The STU-PENDOUS BLOG!

Sitting in the Office Centre at my hotel in Prince George. I am back on the road for a four day trip. 4 Days, 4 conferences. Close to 2000 young leaders will get to hear my wisdom!! Let’s hope it makes sense.

I had spent a fair bit of time working on a new speech for these four days. Really excited about it. As my friend Phil Boyte says… “More nut, less chocolate!” That mean lots of substance to the program, stuff that students can take back and use…

When we arrived last night our host informed me at 9pm, that the crowd today would be all grade 6’s and 7’s. WHAT?? I rarely work with this age group outside of our camp. I have to speak for two hours to them! On leadership. I started to get a little panicked… then I thought about and said to our host, “I’ll do some of my older stuff. Do you think it will work?” His reply was classic…

“Why not, it’s what got you here.”

Life throws us curve balls. You can catch them, get out of the way of them or get hit in the head with them. I almost let one hit me in the head… today I will turn that pitch around and hit it out of the park!

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share yout thoughts here on the STUpendous BLOG!

How do you handle challenges in life? How could you deal with challenges better?

Pic to follow…. after I hit that homerun! 

For more information of STU Saunders speaking or YLCC please email info@ylcc.com

Sitting in the Montreal Airport, just finished the most wonderful lunch at a great little Bistro called Boulangerie de Montreal - MB Co. I love when I find a great place to eat in an unexpected place. Most airports aren’t all that good at providing great food. The employees seem less then excited and the food carries the same attitude.

Sometimes the most unexpected moments can create the most incredible joy. It doesn’t have to be much, a nice lunch, seeing a long lost friend, a conversation on the bus or the plane with a stranger or now the discovery of someone you haven’t even thought of in 10 years on Facebook. I am blessed to live in an incredible place. Our outdoor leadership centre is very beautiful, we work on it every day. In fact today our dining hall is having all new windows installed, we are putting two new roofs on buildings and the gardens are being “springified”. I am always experiencing unexpected joy from clients and staff on the site, from nature and from sunsets and sunrises. Yesterday before I left at 5:45 am for the airport, I looked left at the gates and saw at the end of our property an incredible site. A beautiful sunrise. I drove down to Far Away Point, grabbed my camera and took it in.

So many of us sleep through life, laze through our days, do the minimum to get by. Wake up friends… life is full of enexpected joy… you have to attend though to experience them.

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share your thoughts on the STUpendous BLOG.

What are the 5 things you could stop doing today to bring your life to where you want it to be? What is something you have been putting off doing, that you know if you do it you will be better?

Today’s picture is of that sunrise… another reason I like to get up before the sun!

For more information on YLCC or Stu Saunders Speaking at your event or gathering contact info@ylcc.com

Spoke in Waterloo the other day for a large youth conference. There where 1600 plus students and teachers and a dozen great speakers. It was a great day, not just because of the fact that I got to work with so many great students, but because I got to reconnect with a whole bunch of fellow speakers that are friends. We don’t do this enough… reconnect. Facebook has helped with this. I have over 200 friends that have added me to their “list”, although soon after you find them and say, “wow, where have you been?”, they again slip into the past again, back on a list of people you really should connect with.

I challenge you today to reconnect. University and College friends, as you return to your home towns connect with a friend, past boss at that first job or a great teacher who you really should have thanks many years ago. Send a note to a friend. Isend 10 notes a week to people to reconnect with them and say HELLO! It doesn’t take long… watch your mailbox you might get one when you least expect it.

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share your answers here in the STUpendous BLOG!

Who can you reconnect with today, tomorrow and net week? Make a list and make that call or write that note. Go beyond cyberspace and go back to the cool new thing… write a letter.

Today’s pic comes from that conference… Left to Right, Me, Andy Thibodeau, Mike Pearse, Ian Tyson and Phil Doucette (Philly D.)

For more info of YLCC or Stu Saunders speaking contact info@ylcc.com

Tragic events in Virginia, tragic events in Iraq today (over 130 dead in bombings), shameless words from Imus about race and daily tragedies all around us every day. It’s easy to get lost in the sorrow of it all. That’s one of the reasons I am always taking time to journal and reflect. Find ways to make my world and the world around me better.

I am trying to figure out with all of this negativity why some people young and old are aligning themselves with less then great “heroes”. I have a member of my own family that took his time to write a very negative derogatory rap lyrics… don’t get it. We have a choice every day to live a life of true magnificence or true sadness. I choose the first.

I was reading in the Toronto Star about one of the Victims of the VT shootings. His name is Liviu Librescu, a holocaust survivor, 76 years old, and a prof at Virginia Tech. While the shootings were taking place in the room next to his class he decided to do something selfless and “heroic”, he blocked the door to his classroom, at 76 years old and allowed his students to escape through windows. While blocking the door he received multiple gun shots. He gave of himself for a younger generation. A generation that needs to make changes treat women and different cultures with respect. We need to find better heroes, better role models. It starts at home… it starts with awareness.

