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

"Practicing kindness and selflessness, you naturally align your life with the integral way." Lao Tzu, Hua Hu Ching Moments come and go, seasons change, opportunity flies by. What is all that matters? Is it important for the heart to live in accordance with God's will?  When I was fifteen I got on my knees and pleaded with the Lord to make me a Field General in his army. I wanted my life to count for something and understood that I was making a decision to forfeit a life of security and relative comfort in giving myself to the Lord.  Now I realize that he has been drawing me to him, rather than me approaching him on my own volition. In a world where the definition of success appears to be connected to money, my kind of success finds no ground to rest on, save in the eyes of God. In working with typical children and those with special needs, I recognize the value I bring to positively shifting lives. I bring hope, encouragement, enthusiasm, kindness and instruction...

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...

Today is Friday, November 12, 2015 ..and what happened that made you change your mind?  and how far did you go to change your heart? and what moved you to let go?  and how is it that you go to sleep?  how do you rise?  and what is it at mid-day that makes you tick?  and how do we tell each other how we feel when we walk by each other? and what makes you turn away? and what makes you not care? and what makes you check out? and what makes us check in? It was slow at first, but I held my stance and gravitation took hold.  Soft and hard polished edges a clear purpose a settled heart and a bed that is made make it easy to make new friendships when the time and space is there.  All my new friends were either sons and fathers. Soon enough I will go up to bat for my new friends. Let the chips fall where they may and may God have our back as we move cautiously forward in the eye of a peculiar hurricane. ...

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...

"In any given moment we have two options: to move forward into growth or to step back into safety." -Abraham Maslow To the unexperienced mind, it may seem impossible to sustain the will and conviction to make a positive life change. I find that by getting technical about my thinking,  I (we) can do something everyday to realize the goals that are in our mind and heart, and thus, live life on a whole new level. For example,  because I am sticking to my goals, I am no longer the same person I was two years ago. Transforming oneself does not require we change our values, if those values are worthwhile and healthy. Hold onto solid values and principles that support the genuine well-being of others and you'll find that your non-tangible values sustain your attitude and drive. My exterior, what others see, is in transition as it gallops to catch-up and mirror how I feel and am on the interior.   Being clear on why I pursue my goals retrofits my mind to think and act acc...

updated 2/7/16 Are you a young professional, a parent, or a student accustomed to uphill progress? How about uphill failure? It is not uncommon to have children and adults diagnosed with severe cognitive deficits to encounter a sense of repeated failure in their academic performance. Just like a mathematical formula, a repeated sense of failure can have what seems like a compunding effect over time on a growing, developing human being, if not corrected.  One helpful aid parents can integrate is to give their children strong study skills. Good study skill tool and strategy application can make an incredible difference in grade performance. E mphasizing the use of different study skill tools for your child as part of a home executive function skill program puts more focus on an effective process, or modus operandis, rather than an all-encompassing focus on end results. This shifts the focus into a 'growth-oriented mindset,' or perspective which greatly disallows a s...

  The art of recovering from a football tackle on your way to get the ball might seem like no big feet through the lens of a camera. Just a guy getting himself off the ground. As sordid an example as american football may be when it comes to exemplifying executive function skills development, it is actually a great analogy and concrete illustrator of the exercise of such skills. Character and a treasure trove of experience in this strategy-filled game does lead to executive function and hemispheric strengthening, especially if done in a planned way. The coach, OR LEAD ORCHESTRATOR, creates and teaches action sequences to his quarterbacks, running backs, linebackers, lineman, and so on. The coach is like a scientist experimenting with choreographed, orchestrated movements that are geared towards successful touchdown in a goal-directed manner. The players each must monitor, gauge, modulate, exercise self-control, use foresight (anticipate/ predict) according to the metrics practiced ...

Every surfer in the water who has been surfing for many years understands that there is a point in time and place when a wave is approaching and the option to paddle over it, attempt to catch it, or altogether get out of the way has to be made. Rapid fire executive function skills come into play, such as gauging, foresight, prioritization, impulse control, goal-directed persistence and even emotional control. What will the surfer do? Are they lined up to catch the wave successfully? Are they too far to paddle over the wave and then have to take evasive maneuvers, like 'duck-diving' under the white, foamy break water? But what about when the wave is too big? What about when the surfer is in the break zone, their is a new set of waves coming, and they are too deep in the wave-break zone to do much about it? What then? All these question must be addressed by the individual in split seconds. Multiple executive function skills come into play, or cascade with each other in...

Coping when the facts say you have a deficit somewhere. . . . Does your child not have the best goal-directed persistence in the world? Does your child have an issue with sticking to the task at hand? How does this show up in long term goals? Feel like your not seeing that "stick-to-it-iveness?' Do not fret. For this child can learn to ask for help, work with others, and develop social skills necessary to get things accomplished. There is usually a silver-lining in all grey clouds. We just have to train our minds to look for it. It may be hard to find. Take the lotus flower for example. It comes straight out of the wet, swampy mud in its natural environment. When you look at its immediate nearby surroundings, it is not hard to marvel at how something so pleasant is born into what appears bleak, and forsaken-looking circumstances, yet the lotus thrives in the swampy land. The bottom line, forecasts and assumptions can be incorrect, no time to fret, or wallow in the mir...