Stu Saunders Presentations

Stu-Pendous Blog - Motivation

These are the thoughts of speaker, author and camp director Stu Saunders.
For Stu’s original blog, you may still access his archives here.

Impossible

Nov 20, 2008

It’s hard to guess if the new President-Elect will be as great as many people believe that he will be. It’s hard to predict if he can or will bring great change to the United States and the world. There is no way to say if he will be “successful”.

There is one thing that we can say for sure. The fact that he was elected is one of the most significant political/democratic changes that has happened in the last 100 years. It’s perhaps bigger for me and my generation because we weren’t there during MLK, no really able to understand the importance of Mandela or Ghandi. We had seen great leaders like Terry Fox and Bono (I know he’s up for debate with some). Though to watch a man rise from obscurity to the highest office in the US and one of the most powerful positions in the world is truly an inspiration. To see the celebrations that took place on the streets of not only America but around the planet made me weep.

I believe the world is tired of war, greed, hunger and sadness. The idea of one man being able to change the planet is daunting but still exciting. Nothing is impossible. If you would have turned to Martin Luther King in the sixties and said… “In about 40 years a black man will be President.” he may have said it was possible but the vast majority would have said “Impossible!”

If there is one thing that I have learned it’s that nothing is impossible. You decide, you create your future. What do you want to do? What future do you see for yourself. American’s have a habit of saying, “Only in America!”. Although I do believe that America is a place that was founded with the ideal of possibilities, if you look around the world, in all sorts of countries, you will find incredible stories of people that have done the impossible. The country is irrelative, it’s the person and their will to survive, to succeed, to do more.

I believe in you! Do you believe in you? Stop saying that you can’t… I believe that you can.

One of my favourite parts of the campaign was a video/song that will.i.am created based on the “Yes we can!” speech. Below is the follow up to that song. If you can’t see it it’s on youtube

Start today, be possible, yes you can!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Leadership Learning and Growing Motivation on Nov 20, 2008 at 11:01 am | Permanent Link | Comments (2)
Your children

Sep 26, 2008

I have three amazing children. Got thinking this morning while I was journalling. It hit me like a bucket of COLD water. When my kids are reflecting on my life after I pass what will they think of me, my life, goals, accomplishments, how I chose to treat people?

So I wrote a list of the qualities that I would love them to say when asked… “What was your dad like?”

Even if you don’t have children you can benefit from the exercise. Picture you have lived a full life and your future children are sitting around having a coffee with a reporter. The question is “Tell me about your dad/mom, how did they live? What did they teach you?”

Take the time to write this list in your journal and share your list here on the STUpendous BLOG!

Here is something else to think about when you finish the list. What if it all ended tomorrow? What would they say now? Don’t wait to create the life that you want to live! Don’t wait to treat people with kindness, love and respect! Don’t wait to care about a cause bigger then yourself. Don’t wait to get up and see the sunrise, play in a puddle or work harder at something you love! Don’t wait!!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Goal Setting Leadership Learning and Growing Motivation on Sep 26, 2008 at 7:35 am | Permanent Link | Comments (5)
The flower between the rocks

Aug 27, 2008

I am taking some time to unwind and reflect on my wonderful summer. I am trying to get back into my routines that exist for the ten months of the year that I don’t work at our leadership camp. I am so positive about the future of our programs and where we are going as an organization. I believe we have gathered the best team we have ever had and I try and celebrate them every day. In fact today we will have our annual end of summer celebration at my cottage in Georgian Bay.

I was talking with a friend of mine who is planning a huge conference in Quebec City. I am one of the speakers and couldn’t be more excited. While we chatted she was concerned about the slow arrival of registrations. We were also talking about a dear friend who is battling cancer and doing it with a very positive attitude. As we were ending the call she said that her challenge didn’t seem so bad compared to cancer.

