(#136) A Blogger’s Retrospective: 2012 in Review

 Consider this a look back as we move toward the New Year.
Perhaps a nugget or two will provide inspiration.
Thank you for your continued support and comments.

In May of 2010 I made the decision to begin my first blog. I had 3 goals:

• Experience a new (for me) aspect of social media
• Develop and flesh out new ideas
• Provide something of value—not just another cyber rant.

I believe I have accomplished the first and the second. It is up to you whether I have accomplished the third. My blog posts contain videos, book recommendations and summaries, questions to ponder, and always a takeaway to apply immediately to life.  I have stayed true to my commitment to publish one blog post per week. This post marks the 136^th consecutive week.

This year saw nearly 7,000 views of my weekly blog posts. Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing.  I would love to hear what you found of value on this blog. And, please feel free to share any ideas you have for future posts.

For this last-of-the-year post, I have returned to each of the previous 51 posts I have made to this blog in 2012—and provided a statement about each. I have linked each title to the actual blog should you want to read it or re-read it.

Consider this a look back as we move toward the New Year. Perhaps a nugget or two will provide inspiration. Thank you for your continued support and comments.

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Video recommendation for the week:

All the best to you and your family and your friends as you enjoy a wonderful 2013!  May you give and receive heartfelt hugs along the way!

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84.  Your Small Choices Create Your Larger Life.  *Our life is made up of little choices we make each day of our lives. While each choice on its own may appear small, they add up—they compound over time to create who we are. There is a wonderful video demonstration that accompanies this blog post.

85.  Study Skills: Do I Really Need This Stuff?. *Study skills are really life skills.

86.  A Model for Critical Thinking *Critical thinkers recognize assumptions and avoid confirmation bias.

87.  Priority Management: Are You Doing the Right Things—Or Are You Just Doing Stuff? *We cannot stop time, create time, or control time. But we all can effectively manage our priorities.

88.  Information Literacy: Not All Information is Created Equally *What we have to remember is that the explosion of information does not necessarily equate to an explosion of credible knowledge.

89.  Set Your Goals and S.O.A.R. * You can write the most specific and realistic and timely goal you can think of—but it will be useless (a fantasy) without ACTION. You have to put the “do” behind the “want to.”

90.  Using Learning Preferences to Make Connections * Know your learning style—and make it work for you.

91.  Success Strategies for the Classroom—and the Business World * Here are success strategies that pertain to the business world as much as they do to our classrooms. Learn them. Internalize them. Grow with them

92.  Making Connections in the Classroom and the Boardroom* Research tells us that as students build connections (relationships) between what they learn in class, read in their books, and experience in their lives, they will improve their learning.

93.  SQ4R: Strategic Reading Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond *Reading remains a crucial skill. In fact, being able to read well is perhaps even more important today than it was in the past.

94.  A Good Memory Makes Connections *If I had to give just one tip for improving memory it would be to find connections—make the material (whatever it might be) relevant to your life.

95.  Test-Prep: Connecting Classroom Success to Career Success and Life Success*When you effectively use test-preparation strategies, you are not only getting ready for the exam at hand, you are building life-long skills. Relevant and connected.

96.  Is Civility Part of Your D.N.A.? *Civility does not mean we all agree. It does mean, though, that we accept each other’s humanity and dignity as a person.

97.  Study Skills: A Baker’s Dozen*This is an overview of the twelve topics above.  While ambition and potential are important characteristics, they are useless without initiative. Our life is the sum of the many small choices we make and do each day. Make each day count.

98.  Fitness: A Better Version of Me * When it comes to your health be “responsibly selfish!”
Treat yourself with respect.

99.   [dreams]  * “I never got this far in my dream.”

100.  Milestones: Endpoints or Checkpoints? * Milestones remind me of the possibilities in life.

Photo: Maureen Buik

101. Ayekoo! *I commend these students for a job well done! They have inspired me.

102.  What is the Purpose of Education? * Craftsmen would not continue to use tired and worn out tools that keep them from creating a master product. Why would I do less for my students?

103. Someone Will Help You—I Guess * Big box stores were out hustled and out managed by a
small operation that was happy to see me and quick to
provide a service.

104.  Baby Boomers Reminisce: Then But Not Now * I asked the Baby Boomers to chime in about what existed “then but not now.”

105.  Building a Community: The Power of Reflection * There is a basic need to be heard, to be listened to, to share, and to build a community.

106. A Memo to My Future Me* Take a moment and write to yourself today.
What do you want your “future me” to look like, act like, feel like?

