1. I wish for my son to have an easy transition into his new school in January and that he can learn to love school again.
2. I wish for my brothers to find the jobs of their dreams (or ones that pay well enough to create new dreams).
3. I wish for my mother to have a successful transition into retirement.
4. I wish candy to be discovered to be a super food that we should eat more of.
5. I wish that people would step down off their high horses and stop judging others and start embracing and learning from each other’s differences.
6. I wish that Americans would have good choices for President.
7. I wish that climate change was positive for the planet.
8. I wish for someone to create a gluten free pizza that is as good at the real thing. Same for Beer, but I know that is beyond a Christmas wish, that gets into miracle status.
9. I wish for more quality time with friends. Where does the time go?
10. I wish for those who don’t know Christ get to know him.
11. I wish for the NY Giants to run the table, make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. Sorry, maybe this should have been a Christmas miracle posting.
12. I wish for my wife to daily feel how proud I am of her and how awesome I think she is. I guess my wish is that I stay this lucky 🙂

What would higher education look like if we scrapped the existing model and started over from scratch?  Here are some things I think may change….

• Employability of graduates would become the primary outcome.  A well-rounded education is great, but if it doesn’t help/prepare students for careers, we are missing the point.
• Tuition would be proportionate to the salaries in the field of study.
• Apprenticeships would be a requirement of graduation.  Internships have become more about exposure to a field while apprenticeships are hands-on experience in the field.
• General education requirements would be reduced.  I know some would say they could go away.  I am not one of those.  Too narrow a focus keeps thinking inside the box.  Not to mention that too many college students graduate without the ability to write well as it is.  Let’s not add to the problem.
• Everyone would learn to dance.  Just kidding.  Just checking if you are actually reading this.
• Developmental education would be accelerated and a shared responsibility with secondary education.  We need to better prepare students before they get to college.  Once they are there, if the need for developmental education still exists, we need to find ways to quickly prepare them for college level work.
• We would focus less on brick and mortar and spend more on technology infrastructure.  By leveraging technology and elearning, there is less need for additional classroom space.
• Learning skilled trades would be as highly valued as a college degree.  This is an under appreciated aspect of what community colleges deliver.
• Tenure would go away and faculty would be evaluated each year like other industry employees are.  Faculty should be afforded academic freedom, but academic freedom should not allow for poor performance in the classroom.
• Adjunct faculty would be held to the same academic excellence that is expected from full-time faculty.  No more warm bodies.

Even in a reboot of higher education, there is no “quick fix” or easy solution.  I do believe that change is needed to better address the future needs of the world.

10 things I have learned from international business travel.

1. There is an art to packing. If you roll your clothes, you will fit more but iron more.
2. The carry-on saves the stress of wondering if your bag will arrive with you.
3. You will always pack more than you need in the beginning.  If you travel with seasoned business travelers, pick their brains about it. Most hotels offer laundry service. No need to pack for every day of your trip.  Pay close attention to what you use and don’t use on the trip. It will help you when you pack for the next trip.
4. Airline food is about as delicious as a sandwich from a gas station.  Bring something on with you.
5. Pack workout clothes and use them.  You need to work off that hotel buffet.
6. Movies can help the trip go by quickly. If you travel frequently, be sure to rent some movies for your tablet or phone as you will have seen all that the airline has to offer.
7. Get access to the business center (if the hotel has one). Lobbies can be loud to work in and you will want to get out of your room. You will have access to beverages all day, typically a happy hour and sometimes breakfast. It is worth the cost.
8. Audio is better than video when calling home. When I say better, I mean quality. You always want to see your family, but video uses more bandwidth and can make the conversations choppy.
9. Building your frequent flyer miles is great, but fewer connections are better than frequent flyer miles. I prefer the most direct route vs. building miles. If you travel to the same places often, find the airline that offers the best routes and build your miles through them.
10. It is always amazing how many people who don’t travel internationally will tell you not to drink the water! LOL

• Why we outgrow curiosity
• Why the best people don’t step up to be President
• How much is enough
• If people know that irregardless is not a word
• Why violence seems to be the answer
• Why people don’t like to read
• What happened to the middle class
• Why a degree is needed to do entry level jobs
• What the challenge is with there, their and they’re
• Why beauty is only skin deep but ugly is to the bone
• If there should be an age limit for Congress and Senate
• Why you think we want to see pictures of your meals
• When the lines between democracy and socialism became so blurred
• Why kids can fight in war are 18 but not drink a beer until they are 21
• Why a multibillion dollar organization like the NFL hires part-time referees
• If one size really fits all
• Why we think standardized testing will fix the education problem
• If any article of clothing has stayed in style as long as jeans
• Why it is so easy to gain weight but so difficult to lose it
• What your one wish would be if you found a genie in a bottle