I hung up the phone and looked out into the Bay and noticed a lone daisy rising up from the rocky shore. It stood strong in the wind, the waves lapping against the rocks. Got me thinking, we need to put our life in perspective more often. Not dismissing our challenges and failures but celebrating the 1% actions we take towards our goals, the good stuff that we have done.

That flower represents to me the strength of the positive, the perseverance of the human spirit, the light of a true leader. So grow where you are planted, learn from your mistakes and remember that someone else is watching how you handle your challenges. Is it with grace or negativity?

Here is today’s question… Read it, write it, answer it and share your thoughts here on the STUpendous BLOG!

How do you celebrate your challenges? What have you learned from your failures? How could you handle the next road block differently?

Posted by Stu Saunders in Goal Setting Learning and Growing Motivation YLCC on Aug 27, 2008 at 7:32 am | Permanent Link | Comments (5)
The right reasons

Aug 25, 2008

15 years ago after the first summer of YLCC, by summer I mean 3 days, I decided that I wanted to make it part of my life. I wanted to expand the camp program from 3 days to a week. We did that, then it was two weeks, then three and four. We grew as big as we could then made the big switch to a new camp site and added two more weeks. For a long time we felt that six may be the longest. Then 2008 rolled around… Eight weeks later, all I can say is wow! It was a resounding success. I couldn’t be happier.

I took last night to decompress and reflect. I tried to figure out why it was so good, so stress free. I figured it out, the team. We created a fantastic team this year. There was no drama, no stress, no real challenges. Was it 100% perfect? No, but that’s fine because we learned. The other big component to our fantastic summer was my Senior Staff, simply the finest total group of people I have ever had the privilege to work with. In years previous I had held onto people, or allowed people to stay at camp because of sentimental reason. I had hired those that had “great resumes”, I had struggled with trying to always show them I was proud in the past. It was hard.

This year we put together a dream team that work for the RIGHT REASONS, the camp and the campers. Their soul goal was making YLCC world class. They did it.

So thank you for a summer that camp directors and owners can only dream of. Thank you to the wonderful, young and dedicated group of counsellors that made that pure leadership impact on every camper. Thank you to Wakonda, thanks to all of our parents for trusting us and most importantly thank you to the campers for making deposits.

BSE

Here is today’s question… Please read it, write it in your journal, answer it and share your thoughts on the STUpendous BLOG by adding a comment.

What are you truly thankful for today?

WHAT A GREAT BUNCH OF LEADERS! - Thank you!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Leadership Motivation Team Work YLCC on Aug 25, 2008 at 3:12 am | Permanent Link | Comments (8)
Dream - Dare - Do

Aug 5, 2008

Had a great few weeks. I apologize for being away the past couple of weeks. Camp is so busy! So full! So fun! I truly love it. In fact the more I get into the summer the more I realize that it’s almost over and I need to cherish these last few weeks. It is a long 10 month “off season”!!

One of the highlights of the past few weeks happened last Monday. We were blessed to have two amazing individuals visit us at camp! Steph and Matt are two West Coasters running around North America for the environment. Each of them running their own marathon every day, 42 kms each… 26 miles. They have a DREAM… Run around North America, raise awareness and one million dollars to help the environment. They are DARED themselves to do it… After thinking of the idea they got the people needed to believe in them and put it together. They had more then enough people tell them they were crazy (that will happen with any big dream you may have). Then they actually got themselves to DO it! They took what we teach each day at our camp and in our leadership programs... To Dream, Dare and DO!

Is it easy? NO! Does it make life harder? YES! That’s the beauty of truly living isn’t it? You can spend your life as the passenger in the back seat of life or you can be the driver! The very real possibility of failure exists everywhere and with everything we try that’s new! We need to understand and accept this. If we don’t we will simply become the rock that gathers moss not the rock that is carved into the beautiful statue! It’s ok to be afraid, just don’t let that fear stop you. If I had you wouldn’t be reading this BLOG right now on this website and I wouldn’t have ever met Steph and Matt!

