluv’ (i.e., my password to my online computer portal in college for 5 years so it would remind me to pray for him) was born with FEVR. How many of you reading this blog have heard of FEVR before today? What in the world is FEVR? Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR, […]
The Classroom Corner #4 – Underdogs Overcoming Depression
I was counseling a student who was struggling with depression and he didn’t believe he could graduate from middle school. I could relate because I struggled with having confidence in myself throughout middle school (i.e., Junior High) as a result of not being able to read or comprehend core class content well. How about you? […]