Motivated Innovation

In browsing my LinkedIn and Facebook feeds this week, I came across a couple video clips of Steve Harvey. In one clip, Harvey was speaking with Oprah Winfrey; in the other clip (shown above), he was talking on his own talk show. In both videos, Harvey spoke about pursuing dreams. Everyone has hopes and dreams. Likewise, each one of us has different gifts--different talents and skills--that we have to offer to our families, our friends, and the rest of society. Some people may help nurture and harness your dreams. On the other hand, other people may make fun of your dreams, even bringing you down in public. The story Harvey shares in the above video is both sad and inspirational. Thankfully, he stayed true to his dreams and his gifts, listened to his father, and became the successful comedian and humanitarian that he is today. Over the past several months, I have been thinking about a new mantra: "Lead with your bucket list." While I do not have all the answers I need ...

*Originally published on the blog for the Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the Association for Talent Development (GTAC-ATD) in 2016.  There is a long-standing adage that states: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” While this saying has been widely accepted across many generations, is it completely accurate? Sure, learning to do something new can be quite the challenge. As humans, we have a number of habits and patterns of behavior—of course, there is a long-standing adage for that, too. As we become locked into these habits and routines, any deviation from the norm can add stress to all parties involved and lead to mistakes being made. As a result, people not only fear making mistakes but also fear the concept of ‘change’.   It should be noted that these difficulties in learning something new occur regardless of age or experience level. In the workplace, it is critical to continue to believe in employees and not give up on their ability to learn new skills an...

*formerly posted on "Welcome, International Students!" blog Two weeks ago, I was looking at my Facebook News Feed and reading what my friends and former classmates were sharing. One post caught my attention. It was a heartfelt article written by a colleague of mine at Xavier University. We were both Student Senators at Xavier and had spent several hours talking together about campus leadership and campus life. His article " A Stranger Called Me a 'Terrorist' and I Didn't React " is a good reminder about the difficulties and learning experiences that our world sees on a daily basis. I know that I have been in his shoes before, and it hurts. It hurts to not feel welcome. It hurts to be attacked without any regret by the attacking party. It hurts to be publicly shamed and embarrassed, especially without just cause. It reminded me of a time when I was at my friend's birthday party with my older brother and other friends. At this particular sports r...

In 2010, I wrote a couple of business articles on Suite101.com. Since then, the website has revamped its operations and shut down its previous operations. Therefore, I have decided to re-post these two articles here. They were: " Remember When Enron was Overpriced? " " Lessons Learned from CEO Chainsaw Al Dunlap " I also wrote sports articles on Suite101.com and Yahoo! Contributor Network that can be found on my sports blog CAVS.SPACE (formerly known as Hard Workin' Team).  I hope you enjoy these articles!

During my time as a graduate student at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I had the opportunities to serve as a graduate assistant and as a class officer in the MBA program. As a part of both roles, I wrote on a couple blogs/websites, neither of which is currently active. However, I do have the rights to re-post all of my previous posts, so I have selected several of them and have added them to the "Motivated Innovation" blog. These blog posts can be found under the secondary labels " MBA Blog " (for writings from my graduate assistant role) and " MBASA Blog " (for writings from my class officer role). Feel free to browse through these posts. I hope you enjoy!

In September 2007, college professor Randy Pausch made a presentation at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a university lecture series. Pausch, who was dying of cancer, decided to give a presentation called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", which also became known as "The Last Lecture". The topics covered are ones that most, if not all, people think about at some point in their lives. There is a lot of discussion and introspection around personal passions and career & life goals. My favorite quotes from the presentation are: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game." "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls aren't there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want things." I highly recommend watching "The Last Lecture" on YouTube . The video is a little over 75 minutes long, so, depending on your schedule, you may want to ...

Although my career after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) was going fine, I felt stuck in my career and life development. I felt like a plant whose roots had outgrown its original pot; in order to grow and thrive, I needed a new pot and/or new ground. I needed more space and a change of scenery in order to reach my full potential.  During my undergraduate studies, I had talked with several professors and business professionals and had thought about pursuing additional educational opportunities. I learned more about an MBA degree, a business PhD degree, and other opportunities in other fields. Sticking with business seemed the way to go, so I spent a year studying on and off for the GMAT as I continued to research MBA and PhD/DBA programs. The hard work paid off as my GMAT score gave me the opportunity to return to school full-time. I chose the MBA route as it seemed to be a strong credential to add to my strong work ethic and full...