Lonely Cottage

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  “Among the few features of agricultural England which retain an appearance but little modified by the lapse of centuries, may be reckoned the high, grassy and furzy downs, coombs, or ewe-leases, as they are indifferently called, that fill a large area of certain counties in the south and south-west. If any mark of human occupation is met with hereon, it usually takes the form of the solitary cottage of some shepherd. Fifty years ago such a lonely cottage stood on such a down, and may possibly be standing there now. In spite of its loneliness, however, the spot, by actual measurement, was not more than five miles from a county-town. Yet that affected it little. Five miles of irregular upland, during the long inimical seasons, with their sleets, snows, rains, and mists, afford withdrawing space enough to isolate a Timon or a Nebuchadnezzar; much less, in fair weather, to please that less repellent tribe, the poets, philosophers, artists, and others who “conceive and meditate of ple...

What's Working

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With the Doctoral program starting in the Fall, my goal is to complete a handful of outstanding projects that not only relate to personal development but also inform the subject of leadership, which will be the heart of my capstone project.

Projects to finish ("front sight focus"):
  1. Donald Roberston's short introductory online course on Marcus Aurelius based on his new book, "How To Think Like A Roman Emperor." 
  2. John Maxwell's "Momentum Breakers and Momentum Makers" podcasts (momentum is a leader's best friend) followed by "Core Values for a Winning Team" 
  3. Finish notating leadership principles from Marcus Aurelius', "Meditations"
  4. Meeting with my mentor to discuss narrowing the topic in order to make a unique contribution to the field of leadership study and practice
Ongoing projects ("bullet-proof the mission"):
  1. Leadership Handbook series (personal, skill and relational development);
  2. Review Mark Divine's "Way of the SEAL" and "Unbeatable Mind" with the view to integrate  the above with the physical, mental, emotional, intuitional and spiritual "mountains" to lay a holistic foundation for training leaders;
  3. Review academically required and recommended reading lists from past courses, collecting sources and resources.
  4. Press on


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