Sunday Hangout in Long Beach!

The Be410 team had a blast on Sunday when they spent the day in Long Beach. The team played basketball at the park, played carnival games and ate funnel cakes, and enjoyed rides at the amusement park. It was a great way to relax and enjoy the extra warm weather on a Sunday.

Holiday Raffle Party!

Team members at Be410 battled all month to earn the most raffle tickets and pick up prizes at the end of the competition! Everyone went home with new toys this week! Thanks to everyone who participated, for doing a great job in December!

Are You Driven by Character or Emotion?

By John C. Maxwell

“The greatest gap in life is the one between knowing and doing.” - Dick Biggs

Life would certainly be easier – and success more simple – if all it took to achieve was to KNOW the right things and DECIDE to do them, right? But I think it’s more accurate to say that a decision is just one bookend of achievement. The other is discipline. Decisions can only help us start. Discipline helps us finish. That’s where character comes in. Emotion might drive us to make a decision. But character is what keeps us going, even when it gets hard. In Developing the Leader Within You, I wrote about some differences between character-driven and emotion-driven people:

Character-driven people…

1. Do right, then feel good.
2. Are commitment driven.
3. Make principle-based decisions.
4. Let action control attitude.
5. Believe it, then see it.
6. Create momentum.
7. Ask, “What are my responsibilities?
8. Continue when problems arise.
9. Are steady.
10. Are leaders.

Emotion-driven people…

1. Feel good, then do right.
2. Are convenience-driven.
3. Make popular decisions.
4. Let attitude control action.
5. See it, then believe it.
6. Wait for momentum.
7. Ask, “What are my rights?”
8. Quit when problems arise.
9. Are moody.
10. Are followers.

The late Louis L’Amour is one of the best-selling authors of all time, with over 300 million copies of his popular western novels and short-story collections sold. When asked the key to his prolific writing, he responded, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” Allow character and discipline to drive you, and you’ll bridge the gap between knowing and doing. This will take you farther on the journey of success.

Read this article and others from John Maxwell online... 

Sun Tzu's 33 Best Pieces Of Leadership Advice

by Eric Jackson Contributor, Forbes.com


There was no greater war leader and strategist than Chinese military general Sun Tzu.  His philosophy on how to be a great leader and ensure you win in work, management, and life is summed up in these 33 pieces of advice.  They can all be applied by you in your job when you go back to work next week:

1. A leader leads by example, not by force.
2. You have to believe in yourself.
3. Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
4. If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
5. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
6. Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
   
7. If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
8. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
9. To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.
10. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
11. Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?
12. Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.
13. Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.
14. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
15. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
    1 He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
    2 He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
    3 He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
    4 He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
    5 He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
16. Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.
17. Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
18. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.
19. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
20. When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move. 

Read the full list online...