May your 2015 goals lead to your actions and your actions lead to your dreams.

In May of 2010 I made the decision to begin my first blog. I had 3 goals:

• Experience a new (for me) aspect of social media
• Develop and flesh out new ideas
• Provide something of value—not just another cyber rant.

I believe I have accomplished the first and the second. It is up to you whether I have accomplished the third. My blog posts contain videos, book recommendations and summaries, questions to ponder, and always a takeaway to apply immediately to life.  I have remained true to my commitment to publish one blog post per week. This post marks the 240^th consecutive week.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing.  I would love to hear what you found of value on this blog. And, please feel free to share any ideas you have for future posts.

Image: dan/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For this last-of-the-year post, I have returned to each of the previous 51 posts I have made to this blog in 2014—and provided a statement about each. I have linked each title to the actual blog should you want to read it, re-read it or share it.

Perhaps a nugget or two will provide inspiration. Thank you for your continued support and comments.

All the best to you and your family and your friends as you enjoy a wonderful 2015! May you experience all this wonderful world has to offer in 2015—and beyond.

May your 2015 goals lead to your actions and your actions lead to your dreams.

189. Be Bold. Be Daring. Be Authentic * Be the person you want to be on the way to being the person you want to be!

190. O.I. or R.O.R * R.O.R. (Return on Relationships) trumps R.O.I. (Return on Investment). In fact, effective R.O.R. will build R.O.I.

191. React, Respond or Initiate? * Managers react. Leaders initiate.

192. Be Brave and Go There! * If I have learned anything over the years, playing it safe is usually the biggest risk…We could well find ourselves in an unacceptable environment that we quietly let grow around us.

Video recommendation for the week:

My thank you to you, my readers and followers.  Thanks for sharing!

193. Matching Words to Action * For the coming week, challenge yourself and someone you care about to take specific action and develop one of the six characteristics ….If we all do it, think of the change we can generate.

194. Honor the Past. Celebrate the Present. Embrace the Future. * “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” (Soren Kierkegaard)

195. Nurturing an Internal Locus of Control * A person’s interpretation of an event can have a powerful impact on future motivation.

196. On Collegiality and Collaboration: Reflections from San Diego * It takes more than exchanging an email address or a business card to build meaningful connections.

197. Significance and Passion* So, what single project or task do you consider to be your most significant career accomplishment?

198. Appreciation * It was a reminder to appreciate my obligations and continue to find and embrace ways to meet them head on.

199. Retirement? Let’s Rename It * Whenever “retirement” comes for me, I know it will not be a work stoppage or a forgetting of the past but rather a grand anticipation and embrace of what the future holds.

200. Have We Become More App-Dependent than App-Enabled? * Apps are tools that can have a transformative effect on our world.

201. Collegial Collaborations: Building Connections With Adjunct Faculty * When it comes to developing and appreciating our adjunct faculty, we need to find ways to build opportunity, supervision, community, advancement, and respect.

202. Obstacles to Goal Achievement * Stating or writing a goal is the easy part.  The work is found in making a plan, executing that plan, and re-calibrating along the way.

203. I Don’t Have Time To Grow Old! * Complete the following: “If you don’t have time to ______ then when will you ____?

204. College Ready?* I think, more poignantly, the question for our colleges and universities comes down to “Once the students (college-ready or not) are admitted, what do we do to best serve them?”

205. What? Why? How? * This exercise can help with major life decisions.

206. Two Shoulders. One Realization * Do you know when a goal is the wrong goal for you?

207. Building a Transcript—or Building a Life? * Just like the dashboards of social media that measure “likes,” “friends,” “followers,” and “connections,” we have to examine if the numbers by themselves have any real meaning.

208. Community * What do you see as the primary characteristic of a community? What greater purpose does it serve?

209. What Consequence Have You Created Today? * We all have choices. What’s your choice–and consequence–today?

210. Keeping the Hands Raised * I’m thinking we should hire these young folks to help our so-called “leaders” understand the basics of human dynamics and collaboration. 

211. The Power of the Crowd * Well-constructed and delivered staff training/development programs represent a “value-added” investment in an organization.