1. There is greater value in what you have to say when you are not always saying something.
2. You don’t always need to correct people. Sometimes you can let things go.
3. Great friendships don’t last without effort.
4. Actions speak louder than words. Especially with working out. 🙂
5. Be smart more often than a smart ass.
6. If you are waiting on the right opportunity, many great ones will pass you by.
7. Life in education may make you rich, but not in a financial way.
8. Just letting your work speak for itself is not enough. You need to speak for it.
9. There is no such thing as a “self made man.” Someone, somewhere helped them.
10. If you curse in front of your kids, they WILL repeat it at some point. It sounds cute unless your wife hears it. LOL!

A college degree is frequently promoted as a great avenue for upward mobility. avenue. What this means is that an individual has greater earning potential with a college degree than without one. This argument instills in people that money is the most important thing to value. The key reason to get a college degree becomes income potential.

There are many arguments beyond income potential for someone to pursue a college education. Discussing the validity of those reasons are topics for another day. Seeking a college degree based on income potential is the one that is troubling me.

Currently there is over 1 trillion dollars in student loan debt in this country. A college graduate may have a higher income, but the take home pay is immediately decreased by his or her student loan payment. In addition, college grads tend to have double the amount of overall debt than those without a college degree thanks to new car payments, credit card debt and mortgages.   So, while college grads may earn more money, their net worth is less. See more here:

Universities have moved away from talking about the four-year degree. Why? Well, it is because the 4-year graduation rates nationally are sad.  Universities focus in on 6-year graduation rates.  Community college 2-year graduation rates are worse. The colleges now talk in terms of credits needed. They spend thousands of dollars on retention solutions and create committees upon committees to address the issues. Is it working? I’m not talking about moving the needle one or two percent. I mean really working. This added time is not free. This adds to overall student debt and delays their start into a career. I remember a time when it was a joke that people spend that long in college. Now it is the norm.

Maybe it is time to ask the tough question. Should some of these students be in college? Maybe they would be better served to learn a trade, do an apprenticeship, and become a skilled trades person.   They would be able to avoid taking on student loan debt and start their careers. If it is about money, the median salary for a plumber is $50,000. Electricians make even more.

Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs/Somebody’s Gotta Do It guy) has been on this bandwagon for quite some time.   He has the Mike Rowe WORKS Foundation. I am jumping in with him. I’m not saying don’t go to college. You can also learn trades at colleges.  What I am saying is that there are fantastic alternatives to college where people forge their path to success.

Growing up I had a view of smart that I didn’t fit into. It was focused around textbook learning and teacher praise. My view of it created a clear divide between those who were and those who weren’t. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side.

I enjoyed high school. I had great friends and played sports. I wasn’t one to take school that seriously. I never had a teacher push me to be better, they just put me into a category and let it be. I even had a “Guidance” Counselor tell me that I shouldn’t waste my time applying to 4-year colleges. I would never get in.

It is a good thing that I was stubborn because I applied to many 4-year colleges and was only rejected by one. Sorry, Mr. Tofte, but you were wrong.

After I completed my undergraduate degree I took a year off then, started my master’s degree.   It was in my master’s degree that I really started to love the idea of learning. This love of learning has followed me throughout my career.

Throughout my career people have told me how smart I am. I always deflect the praise and say, “I am not smart, I am a classic overachiever.”   This is really because my view of smart still went back to the textbook thing.

Since my son started school a few years ago, my view on smart has changed. While I still think people who excel in traditional learning as smart, I also believe that traditional learning holds brilliant minds back. Learning can happen in many different ways. For some of us, the idea of reading a textbook makes our palms sweat. We are active learners who excel with hands-on projects, learning by trial and error, and reading things that interest us.

We have a tendency to measure everyone the same.   Is a fish less great because it can’t climb a tree as well as a monkey? By doing this, we have categorized people incorrectly. We stifle creativity. We derail dreams. We set the bar too low.

