It's three o'clock on a spring afternoon. A gentle breeze sweeps across the meadow and then waltzes upward, toward a lone standing dog wood tree anchored on top of a small hill. One of the pure white blossoms is gently plucked by the dance of the wind, which then harmoniously floats toward the ground underneath the tree, where a young mother and her new born child hides from the harsh rays of the sun.

The twin brothers, Victor and Lesster, live in a midsized town called Crossroads. Their folks also grew up in this town, on the other side of the railroad tracks, so to speak. When they were 17 years old, their Mom fell pregnant; Dad got the scare of his life and disappeared from the scene, leaving Mom with her boys to be. About 15 years later, they heard that he was homeless, living off handouts. In the meantime, Mom tried her best to rear the boys into adulthood as best as she could, desperately wanting them to have a better life than she had.

One of the primary foundations of authentic, servant leadership is a willingness to serve the Organization, Church, Team or Country you lead beyond any measure of personal gain or success. It requires a readiness to sacrifice your own desires for the greater good of the many. Gandhi, Mandela, Churchill and Mother Theresa are good examples of leaders serving beyond personal comfort. I truly admire leaders like these, and find that I aspire to have many of their leadership qualities.

It is uncanny how we often gain new insights into our values and beliefs at the most unexpected times.

One of my latest and biggest insights came about by me leisurely walking out of the Gym the other day. On my way to the car, I stepped over a plastic Coke bottle and a few pieces of crumpled paper. I climbed into the car and drove off.

Hold everybody accountable? Ridiculous!    W. Edwards Deming

My father-in-law recently read about a couple of people who went to a restaurant in England. After a leisurely meal, one of the fine diners asked for a tooth pick.

Then came the reply from the waiter: "Sorry Sir, we do not provide tooth picks because they are potentially dangerous."

Eighty... Eighty-one... Eighty-two... Eighty-three... Still so many steps to go. 'Why did they build this damn statue on top of a hill like this?' I uttered out of breath. 'Why not just on level ground, or in the valley? Ah, of course, it's about the pilgrimage; a path to Nirvana or enlightenment. It's about a ceaseless search for wisdom and a place of ultimate rest from the burdens of this world, where our desires don't control us anymore and our good conduct served us well.'

I remember being a child of about 9 years old and being very chubby. One specific teacher used to ridicule fat people and the other children in class would chuckle. I didn't. I felt very conscious about my appearance and always assumed that they were laughing at me as I was the only fat one in class. 

'Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all'.      From the Book of Mark

For many people the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson,  came as a big shock. Up to 1 billion Jackson fans grieved over the loss of their hero. My wife also felt a sense of sadness as she considered him to be a man of impressive talent. I can concede that he had made an undeniable impact on the world of music...his talent will certainly outlive him. Personally, I have never been too much of a Jackson fan, specifically because of his very peculiar tastes and habits.

When I think about beautiful gardens, I always visualise trees, especially those that skyscraper into the blue with towering strength and umbrella wide branches. I'm talking about the big ones.