Commitment

Commitment is what transfers a promise into reality.  

 

It is words that speak boldly of your intentions and the actions that speak louder than the words. 

 

It is making time when there is none—coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. 

 

Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things forever. 

 

It is the daily triumph of integrity. 

Teams and Families

I recently read a website/newspaper column (The Tunneyside of Sports, 27 July 2015, #551) written by an acquaintance of mine, Jim Tunney, a motivational author and speaker and former National Football League referee.  Dr. Tunney and I have many similarities in professional training and background.  We have spoken of our mutual goals of helping others achieve theirs.  He wrote in this article of some of the similarities in composition of human functional units of teams and families.  Similarities, I might add, can be found to great functional advantage in the animal kingdom—from elephants to ants. (“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. . . .” (Proverbs 6:6)

I liked Jim’s definition of a T*E*A*M*-- “Together, Everyone Accomplishes More.  In order for a family to do that, each member must do his or her part to live and work together.” He used examples of the team/family concept from sports teams to bands and orchestras, to cast members in a play.

 

Even though each individual in a family, sports team, choir, platoon, etc. is unique and may have different abilities and functions, they must subordinate their role and adapt it to the larger goal of the unit. In doing so, the unit moves forward toward its goal and each individual who makes contribution toward that movement finds satisfaction. 

 

How much better families, work crews, production lines, organizations of all kinds would work if each person would, as the Boy Scouts motto proclaims, “do your best to do your duty to God and your country [or family, or church, or class, etc.].”

I recently heard an interview on N.P.R. with a number of retired General Motors assembly line workers and supervisors.  They related that because management at G.M. in the 1970’s and ‘80’s did not have the teamwork vision as did the Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda, they lost market share to the Japanese that they have never recovered.  The Japanese simply made better cars—as they do now. 

 

Teamwork, and recognition of those who make up the team, from the least to the greatest, and their individual contribution, is the way to go. It is a 'win-win.' 

Great Books

In recent years I have bought very few books; I have enough unread books to last me long after my eyes give out.  Nevertheless, I know that I will accumulate more because I continue to frequent bookstores and libraries and the titles and reviews look so interesting.  Moreover, scholarship has not ceased and neither has my need to read. Furthermore, people who know of my bent to read have graciously given me many books or steered me to their favorites as I have asked them of theirs.

 

This is, indeed, the information age—and could be the age of wisdom if we would partake of that portion of the knowledge and information that is out there that truly is wise. 

 

A book that I did buy recently and which I am having a hard time putting down is David Brooks's The Road to Character.  How I wish I had his insights and examples of the pattern of character development thirty years ago when I wrote my doctoral dissertation, Character Education: The Development of Moral and Spiritual Values. . . Much of what I have learned over a lifetime pertaining to living a good life is distilled into this one insightful book. 

 

I have part of the Great Books library and all of the Harvard Classics, (and read many, but not all of them) but I would assert that Mr. Brooks’ book ranks up with the best of them if wisdom is the criterion.  Though a modern liberal critic might not call it a ‘great book,’ I would certainly call it a ‘good book’ –which may be more important.  To paraphrase Alexis de Tocqueville, “When a great nation [book] ceases to be good [moral] it ceases to be great.” Since the ‘brook’s’ running, drink from it.  And that brings to mind the observation that few who have seriously read what for centuries has been called ‘the Good book,’ would quarrel with its greatness or its goodness.

Lastly, if I had this book when I was rearing my teenagers I would have done all in my power to persuade them to add this book to their ‘must read’ list.  Not only would the insights of the author and the supporting examples of the people who he wrote about have been helpful in crafting a good life, but the generation gap would have been narrowed.