Leadership Values
According to Merriam – Webster, leadership is defined as the capacity to lead, the office or position of a leader, and the act or instance of leading. I was counseling a group of students last week who asked me, ‘What does leadership mean to you?’ My answer to the group of aspiring leaders was to […]
Mindset Is Everything
Are you stuck in a dead-end job and or a profession you just can’t find or salvage the passion for? Maybe you need a change? How is your mindset? A negative mindset will continually decrease your confidence level to where you’re afraid to ‘step out of your comfort zone’ and opportunities will be missed. A […]
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 […]