It’s New Year's Eve. And time once again for our traditional New Year's resolutions. And at a time when so much of our attention here at NISC is focused on coaching, leadership, deadlines, marketing wins, our bottom line, recruiting and onboarding new employees, development schedules, our capacity to meet the demand for our products, One on One sessions wage and salary matrixes, strategic initiatives, and all the rest. I have decided to take a little different approach in my final BlogCast of 2017. One of my favorite places on the planet is right on my own patio watching the geese and the eagles fly overhead listening to the relentless motion of the Missouri River. Often I think about the fact that in 1904 Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery walked along the banks of the Missouri River less than a hundred feet from where I'm seated. Many of you know that I am a Lewis and Clark fan and I basically read everything I can get my hands on regarding their amazing adventure which over a two-year timeframe took them from St. Louis just a few miles from our Lake St. Louis office to the Pacific Ocean and back. You cannot read about Lewis and Clark without getting to know Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and largely was responsible for commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition. I am fortunate in that I have a good friend here in Bismarck by the name of Clay Jenkinson, a brilliant man who has literally spent the last thirty years studying the life and philosophies of Thomas Jefferson. I've learned a great deal from listening to Clay. He has made my view of life and politics, well as they say more fair and balanced. So today I'd like to share with you my resolutions for 2018 which have largely been formed after reading the latest biography of Thomas Jefferson and also visiting at length with my friend Clay about what President Jefferson's take would be on the current state of our country. So here are my resolutions for 2018. This year I will work to renew old friendships. Facebook has made it possible to make connections with long lost friends at the far margins of our lives and the older I get the more I realize the importance of those relationships. I will be taking more long walks with my faithful companion Rusty, our golden retriever. I am determined to temper the fierce political debates in my life by turning off the radio and TV particularly MSNBC and FOX and CNN and Glenn and Sean and savage and Rush. I have a large stack of books on the corner of my desk and I plan on reading more much more. And not just business books. I'm going to take an online class and it will have nothing to do with technology. I will do my best to try to imagine the points of view of those with whom I most disagree and I will make a concerted effort to embrace the art of a respectful argument. I'm going to eat less and better. I'm going to run my first road race in over ten years. I'll be writing letters and notes on real paper, with a pen, in my own handwriting much to the chagrin of my fourth-grade penmanship teacher. Think about this. We are referred to as mankind. MAN KIND. I'm going to make every effort to be kinder to my fellow human beings and I'm going to try really hard to believe in the goodness of humanity no matter who they are. Hispanics, Caucasians, Muslims, blacks, American Indians, transgender, right or left Democrats or Republicans, independents, socialists, Iranians, North Koreans, Jews, Christians, all people truly not that much different from me. Although they may prefer Android to Apple or a Harley Davidson, Ford turbo F-150 (Ed Wolff) rather than a Tesla or run a Surface (David Aichele) rather than a macro. In the grand scheme of things, all of these distinctions are rather insignificant when it comes to life and to happiness. As John F. Kennedy said in his speech at American University on June 10th 1963. He said "For in the final analysis, the most basic common link is that we all inhabit this rather small planet. We breathe the same air, we cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal". Thank you President Kennedy. What a great statement. In 2018, every morning that I have the ability and the health to get out of bed and embrace a new day I will do so with gratitude. Because I've come to understand that without your health nothing else matters. Here's to a wonderful 2018 and I resolve that in this year I will work to live a life of joy and gratitude and respect and harmony. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you, Vern