107. If You Don’t Want a Target on Your BUTT, Put a Target on Your BUT! * Excuses can rob us of our dreams and put us on a fast path to irrelevancy.

108. Lifelong Learning *As John Dewy reminded us, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

109. Striving for the WOW Factor! Tips for Presenters* I am always striving for the WOW factor!
The people with whom I work deserve that.

110. Integrity or Adding to the Illusion? * Is integrity an all or nothing proposition? How do you measure integrity? Is it on a scale? Can you have it some days and lack it on others?

111.  Why Do You Do What You Do? * Are we just muddling through life in a job, for instance, or do we wake up each morning passionate about the calling that has beckoned us?

112. Creating Experiences * Think of the coming weeks and months. What experiences (small or big) have you planned that will create wonderful memories for you and those you love?

113. Creativity Takes Work * Creativity also embraces all the disappointments and frustrations
on the road to a new way of doing things. They are part of the process.

114.  What You SAY and What You DO * Where is your line in the sand? What will you definitely not negotiate away—and what things will you or do you decide are not values to you?

115. Purpose and Passion * Our paycheck may not come from a calling but then not every calling is defined by a paycheck.

116. Simple Strategies for Adjustment and Transition to the College Culture* We can get much more from life if we pay attention to our priorities…the choices belong to us.

117. Say What You Mean. Mean What You Say. Do What You Say.*A simplified version of a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote might guide us the best, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Photo: Laurie Piscitelli

118. You Never Know Who is in the Audience. * We just never know the impact we have. And, we need to remind ourselves of the impact others have on our lives.

119. You Might Have to Slow Down to Go Faster. * At times we have to turn off the thinking and let the ideas come and go; let them mix with the experiences.

120. Are You Intentional About Your Growth? * While I cannot control or manage the ticking of the clock, I can manage my choices. I manage my priorities and, thus, I manage my life.

121.  Living With Purpose: Are You Betraying Yourself? * If what we do does not align with our purpose (what makes us feel whole or complete or meaningful)then we need to pause and ask ourselves some questions.

122. What’s Your Story?* What are you leaving behind? What are you building each day?
It’s one thing to be successful. But are you significant?

123.  How Do I Measure Up?* Relevance, engagement, and passion. Our students deserve it.
Our community deserves it.

124. When a Culture of Yes is Really a Culture of No  *  Rather than nurture the people on their bus, weak leaders throw them under the bus

125. What’s Important?  *  Are we living a life that makes us unrecognizable to those
who love us–and maybe even unrecognizable to ourselves?

126. Have You Looked at Your BUT Lately? * The first step is to recognize (be aware) of which BUT is taking control. Then make the decision to kiss your BUT goodbye!

127. Recognizing the Good Things in Life * Why not recognize the good things that happen around us, show gratitude, and encourage those behaviors? Maybe in our own small way we can help
create an environment of remarkable consistency and growth.

128. What is Your Brand? * When it comes to branding ourselves obvious characteristics present themselves: How we dress; how we smile (or don’t); how we speak; how we look someone in the eye (or don’t).

129. Identify What You Can Influence * Today, you have the ability to have a positive impact
on your little area of the world. Tomorrow, broaden that circle.

130.  Making Your Life Work! * When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions we find lots of
big intentions—but minimal action.

131. Penny at a Time * Whether it’s wealth-building or a weight-loss program or writing your first book have a plan, take specific steps each day, and remember that you will realize your dreams one step at a time.

132. Relevance, Relationships, and Rainbows * As a teacher I can excite, energize, and educate.
But can anyone really motivate another person?

133. Advice from My Scholars: How to Succeed in Life * Advice from my students to entering first-year college students.

134. Marshmallows, Teaching and Learning* This exercise allowed them to collaborate, actively search for, and apply (critically think about) concepts and principles in an engaging and memorable manner.

135.  2012: The Year of Gratitude* Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone. Read a summary of a year-long gratitude project.

136. A Blogger’s Retrospective: 2012 in Review*Here it is. The annual review of the year’s titles for this blog.

Enjoy your week—and H.T.R.B. as needed!

Details for my 2013 webinar series have been announced.  The theme for the coming year is THE YEAR OF THE DREAM! Check my website for the most up-to-date information.  The first webinar, Priority Management: Doing the Right Stuff at the Right Time, is scheduled for January 23, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. Click here  for registration information.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. Please share it (and any of the archived posts on this site) along to friends and colleagues. You can also follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. If you get a chance, visit my Facebook page and join in–or start–a conversation (www.facebook.com/stevepiscitelli). Also, if you have suggestions for future posts, leave a comment. Have a wonderful week!

©2012. Steve Piscitelli.