A word from Curt I’ve never liked the R word. Resolutions. I prefer to talk and think about the bigger issue of how I want to be a difference maker in this new year. I call it the 30,000 foot view. Personally, I craft a yearly Life Statement. It’s simply a short statement of my priority for this season of my journey. …

Let Your Word be Your Bond   “Your word and integrity is yours and yours alone to keep or lose.” –Preston Moses   In the Pineywoods, major business deals have been sealed with a handshake and a man’s word. We have a saying for it: let Your word be your bond. If you promise to do something, do it even …

Courage I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. –Nelson Mandela   Grandsons, you’ll be in situations where one man can make a difference: The difference in a win or loss. The difference in the right outcome or cowardly way. The following is a remarkable story of one high school student who changed …

Resilience   My father-in-law, a very wise man, once pointed out some ancient persimmon trees along an old wagon road near his boyhood home. “See how those trees are scarred along their bases? It’s from the logs bumping against them as they were dragged to the sawmills.” He paused for effect. “In spite of the abuse they received, they produced …

Integrity   Integrity is who you are when no one is looking, and what you will stand up for even if you’re standing alone. –John Maxwell   Rather than ramble on about what integrity is, I’ll tell a story. It’s a remarkable true story that won’t be easily forgotten. You probably aren’t familiar with the name of Hugh Thompson. He …

Book 1: Relationships   Everything rises and falls on relationships. –John Maxwell Shake like a Man “When you give a man a handshake, make sure it’s firm because it shows you’re a man.” –John Groves When I was a young teenager, Tubby and Agnes King moved to Dry Creek and joined our church. I soon learned a valuable lesson about …

Foreword: Dinosaurs “Tell me who you are, and I’ll tell you where you’re from.” –Wallace Stegner I was born in the Louisiana Pineywoods when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Most of them are gone, and I still miss them greatly. They helped shape my life, and I’ll always be grateful for each of them. These older men of my Dry …