The love of Learning!

This week has been a great time for recharging my batteries.  On Thursday I was honored to join with a group of leaders from Frederick Maryland who are all alumni of the Leadership Frederick program sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce.  These dedicated people participated in a year-long program an are now dedicating themselves to further development by joining the alumni group and participating in ongoing community service and personal leadership development. 

On Thursday afternoon I was able to aid in the development of a new training day for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences on the Antietam battlefield.  This day-long course will help motivate and prepare first year medical students in all branches of federal medical service.  By using the plan and example of Maj. Jonathan Letterman and walking the battle that transformed his leadership legacy, we will assist these students in developing their own legacy of leadership and medical professionalism.  While this is the third year of our participation, this is our first year developing the course from the ground up.

This weekend I have the privilege of presenting leadership training to the West Virginia Lions Leadership School in Sutton, WV.  Once again I am surrounded by dedicated community leaders who are continuing their leadership development as part of their personal commitment to the service of others. 

It has been a very busy week.  Some might think that it would be tiring.  Indeed the opposite if true. 

To see so many people eager to dedicate themselves to the service of others is exciting and invigorating.  Like all human endeavors, leadership must be practiced, learned, and re-learned over many years.  It is not a “once and done” event but rather a lifetime dedication.  To be in close proximity to over three hundred is almost too good to be true! I think that I am learning more from these groups than I could ever hope to teach. 

Their lesson is simple.  Practice is required if we wish to improve in any activity and leadership and service are not accepting.  They also show us that acting, even practicing, is better done in some form of community rather than is solitude. Even for the most introverted among us, the ability to gain new insights and feedback from others is a gift.  Even if it means taking time alone to digest and assimilate the information. 

I encourage all of you to dedicate yourselves to similar activities when the opportunity presents itself.  You will be richer for the experience and so will the world around you!