Did We Really Know Micheal Jackson?

As I watched the CNN coverage of the death of the late great Micheal Jackson. I was was just amazed at the amount of people who proclaimed to be the greatest Micheal Jackson fans. People were giving their best stories about their experiences with Mike. I guess you can say I was kinda moved by some of the stories, but dam some of the stuff was over kill. How many of these people really knew Micheal Jackson? I'm talking about the real Mike that was abused by his father and sued by his brothers. What about the Micheal Jackson that had a hundred surgeries on his nose or the Micheal that bleached his skin to almost look like something out a cartoon magazine.

People it's time to wake up and be real with ourselves. Mike was in trouble and there was nothing we could do about it. We didn't know the daily struggles of Micheal Jackson and how he dealt with his life. No amount of money is worth being miserable, frustrated and in poor health. He could not go out in public without being mobbed by fans and onlookers. What about his children, will they live a normal life? Don't get me wrong I love Mike too. " Lady in My Life" was my favorite "Rock with You" was a classic. But I feel sorry for the way he had to live,under constant scrutiny from the Media, being sued by greedy fans who took Mike's kindness and use it against him.
Micheal Jackson will be truly missed in this world and his music will still move generations above and beyond. Millions around the world will pay their last respects to Micheal Jackson, The King of all Music. Let's just remember him for who he truly was...And pray that his soul is truly resting in Peace.

Live Life In The Top 5

The TLC of Winning but Not in that Order by Jeff Thomas

As I watched the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Orlando Magic, I started to wonder what were the biggest differences between the two teams? Did the Lakers just have that much more superior talent than the Magic? Were the Orlando Magic just out coached by the superior coaching of Phil Jackson and his staff? Did the leadership on the basketball court of the Los Angeles Lakers superseded that of the Orlando Magic?

There are 3 components your organization needs in order to become a winning company. I call it the TLC of Winning but Not in that Order: Leadership, Coaching and Talent.

Leadership: "Leaders are born and not made". I've heard this quote numerous times before and give some credence to this statement but it is not always true. Some people have the natural instinct to lead with Charm, Passion, Will and Desire. But you need more than just raw talent in order to lead an organization. You must have a complete Body of Work . You have to be a visionary, you must be able to think and lead strategically. You must learn the power in surrounding yourself with great people and master the art of delegation with accountability. A leader must be able to withstand adversity and build upon it. People must be willing to follow you. If your team won't believe in you they won't work for you. Become a great orator. If you examine the great leaders of our time; Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela they all had one thing in common; they mastered the game of speaking to the masses. President Obama won the US election on this concept alone. Speaking is one of the most powerful tools a leader can attain. If your leader can speak well and get his or her thoughts across to his team. Getting them to follow along with a vision or company mission will be easy. Have a passion for your company or organization. If you don't believe in it, nobody will. How are companies like Microsoft and Nordstroms consistently ranking high in customer service satisfaction every year? The leaders of these organizations love what they do and they instill it into their managers, employee and customers. '"Leaders are born but Leadership is Made".
Coaching: As I watched the Orlando magic lose to the Los Angeles Lakers, I noticed something very obvious between the two teams. When the Orlando Team went to the huddle for a time out, they were not actively listening to the head coach of the team. Players were either starring off into space or looking into the stands during the game, while the coach was giving out pertinent information. Now, when the Lakers went to the bench for a timeout, all eyes were glued to their coach even superstar player Kobe Bryant was at attention. As a former coach it was vitally important that my players understood their roll with me. I am the teacher and you are the student. Your team has to respect you and know that you know what you are talking about, and have their best interest at heart. But as a coach you have to study, study and then study more.. You have to have a knowledge of what you are teaching and be able to deliver your message. This is why teachers are required to have lesson plans, and other forms of resources to communicate their information. Coaches must also be a masters of Innovation and Motivation. What makes people move forward and maintain working at a high level? What makes them want to work for you and be the best? You must also have the Emotional intelligence to work with others. What is emotional intelligence? It's basically common sense in dealing with people as my old boss use to say"Common Sense is not so Common" but you have to be able to find the right solutions for people and their problems. Teachers and coaches are dealing with Emotional intelligence on a daily basis.
Talent: The Los Angeles Lakers is said to have the most talented player in the World on their team in Kobe Bryant and host of good solid players beside him. Team Building must start with Talent first if you ask me. You can win with mediocre players but it's easier to win with talented players or people who are coachable. In the news this year during the Recession of this past year major corporation were throwing out millions of dollars in bonuses to keep talented people on board with their companies. When you lose a talented player that is an intricate a part of your team it can take time to rebuild your organization past successes. Now you just don't win with talent alone you need good leadership, coaching and communication in order to win. There are countless example of teams with great talent but can't advance because one of these factors are missing .
Out of the 3 component you need to have a successful or winning organization. How many does your company have? Are you building a winning team? Do you have the right talent in place? Is your Leader the one you can build around and do you have the right coaches in place to move your organization forward? The investment in building your team will help you see constant successes.... The Los Angeles Lakers won the TLC

