I have written about loyalty before, describing such things as commitment and unconditional relationships.

Never have I realized the depth of loyalty and the unconditional love that is part of this special relationship until I saw the movie “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.” The movie is a reenactment of the true story of Hachiko, an Akita dog in Japan in the 1920’s remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his master.

Hachi would always go to the train station in the morning with his master and return in the evening to the station as the master returned from work.

One day the master went off to work by way of the train, and as always Hachi was there to bid him good-bye. Not knowing that the master would never return, as he died of a heart attack that day.

Being committed unconditionally to his master and displaying true loyalty to the person he deeply loved, Hachi continued to wait for the evening train for 9 years until he

rejoined his master.

The heart felt emotions that one associates in watching this movie may be short lived, but the dignity, respect and faithfulness that follows can be everlasting.

Relationships are what we make of them and loyalty within such relationships projects a bilateral bond, making each one smile and feel special.

Trust embraces loyalty and, loyalty through continued trust, is never ending. What a great feeling.

Let’s all get the spirit of Hachiko and keep sharing it with others. It will make us all Better.

I think it is important to bring up basic values from time to time, so that we can re-register our thoughts and behavior reinforcing what is important.

Loyalty and Tradition have similarities, that comefromdifferentdirections. Loyalty refers to true commitments and a genuine respect for consistency. Tradition, like Loyalty has a very strong concept of consistency emulating pride and a strong sense of belonging.

This past weekend I went to San Francisco toattendaveryspecialbirthdayeventof one of my favorite friends. As the celebration

progressed, several
people told their
favorite stories about
Tim, but one really
stood out above all
the others. The
gentleman’s message
was directed to why
we were all there for
this birthday event, as
the guests came from
many cities far away
fromPaloAlto. His
remark specifically
states that he felt we were there to celebrate, honor and show our respect and admiration to Tim who has always been a Loyal friend to all of us.

When we talk about “Getting Better” that is somethingofrealvalue. HisLoyaltywill alwaysbewitheachoneofusaswe reminisce our special times throughout our friendship.

Being Loyal and Trustworthy is everlasting in developing and maintaining relationships. A good start is being Loyal to yourself.

Tradition, as mentioned, gives us a good sense of security and a wonderful feeling of belonging. We all can relate this to holiday

Traditions , family and religious events, schools, athletic teams, ect.
I had breakfast at a local restaurant just across from the entrance to Stanford University. As I was waiting for a table, I looked around and saw that everyone from the manager to the bus boys were all wearing a Stanford shirt, which demonstrated a great sign of pride. They were all very courteous and had a very confident stature. Also about 50% of the customers were also dressed in Stanford apparel. Feelinganddemonstratingthe Tradition of this University by virtue of its

academics, athletes, alumni, ect. provides pride and that strong sense of belonging.
I am sure that you know the feeling and if not go to a college football game and you will feel the electrifying pride and excitement embraced by the loyalty of the spectators.

I know of a Church and its campus that was built from the ground up over 35 years by the same minister. The Loyalty and

Tradition flourished among the parishioners and the community displaying a true legacy. After the minister retired a new minister was hired, ignoring the respected Tradition and soon the Loyalty of the congregation faded and an exodus was in order. Tradition is sacred and very much aWething. ItiskindofliketheFighting Irish of Notre Dame changing its name to the Notre Dame Blue Hens.

Yes Loyalty and Tradition are intangibles, but can be displayed and protected having an everlasting effect on you and others.

In reading this title, I’m sure that everyone is saying that I have finally gone off my rocker. But to your disbelief that is not the case.

Many times I have discussed how important it is to feel good about yourself, for it not only makes you feel better, it provides an attraction from others. Confidence is a resource that provides an introduction to creating relationships. We are constantly evaluating others according to our standards, when we should be evaluating ourselves and understanding who we are. Each of us have assets and liabilities. Hopefully our assets outweigh our liabilities and if not we have work to do, asassetshavevalue. Surroundyourself with strength.

By understanding more about ourselves we now can open many closed doors in accepting and understanding others.

Well that’s the ME part, now what is the WE part.

Feeling good about yourself provides avenues of new introductions to strangers.

Our perspectives have come from our experiences, books, teachers, coaches, friends, family, colleagues and many other sources. These sources have provided a fundamental makeup of how we think, behave, and our attitude towards life’s processes.

See, we need each other, to grow and broaden our horizons benefiting far beyond ourselves.

Continuing to meet strangers personally adds to the already existing and never forgetting collection of your broadened and existing philosophy.

We “Get Better” through others, so broaden your base, know who you are and feel good about yourself, as others will provide you with an expanded self that has no limits.

Just like the famous song from “The Sound of Music” Me needs Do, Re, Fa, So, La and Te, to complete the lyrics — Now that’s a MEWE!

Find out what others are like and make a positive difference for everyone.

To be or not to be a “Shankapotomus”, that is your question. In golf the dictionary says that a “shank” is a shot that veers sharp to the right and not towards the target (for right handers).

We all know what a hippopotamus is, so we can surmise that a Shankapotomus is a Big shanker that keeps missing the target.

In order to avoid this dreadful and disappointing disorder one must do some different things, create new habits or they will be branded a Shankapotomus forever.

Learning new habits and developing new directions takes time and many people are in such a hurry to benefit from the results they continue to disregard the self discipline to make the change.

Wanting instant success is everyone’s desire, but desiring success is only provided to those who prepare themselves to move towards the target.

Having your prepared plan that only you can execute provides you with a direction for you to stop shanking. I don’t know anyone who is a consistent shanker that enjoys what they do. Asking yourself why you shank is often a good beginning, followed by knowledge, experience and others providing techniques for non-shanking.

Having a disciplined routine of “shanklessness” will deliver results like you have never seen, but you must always follow through with your plan. Following through provides a stimulus moving you in a direction toward the target. You will now enjoy what you do, feel good about what you do and capture new & rewarding results .

Not being a “Shankapotomus” is a really good thing

As the New Year unfolds we ask ourselves “What Do I Need To Do Now?”

Getting on course is extremely important when we have a fresh start.

Not asking ourselves this question is often the result of steering in the wrong direction and doing what we want to do rather than what we need to do.

A commitment to a list of “Need To Do’s” is a must. Writing them down where they can be viewed daily provides direction and accountability.

What you need to do is generally referenced through your experience, training and who you are.

Some of your needs will have different timelines so you will have some that are daily and some which have a different timetable.

Since all of what you need to do has different timelines you must be able to prioritize your list depending upon the status of each entry on your list.

Know –  “WhatyouNeedTo do?”

Know - “How you are going to do it?”

Know - “When you are going to do it?”

So make a list, and write it down. Answer the 3 Know’s above and develop a plan. Commit to your plan, execute and follow through.

You will be on your way of developing new habits that will result in many achievements. You will have created more value, gotten better and I guarantee you will have more fun.