212. Teachers Make a Difference—Everyday! * Think of your favorite teacher, counselor, or advisor.  What did she/he do to make a difference?

213. Your Drama Ain’t My Drama * When you come face-to-face with a drama queen/king, what do you do?  

214. Check Your Baggage at the Door * Rather than living by the creed of F.O.M.O (Fear Of Missing Out), why not embrace J.O.M.O (Joy Of Missing Out)?

215. Consistent Talk or Consistent Action * What goal will you focus on this week? What action do you need to take to reach the goal? How will you maintain your consistency of action?

216. Value-Driven Actions: What Guides Your Life? * This strategy (let’s call it “Five in Your Pocket”) might be the nudge or reminder you and I need to practice this week.

217. What We Think We Become * Until she made the decision to start focusing on how her now created her later, she lived a life of unfulfilled expectations.

218. Stop Saying “I Understand!” * Don’t guarantee what you cannot deliver.

219. The First Day of Class: People Before Paper! * Student success will be enhanced when we establish an environment of personal validation and respect.

220. Be a Blessing: Show Gratitude * Rather than focusing on being “blessed” why not practice “being a blessing.”

221. The 3Rs:  Rapport, Rigor, and Responsibility * I need to take responsibility to develop authentic and meaningful relationships with my colleagues.

222. Thirty-Three Years of Dreams * I never lose sight of the fact that I have an obligation to each and every person in the seats in that room.

223. The Longest Movie of Your Life  * It’s my challenge and duty to make the “movie” worth viewing.  And it’s their job to be engaged with the movie. 

224. Every Student Has A Story: Great Teachers Build On That Story  *  A teacher’s calling is to recognize each of these types (and combinations thereof) and reach out with encouragement, challenge and recommendations to appropriate resources.  

225. Awareness  * If we think we are the best we can be, then we will never be the best we could have been.   

226. Kaizen: Movement Toward Improvement * Assumptions not only invite us to ask questions, they beg for questions. 

227. Action * It is often said what we think we become. Let’s take that one step further: What we do we become.

228. Motivation: What Gets You Going—And Keeps You Going? * Identify a motivational best practice you have used in the past. How can you apply this to a current dream you have?

229. Where Can You De-clutter Your Life? * Where have you allowed clutter to invade your life?

230. Your Habits—Your Choices * As Aristotle said, “Excellence is not an act, but rather a habit.”

231. Rookie Mistakes and Life Lessons * The takeaway for me is not that we made errors but we have taken time to reflect and grow.

232. Silos to Bridges * What is your organization doing to break down silos and build bridges?

233. Feed the Butterflies * The day I stop getting a little bit anxious before addressing a group is the day that I need to stop speaking.

234. Are You Waiting for It? * You don’t wait for a goal—you work for it.

235. What Are You Doing for Game Film? * “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

236. Hometown Appreciation: A Different Perspective * Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by daily events. Still, there are people, businesses, locations, and memories in our hometown that add immeasurably to our lives.

237. Core Values * What guides your personal and professional life?

238. Practicality Over Bean Counting * If all we do is look for the “research to inform our actions” we will drown in an ever-rising sea of mind-numbing numbers, tables, graphs, and pontifications for more research.

239. Reflecting On Meaningful Professional Development * Professional growth benefits the organization and the people it serves. Just as importantly, the growth can stimulate and sustain personal resilience.

240. A Blogger’s Retrospective: 2014 in Review * A listing of the previous 51 blogs for 2014.

Thank you for the conversation, positive light, and the difference you make in the world.

Choose well. Live well. Be well—and H.T.R.B. as needed!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. Please share it (and any of the archived posts on this site) with friends and colleagues. You also can follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. If you get a chance, visit my Facebook page and join in–or start–a conversation (www.facebook.com/stevepiscitelli).  If you have suggestions for future posts, leave a comment.

Check out my website (http://www.stevepiscitelli.com/programs.html) for programming information as well as details about upcoming webinars  (http://www.stevepiscitelli.com/webinars).

Information on my book, Choices for College Success (3rd ed.), can be found at Pearson Education.

(c) 2014. Steve Piscitelli. All rights reserved.