Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

If it be so that you have a desire to develop, strengthen and care for the local, national and global community, it is important that you care for yourself first, less you begin to build a house without having made the appropriate provisions bountiful. Having great amounts of money and a personality is not enough, nor is having pristine physical health alone the winning attribute, but a penchant for developing the whole package of who you are… from the inside out first, rather than the outside in. Our mindsets, for example, drive us to hone our skills, rather than having great skills being the precursor to achieving a great mindset. Mental clarity, confidence and the unstoppable spirit needed to keep going long after you have begun the journey to make things better for others have to be notions to be kept in mind. Not knowing that the growth and fine-tuning of our heart and mindset is of tremendous value, risks an expenditure of your life energy without recompense for your...

The more I practice serving others directly in the community the more my eyes acclimate to a different world that contrasts between empathy and evidences of apathy. My attitude as I initiate #OperationLovingkindness in Harlem, New York is one of humility. I begin by introducing myself and my purpose of bringing a revival of community and family in Harlem and then I begin to listen. I take stories from people who have shown selflessness, I bring energy and take smiles. John was sitting in a ‘walking-chair’ for seniors, just like the one my own grandfather had the last years of his life. John is a father of two, and grandfather of seven. It was about eleven o’clock in the morning when I began a conversation with him after seeing his pin-studded soldiers cap. I shared that my late-father served also and that I missed him. I then asked John if I could ask him some questions to write a part of his story on my blog and I requested to take his picture, to which he agr...

The older we get the harder it is to change our ways. Our ways form mental habits complete with brain circuitry, like roads which facilitate our thinking patterns. These can be changed and the younger we are, the more apt our mental flexibility is, allowing us to change the course of our habits like pivoting on a dime. Setbacks on the road to bring about real change in our life can stem from lack of clarity of purpose, low physical energy, inadequate support by family and community and a non-serving attitude which toughens our hearts against instilling lasting positive changes. ………………………………… Recently, I have been asked what I do for a living many times. I give my generic, surface answers… I am a Special Educator, I am an artist, an Executive Function Skills Coach and co-founder and teacher in a skateboard company start-up. I am then asked what kind of art I make, to which I reply, I create dance videos which are focused at changing the way special education i...

Just yesterday I arrived at the skatepark to see that some kids had spray painted a wide swath of the 'street course' within the gates of the Scalzi skatepark. One of our top officers was there to witness it. He did not intervene. I am glad he did not. Later, when I arrived at the park right before a beautiful sunset, another one of our top officers told me that he'd love to use his give the amateur artists a good measure of his time, perhaps let them feel his skateboard. Immediately, I realized that things could get out of hand and derail our stride. I vocalized that we should not make ourselves targets of animosity. One of the officers, Cello, piped in that we we could hoist wood panels on the gates to create 'canvases' to channel the need of aspiring artists to still create, yet directing their 'art' to these panels. Brilliant I thought. Just brilliant!! That's Cello for you! "Lovingkindness fears not It holds its stance" You just...

When I was a young boy, my Uncle Guillo, a consummate sailor’s sailor took me under his wing.  Off we would go on sailing adventures, sometimes through storm, sometimes by night, but always to paradise. It was clear that he was the ‘Capitan’ of the ship, I was one of his mates, happy as a fly on apple pie. Out at sea, everything is restricted and unleashed at the same time. The constant motion of the bobbing sailboat, the tacking and the jiving, the occasional command by Guillo..Hour after hour, wave after wave, making slight course directions here and there, Guillo brought the boat safely to its destination expertly every time. Confident and spilling grit by the way side, ‘Tio’ mastered the depths of the sea like a seasoned poet with vision and purpose drops words on a page. My heart and his heart are intertwined. A part of him lives in me a part of me lives in him. He knows this…Young at heart and always with a quick reassuring phrase to make you smile. That is my Uncle Gu...

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemned.” Song of Solomon 8:7 I was born in La Jolla, California with a silver spoon in my mouth, though I have gotten to points where i had no spoons:) My late-father was a U.S. Marine and a soldiers soldier..he became a 101st Airborne Ranger, a Screaming Eagle as they call themselves. Mom is a math teacher of teachers. Dad would wake me up at 5:30 every morning to do calisthenics and run before school. He’d get me out of bed and gently walk me to the shower. He’d turn it on and leave. Of course, I would sleep standing up on leaning on the towel rack and he’d have to come back in and prompt me to go into the shower. In the middle of our run we would stop at the church and pray, then continue running. Mom is Cuban-American and was/is the family therapist for my sisters and I. She was always my strongest advocate through ...

The beginning of success starts in the heart. It slowly move its way to the mind and once there, momentarily pauses. It is calculating perceived total effort and drive required to manifest itself.  My students rarely think of ‘success.’ We focus wholeheartedly on process instead. Time goes by and I look back at their progress. The success happens daily in short increments that appear to accumulate over time and consistency. Success is in the details. Establish new ‘forward-operating beachheads’ in the quest for particular excellence is foremost on my coaching mind. That means that I constantly gauge and assess the effort level, motivation and clarity of purpose with my students.  Shedding light on the value behind a purpose becomes an initial priority. I understand that if I want my soldiers to go #allout,  they must be on-board with ‘why’ we work on what we work on. The value in a purpose helps set up a vision of things to come and provides a process fram...