For what it is worth I salute Mr. Librescu. The world is a little smaller without you; hopefully the people you saved will take this chance and become better.

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share your thoughts here on the STUpendous BLOG.

Who are your heroes? What makes them a hero to you? How do you inspire yourself and others to be better?

Today’s picture is of the selfless man, Liviu Librescu. Thank you and rest.
 
For more information on YLCC please contact info@ylcc.com

So monday morning is upon me. Up early, cleaned my kitchen and sat down to write in my journal and do some reflection. I am such a HUGE advocate of breaking free from self set limitations. Excuses are simply that excuses… they do not make for good reasons. No time, to much other stuff to do, no one would help me, no time to work out, I asked as hard as I could for support and no one would, someone else let me down, the weather is bad…. do any of these sound familiar? Have you said them? Has someone said them to you?

I had an experience this weekend that really demonstrated what reliability looks like. My friend and mentor Phil Boyte was in Orillia to speak at some schools and then speak at our open house. He did more then I could of asked. He wowed every person there. He even cleaned up some garbage outside and filled the pop machine. When I said to him that he didn’t have to do that he responded simply, “I’m just helping a friend.”

I hired Terry Knight last October as our Site Manager. We had a real hard time finding a replacement to fill our previous managers shoes. He came in and just started to blend in. We don’t pay much but we do try and create a family atmosphere at camp, it’s not perfect but we try. As our project progressed Terry become more committed. In fact every day buying coffee for the crew and never asking for a penny. The last three weeks he didn’t take a single day off. Even through Easter… never stopped. In the end on Friday afternoon, Terry turned to me with a smile on his face, his last tool loaded in his truck. “15 minutes to spare, told you we would do it!”

Terry owes me nothing, Phil has no investment in YLCC or me. Some people look at the clock differently. Hoping that the time will bend for them, work for them, answer to them. Others like Phil and Terry take advantage and cherish each second on the clock. It’s in their character. It makes them better people. It makes me want to be better.

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share your thoughts here on the STUpendous BLOG!

How are you taking advantage of your time today? What could you do that would bring yourself to another level?

Here is today’s picture… Our first group of Advisors… seven are missing from the photo, but a great weekend was had by all!

Special thanks to Matt G, Derek, Hill, Trish, Steph, Rich, Aaron and Jordan… you all made it happen! For more information regarding YLCC or the Leadership Training Centre contact us at info@ylcc.com

Wonderful experience on the weekend. Easter weekend took my family and I to the local mall for some spring shopping when we noticed a crowd of people gathered around a woman and there was some clapping and cheering coming from the group. I raced over with my kids to see what the excitement was all about.

There in the middle of the crowd was a small child, arms in the air with a giant smile on her face. The mom had a priceless look on her face. Her child was taking its first steps. The entire crowd was cheering the child on! I asked my oldest daughter to quickly take some pictures. Luckily we had a camera and could capture that incrdible moment for her.

Sometimes we don’t have a way of capturing incredible moments. There isn’t a picture of me taking my first steps or my first dive. Today with digital cameras and email we can capture moments and send them to friends and family so quickly, so easily. Keep track of your moments in a journal, a scrap book or on your computer. Our past builds our future. Embrace it.

Here is today’s question… read it, write it, answer it and share it here on the STUpendous BLOG!

What are your favourite memories that you didn’t have a camera for? What are those moments that you wished you would have been able to record?

Today’s pictures is of those first steps. Incredible moments…

For more information on YLCC or Stu Saunders Speaking contact info@ylcc.com

I had the chance to MC the local Chamber of Commerce Dinner and Awards last evening. Such a fun night… long but fun. I like to give back to the community! The more we give, the more we get. I truly beleive this and it has worked for me.

Speaking of giving two friends of mine are leaving on an adventure this fall and they showed everyone at the dinner a slide show. They are heading Africa in November to start a theatre and bring some joy to an otherwise stuggling place. One thing that really hit me was the fact that most of the people where they are going have an average income of only $100 a month. We throw away money like nothing. How many college students will spend $100 drinking, how often have I spent $100 on a dinner, how often do we spend $100 on a pair of jeans or a nice shirt. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with earning and spending money on fun things. It’s a reward for the work we do. It is how in our culture we measure part of our success. I too want want more “things” so I understand!

Just take a moment today to perhaps think about how you can give back! Think about what you could go without to make something or someone else better. It feels good to give. If you can’t think of anything check out this website below, it’s for the Livingstone Project. Good luck Marilyn and Bob Gregory, Zambia is going to benefit from your kindness and passion!

http://www.freewebs.com/livingstonetheatreproject 

Here is today’s question… read it, write it, answer it and share your thoughts here on the STUpendous BLOG!

What can you do today to give back. What are you doing in your life to be a servant leader?

Today’s picture comes from Zambia. A great cause and a great adventure! I will be visiting as soon as I can!

For more information on Stu Saunders speaking or YLCC please go to www.ylcc.com