The art of smart comes with the idea that harnessing how you learn and applying that to your life, will allow you to achieve great things.  It allows you to embrace the being smart. It allows people to see you in a different light.

Go get your Smart On!

Have you ever been somewhere that you say, “this is a good place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here?” I bet you are picturing places in your mind right now. I know I am.   What is it about those places that make you not want to live there?

There are various reasons why people might say this. It could be weather, lack of jobs, lack of “things” to do, too small, too big, etc. What I am trying to figure out is why more people don’t feel this way about The Comfort Zone.

The Comfort Zone is a great place to visit, but nobody should live there. The CZ is too easy. It is a place for rest. According to the Oxford Dictionary, comfort means “a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.”  Everyone needs to spend time here, but should want more than comfort.   This is a great place to be after a significant time climbing the mountain. The key is to use it as a resting place, not a home. The summit still awaits you.

The greatest challenge to overcome the CZ is our own minds. The CZ lulls us to sleep. Makes us complacent. Encourages us to be average. It warns us of the dangers if you step outside of it. It makes us feel safe, secure, and comfortable.  The CZ is not a perfect place, but because it may be easier, it is understandable why people may want to stay there.

Why is this a place we shouldn’t want to stay? Simple. Nothing great has ever come from the comfort zone.   Some good things, yes, but nothing great. Innovation has never come from inside the CZ. Innovation comes to pull people out of it.

Life is to be lived. Life should be an adventure. The CZ should serve as the place to rest before we take the next hill.   The CZ looks different for everyone. Like a fingerprint, they are all different. They key is to stretch yourself.

Here are some ideas to get yourself out of your CZ:

• Define what your CZ actually looks like.
• What will your life be like in 5, 10, 15 years, if you say in the CZ?
• Take a risk. You don’t need to tackle large ones at first.  Start small.
• Make a fool of yourself.   Forget for once what people think of you and enjoy yourself.
• Face one of your fears. Just pick one and conquer it.
• Set a goal and actually work tirelessly to achieve it.
• Spend more time with family and friends who are adventurous.
• Eat a cookie. I’m not sure if it will help, but sounds delicious right now.

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey

1. You regularly aim at a moving target – This is what we are doing until we change it.
2. Your opinion on what is happening actually matters – You better have one.
3. Everyone is sold out for the mission of the company – This doesn’t mean however that everyone is on the same page. See #1
4. Your job focus changes regularly – This is more than wearing multiple hats, this is about working to ensure success.
5. You are excited about the possibilities that are ahead of you and it keeps you awake at night. – Dream big or go home.
6. Emails come in at all hours of the night – Especially when you are working for a global startup.
7. Being nimble is not an option, but a norm – If you can’t embrace change, working for a startup may not be the best place for you.
8. There is something to learn from every decision, deal, sale, etc. – Everything you do you learn from.
9. You are surrounded by super motivated and intelligent people – Everyone wants the team to win!
10. The work you do has a major impact on the success of the company – If not, you will be looking for a new job 🙂

These are a baker’s dozen lessons I have learned from being a parent that translate to all aspects of my life.

• The louder I am, the less I am heard.
• Words are the most dangerous thing in the house (parent to child AND child to parent).
• Alone time is something to cherish. Even if it is when you use the loo.
• Dinner at the dinner table is really about stopping the rush of life and spending time with those you care about.   Better the food, better the dialogue.  Seriously.  Oh, wait, if the food is really bad that works too.
• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are manmade ideas. Soup for breakfast is just fine. Quit judging me.
• Laughter is truly the best medicine. Well, unless you are sick. Really, don’t try to laugh it off, go to the doctor!
• Vacations create amazing memories. No matter how much you spend, it will be the little things about these times together that you will remember forever.
• Parent Of The Year Award is an elusive devil. I like my chances for next year. Maybe the year after that. We will see how January goes.
• Quality time will never surpass quantity time with family. More is always better. Quality is subjective. Quantity is measured by the plethora of treasured memories.
• Boys mature much slooooooower than girls. My guess is by 40 years or so. I think this is really why women have maternal instincts.
• Just when you think you have it all figured out, the rules change.
• Working should be about more than making money to pay the bills. It should be fulfilling. While this is not directly about parenting, it is something I am instilling in my son.   I want him to know it is okay to have it all.
• The greatest and most challenging job I will ever have is being a dad.   I am just grateful for the opportunity.