Comment

Comment by Norman Leach on August 23, 2010 at 2:01am

Tom

Thanks for the suggestion.I continue to work on the seminar but time is quickly running out and I have to take it in front of an audience

Comment by Tom Struckmeyer on August 22, 2010 at 9:02pm

Try Semper Fi Business Leadership the MArine Corps Way. He focuses on limits ofcontrol focusing on the three big issues and delegate delegate delegate/ There are always of cours the Marine Corps Leadership principles and the seven troop leading steps as well as the OODA loop if you want to get down inthe weeds... Hope that helps..

Comment by Rabbi on May 24, 2010 at 11:56pm

B'H

When I was young I solo climbed and jumped off of everything that I thought I could survive. I went into areas far too dangerous and sought out situations that were life and death for no better reason than to test myself. That was 30 to 50 years ago. Now I watch my children and thank G that they are not as long term foolish as I was. I have since jumped from planes and rock climbed to dizzying heights but always with the appropriate safety. I have ridden motorcycles and danced Sundance with the Lakota but always with appropriate learning and eyes wide open. I still carry the pains and injuries of my younger days, the days when I did not consider the consequences. Every morning I wake up with aches and pains from ancient injuries. I carry those with me every waking moment. Sometimes I wish that when I was younger I had thought about living to this age. But I believe that everything in life is a test and a lesson. When we are in school we study our lessons and take our tests. But in the real world, tests come first. If we survive the test and if we are wise enough, we learn the lesson. So it goes.

I doubt that the man in your story thought that he was going to die. I am quite sure that the guide who was with him advised him not to go. That should have been a clue.

Now I have adult children. I am lucky that they turned out wiser than their father. One is off to Israel and the other to Manhattan this year. Though I will worry unreasonably about them, my rational side believes that they will not do the crazy things that I did. They have made for great stories over the years and much pain and discomfort. I was lucky, I am still here. Lucky is good, smart is better.

Comment by Norman Leach on May 24, 2010 at 8:49pm

Good Evening Gentlemen:

A friend of mine recently sent me a video that was made in 1975 for an insurance settlement case. This guy is on a tourist safari in Africa. To get a better picture of a pride of lions he leaves the safety of his car and, over the protests of his wife moves in to get a better picture. Within a minute or so the guy is luncheon meat for four or five lions. All of this happens in front of his wife and children.

At what point did we turn off the survival instinct? I skydive and have done some silly things over time. However, I can honestly say I have never done anything that started out as life threatening. This guy was an idiot.

As an Emergency Medical Tech I have been at a number of fatal car accident scenes but not one of those people started the day out saying I am going to do something so dangerous I will die. The guy with the lions did.

Have we become so inured to danger that we simply ignore it? Or do we just not think bad things can happen.
Warriors risk their lives all the time – but it is a calculated risk with a reasonable return. For too many it is about ignoring the risk. And before you say it it does clean out the gene pool but did his two kids really need to see dad ripped to shreds?

I truly worry about our society.

Comment by Norman Leach on May 20, 2010 at 10:19pm

MIckey

Any suggestions on titles to look for?

Norman

Comment by M Saxton on May 20, 2010 at 10:18pm

The US ARMY rangers and the MARINES have some great books on leadership.

Comment by Norman Leach on May 18, 2010 at 12:56am

Sorry I have been AWOL. The joys of trying to be a businessman, warrior and father of two young daughters.

I will be more active on the Art of Manliness from now on.

I am now working on a presentation fora major business conference on Leadership. My topic is "Building High Performance Teams - Lessons Learned from the World's Most Dangerous Professions. Anyone who might point me in the direction of good research would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to reconnecting with all of you.