Month: May 2016

Become a Slave

Slave- a person entirely under the domination of an influence or person. (Dictionary.com)

I need you to become a slave.

A good slave.

A slave that serves three masters.

Your ultimate master and “master of all masters” is God.

Your second master is your craft and the gifts/calling God has bestowed upon you.

Your third master is you, yourself.

Serving the Ultimate Master

Ignore your pride and learn to serve God. Submit yourself entirely to his domination and influence. Learn all you can about his word and his commandments. Read and re-read the stories within the Bible and apply the lessons learned to your life.

When was the last time you “took notes” or wrote down God’s word? When was the last time you studied God’s word? Allow God to become your teacher. Allow God to become your master.

Serving Your Craft

Everyone has a gift. Everyone has a calling or mission. We must take our gift, our calling, and mold it into our craft. We then must develop our craft and use it to make an impact on our city, our state, our world.

Are you a slave to your craft? Are you committed to your craft? Do you only work on your craft when “you feel like it?”

Please commit to your craft.

Please commit to becoming the best in your field.

Please commit to transitioning from a “slave to your craft” to a “master of your craft!”

As you master your craft, your impact will begin to swell.

As you master your craft, your impact will begin to intensify.

As you master your craft, you will then bear witness to breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough…

Serving Yourself

Do not become a slave to the person you are right now. Do not become a slave to your lust, your wants, and the desires of “now.” Learn to serve the person you are meant to be.

Become a slave to the person you must become in order to make your mother proud.

Become a slave to the person you must become in order to make your fathers proud – your earthly father and your heavenly father.

Become a slave to the person you must become to be a great parent, yourself.

Become a slave to the person you must become in order to consistently follow through on your goals.

Become a slave to the person you must become in order to be a leader of men.

I need you to be a slave.

A good slave.

A slave of all three masters, until you are deemed a master, yourself.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

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Don’t Waste Your Time

Student- any person who studies, investigates, or examines coursework thoughtfully. (Dictionary.com)

The Teacher’s Duties:

The teacher is responsible for exposing you to new information.

She shares information.

She asks questions.

She answers questions.

She may spark a conversation with you to talk about the information.

She will test you over the information one day soon.

At this point, her job is complete.

The Student’s Duties:

The student’s job is to listen, take notes, ask questions, and learn.

Second, the student should take his butt home and study.

He should study everything the teacher talked about.

He should study everything he wrote down in class.

He should study everything that was discussed.

He should make sure he is ready for the upcoming test.

Bottom Line:

If the student does not study – the teacher wasted her time.

If the student does not study – the student wasted his time.

If the student does not study – it all was a waste of time.

If the student does not study, he really isn’t a student at all (See definition above) but, a child looking to be spoon fed by his babysitter. Yet, he left daycare a long time ago.

It’s time to grow up.

It’s time to be a student.

Please don’t waste your time. Study!

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

An Educational Pitfall

I have been an educator for twelve years. I am dedicated to my craft, my school, and my city. I study my craft relentlessly, day in and day out.

I have observed everything around me – looking for details and fine points that will allow me to take students to another level.

I have observed everything around me – looking for potential pitfalls that prohibit students from advancing and fulfilling their potential.

I have found a pitfall.

In the decade I have been inside schools, I have never witnessed a pitfall as deep and dangerous as the cell phone. I am not alone. Steve Gardiner, a National Board Certified Educator and columnist for Education Week, states:

“In a career that spans thirty-eight years, I have not seen any single diversion that so distracts students from reading, writing, and working – as the cell phone.” (Education Week, May 2016)

“…We provide help to people who can’t control their behavior related to gambling, sex, drugs, and alcohol. But, we have no programs to help teenagers who can’t live two minutes without seeing their phones.” (Education Week, May 2016)

“…Students are using their cellphones 24/7. They sleep with them by their beds and text each other throughout the night. My students are addicts.” (Education Week, May 2016)

“…Yes, addict is a strong word, but physically, mentally, and emotionally, a high percentage of teenagers are addicted to their cell phones. We have incentives to promote attendance and graduation, but many teenagers need help, because their bodies are in the classroom, but their minds are inside their cellphones.” (Education Week, May 2016)

I have found a pitfall.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

Guru

If you’re looking for that guru that will change your life forever, go to the nearest bathroom and look in the mirror.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

One Kick

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” -Bruce Lee

F.O.C.U.S.

F ollow

O ne

C ourse

U ntil

S uccessful

Focus all of your energy and efforts on improving your craft. Being well rounded is over-rated. Become a master at your craft, your gift, your calling, your business, yourself.

As you begin to master your craft – more opportunities will present themselves, more doors will open.

What is that “one kick” you will master?

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Memorize this by Friday:

I choose not to be a common man.

It is my right to be uncommon, if I can.

I seek opportunity, not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed…

I will never cower before any master nor bend to any friend.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, this I have done.

– Dean Alfange

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Today is Perfect.

Success is difficult.

The process is strenuous, tiresome, and often boring. Becoming a great student, teacher, mother, father, businessman, lawyer, doctor, etc., etc., etc. – is slow, gradual, and heavy. Please don’t misunderstand me. If you choose the path to success, you will enjoy small triumphs along the way. Greatness is achievable for us all, however shortcuts do not exist.

Secrets do not exist. The right information is paramount, but information without action is worthless. Action, combined with time is how we escape mediocrity.

Today is Sunday which marks the beginning of a new week. Today is the perfect day to build new behaviors and form new habits. Today is the perfect day for us to ignore average and increase our work ethic.

We get out of life what we put into it. If we want extraordinary results, we must put in extraordinary work.

Let’s begin today.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Bring Value

Meaningful- full of significance, purpose, or value. (Dictionary.com)

Today, pick three people and do everything possible to bring value to their lives.

If “three people” is too many, start with just one person – “yourself.” Do something that will bring significant value to your life and your future.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A Dream Deferred

Dreams don’t just die, they commit suicide.

Everyone of us have aspirations.

Everyone of us dream.

But most of us fail because we underestimate the amount of work that it takes to make our dreams come true.

Dreams are a gift from the most high.

Don’t disappoint him by abandoning his gift because the work is too hard.

You have what it takes, otherwise he would have given your dream to someone else.

Get to work.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Our Children Are Watching

The best advice we can give our children, is our example.

We are their first role model.

And we have this responsibility and honor until we screw it up. We only lose their faith and often their obedience when our words begin to contradict our actions. As parents, our actions, our habits, and how we interact in our world – impact our children more than the words we preach.

If we want our children to be honest – they can’t hear us lie.

If we want our children to work hard – they must see us grind.

If we want our children to read more – they must see us reading.

If we want our children to be punctual and on time – we must always be on time, too.

If we want our children to communicate without anger, hostility, and horrible body language – we must model this behavior when we speak to them, and everyone else in our life.

In all aspects, we must model the behavior we want to see in our children. There is an old saying, “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” This saying often rings true because children model their behavior after their parents. Behavior is not genetic – it is learned.

Our children are always watching us… How we work, how we speak, how we deal. With this in mind, we must practice what we preach.

 

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.