Anyone can be negative. It requires very little effort or intelligence. For some, it just comes naturally. (Gee, I wonder if that statement is directed at Rampage or at his critics?) Here’s something else to consider; Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is only coaching (if you can call it that) because no doubt, it was a requirement of his contract. That was his first mistake. To be a good coach, first and foremost, you must be driven to help others. Your motivation must come from seeing others succeed. You are a “people person” who is a combination of being a great listener and being someone...

Hi Everyone, Please note that I am not an unreasonable person who refuses to admit when he has made a mistake. After much soul searching, I have decided to pull this article – originally titled: “Steroid Use Amongst MMA Fighters: Losing Respect by the Day” It was harsh, judgmental and poorly written. I can see that now. My only excuse for lashing out the way that I did is that I am beyond frustrated and really starting to lose all hope that the problems associated with steroids in our culture are much larger and much more serious than anyone is willing to admit (or realizes). Or...

In the 80’s, customers were of the mind-set that “[they would] continue to do business with you until you gave [them] a reason to leave.” With so much competition these days, the mind-set is now “[they] will LEAVE unless you give [them] a reason to stay.” That’s business in the 21st century – like it or not. For the consumer, it’s great! The more choices, the better. It forces each business to compete for their attention and hard-earned dollar. The standard of service must be elevated and the business has a strong incentive to never take their customers for granted. For the...

Dear “Old Farts” in the UFC, As a famous athlete, I know that you may naively think that how you live your own life is no one else’s business, but on behalf of all ‘loyal’ UFC and MMA fans, I feel that I have an obligation and a right to express (and influence) any concern that I may feel about how you should choose to exist on this planet. You say that you are in the best shape of your life? So what? Didn’t you get the memo? Dude – you’re old. You are not currently the Champion and I am not at all convinced that you will ever be able to compete at the highest level...

In adventure as in life, wisdom is passed down from father to son. This past summer, I decided that it was finally time to take my 9-year old son Jacob out on his very first canoe trip into the vast wilderness of Algonquin Provincial Park. Camping isn’t just a good way to learn about nature together. It’s a wonderful way to learn about each other as well. The experiences that we shared will last a lifetime and I have learned to understand the many beneficial effects of a father-son canoe trip such as lessons learned through; physical exercise, having fun together, and relationship building. First...

In a recent interview with ‘Fanhouse’, 80-year old Bob Arum, a renowned boxing promoter, boldly proclaimed that “UFC and mixed-martial arts fans are a bunch of skin-head white guys” – “rolling around like homosexuals.” Hilarious! What I found particularly interesting was that Mr. Arum, a Harvard Law graduate (and presumably not a stupid man), made these comments no doubt fully aware that he would be offending a very large demographic of fight lovers. The question is, why would he do such a thing? Just this past week, I was involved in a discussion with my class about the business...

As a teacher and counsellor, one of my main responsibilities is to always offer whatever level of service and guidance that I can to young adults who constantly struggle to choose the right career path that best suits their personal life goals and interests (and in some cases, their dreams). Of course, it always helps that I went through a very similar process myself. Like many before me and many since, I too went through my own personal version of a mid-twenties crisis, where I strenuously deliberated on the next major step in my pursuit of a career worthy of a modern-day adult. As a proud...

Welcome, The following is the resulting conversation from an assignment that was given out on September 2, 2009 between my students (and myself) to help add clarity to the definitions of “Soft Skills” and “Hard Skills” – but more specifically, the classification of “reading and writing” within those skills. The instructions were for my students to visit 3 other random websites and then come back with their own determination/opinion. . . . http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci1314710,00.html. http://www.2020insight.net/Docs4/PeopleSkills.pdf http://www.linkedin.com/answers/hiring-human-resources/staffing-recruiting/HRH_SFF/531813-34024960?browseCategory=HRH_SFF . Please...

Ever since the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) first arrived on the scene in 1993, I have always been a very big fan. Then again, at the time I was also a big fan of the movie ‘Bloodsport’ (1988) starring the ‘actor’ Jean-Claude Van Damme, and back then, the UFC was about as close to that movie as anything that anyone had ever seen before. The UFC was fought in an elimination-style tournament without weight divisions, gloves, or very few rules, which was what made those Royce Gracie victories all that more impressive and amazing. The term ‘mixed-martial arts’ did not really...

“Well?” I asked assertively, “what have you managed to come up with? What is your answer?” Several enthusiastic hands shot up at once and so I nodded my head in the direction of our Quarterback. “We need better blocking”, he said. “Good start” I proclaimed, “that certainly identifies one of the more obvious problems”. “Now then, how do we accomplish this?” I then asked. The unanimous answer was “work harder during practices and focus more during the games”. Okay – not a bad summary. Nobody it seemed was directly blaming anyone else and collectively, they all...