How Do We live a Life of Perfection? By Jeff Thomas

"Perfect Practice Makes Perfect." I heard this saying a lot in my life early during my elementary school days. But when I got to high school I was told that "Practice doesn't make Perfect but Perfect Practice makes Perfect." This saying was told to me by my high school football coach Glenn Johnson and I now know why we spent hours working on football plays running them hundreds of times, until they were almost mistake free. I often wondered what if more people applied this same concept in their personal lives would they reach the highest level of human performance? What if you studied the Bible or the Koran and studied it enough, that you knew it from front to back and could deliver it to a congregation with Perfect, Perfection? Or what would have become of Venus and Serena Williams had their father not work with them for hours on days, perfecting the Game of Tennis? Is this what separates "The best from the rest." Some people may not understand the concept of hard work, taking chances or having the emotional intelligence to move forward in their lives. People today tend to settle for living inside the dreams of others and dreaming countless hours about what they would like to accomplish out of life. Many of people have the talent and skill of Oprah's, Donald Trump, Bill Gates and President Barack Obama. But the fear of the unknown and lack of proper personal development planning, motivation and the desire, leads most people to staying on dead end job instead of being the creator of jobs or having the cure for HIV. Les Brown once said it best "the greatest ideals are buried in the graveyard."

The definition of Perfect according to Dictionary.com:
Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind.
Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part.
Completely corresponding to a description, standard, or type: a perfect circle; a perfect gentleman.
Accurately reproducing an original: a perfect copy of the painting.
Complete; thorough; utter: a perfect fool.
Pure; undiluted; unmixed: perfect red.
Excellent and delightful in all respects: a perfect day.


Now where do you fit in to this definition? Are you living your life at the highest level? What things could you do to strive for perfecting all aspects of your life?

How Do We Strive for a Life of Perfection? These are just a few suggestions that may help improve on perfecting your life.

• -Know who you are: Do a honest self assessment of who you are. Look into the mirror and have a very candid conversation with yourself, you can't hide in the mirror. Be honest.
• -Master the skills you are good at: I know that no matter how long I practice I will never be Micheal Jordan or Kobe Bryant. Don't waste your time on things your not good at and master the ones you that are.
• -Invest time in your talent: If you have a special talent and began to invest the time in improving that skill, your talent will enhance itself.
• -Become more spiritual: Prayer and Devotional time for yourself is key. Many people try to dismiss this factor but if you believe in a higher power, you will find yourself at peace with yourself and others around you. Everyone needs sometime for reflection. You will find yourself living longer.
• -Get Rid of Dream Killers: Okay, this is a hard one because dream killers come in many different shapes and forms. They may come as family, friends, co-workers or associates. Sometimes you can't tell people your dreams and desires because people may have a different view of who you are and won't think much of your goals or future desires. Surround yourself with high level thinkers, people who are smarter than you. You want people who will give you honest feedback. I always wanted to hire people who I thought were more intelligent than me and could one day take my job.
• -Health, Health and more Health and Fitness: Eat Right, Keep your Body in Shape. The difference between the YMCA and Bally's Total Fitness, is that the YMCA sees fitness as a Mission, a part of spiritual development and not just a warm body in a gym. You have to protect your Temple.

The drive for living a perfect life is a tough road to follow, but if you give the desire for more out of life you will began to see results. Working Hard and Smart can get what you want out of Life...