This is me running with Matt and Steph for the Run For One Planet DREAM!

For more information PLEASE check out their website and see how you can help!

What is your DREAM? I DARE you to DO it!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Goal Setting Leadership Learning and Growing Motivation on Aug 5, 2008 at 6:49 am | Permanent Link | Comments (4)
A vision

Jul 22, 2008

Can you trust me on this one? Can you stand outside of reality for just a few moments and pretend that you have boundless possibilities in front of you? You could grab them, any of them, anything you want is right there… waiting for you. Isn’t that a brilliant idea? I know, it’s hard, in fact I bet when I asked you to do it, many of you laughed at your own ideas and dreams. It’s the way we are brought up, most of us anyway.

“Be realistic!’

“Don’t be silly”

“Stop dreaming!”

“Come back to reality.”

“That’s a dumb idea!”

If I could get a dollar for every time I was told that I would be able to vacation for a few weeks in an exotic place… I truly believe that you can do anything you put your mind to. If you push out the voices of doubt, yours and those around you, whatever you conceive can become reality.

I heard a great story yesterday about former US President, Bill Clinton. When he was a young teenager he toured the White House and told the then President “I’m going to have your job someday!” I am sure thousands of children have said that, many have truly believed it but then most come back to “reality” and move on.

Last summer I was driving through Algonquin Park and saw a legendary camp… Tamakwa. If you have ever seen the movie “Indian Summer” you may recognize the name. It’s been around for a long time. Many famous people have attended the camp. There is a sign at the boat dock that is made out of Birch that simply says, “Tamakwa”. You have to drive through it to get to the camp. I love that sign. When I drove past the camp last summer I stopped and got a picture of myself just underneath it. It was kind of cool.

On Friday, while I was away in London, Ontario, the campers and staff did something that I am SO proud of. They built me (the camp) a YLCC entrance just like Tamakwa… but better. I have had many visions of events that will happen in my future. I dreamt once of this happening, I could see it. When I arrived back at camp at midnight I was met buy a bunch of campers, staff and senior staff. They stopped me on the road and asked me to get out of the car. I was then blindfolded and walked down to the entrance. They removed the fabric from my eyes… I was in awe. I was in tears. I was proud. My vision had become reality. I feel good about it, the campers and staff that built it feel good about it and in the end a new piece of the YLCC quilt has been sewn into our story.

What is your vision of the future… what do you see happening to you? Remember to let go of reality and write a list… you just never know what will happen.

Posted by Stu Saunders in Goal Setting Leadership Learning and Growing Motivation Team Work on Jul 22, 2008 at 6:16 am | Permanent Link | Comments (8)
Influence

Jun 30, 2008

Who do you influence people on a daily basis? You can’t say you have no influence. You have friends, family, co-workers and even people who you pass by on the street or in a shop. I am so blessed that I work in a field everyday of my life with the ability to change the world around me. If you know me you might be thinking that due the fact that I am professional speaker and I run a summer camp that it’s easy for me. Truth is that you are right… sort of.

I do get to get up every morning and speak to 85-150 people every day, impart some wisdom, share in great conversations and high five some brilliant young leaders. Beyond that though I try and influence people every single day everywhere I go! By influence please understand I don’t mean getting people to conform to my way of thinking. What I mean is that I want to create a positive feeling where ever I am.

It feels good. I was in a store just the other day and I was joking with the staff, we were all laughing and smiling. I didn’t know any of them personally, but we all celebrated together for a few minutes. As I was leaving with my purchase the salesperson behind the counter said…

“Thanks for making our day!”

I stopped, smiled and returned the complement…

“Thanks for adding to mine!”

You too can do this every day. How we act, talk and carry ourselves each day influences those around us every moment of our lives. So before you set out today, stop and think. Ask yourself this question (and please answer it here in the STUpendous BLOG!),

“How will I influence people in a positive way today?”

Have an influential day!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Learning and Growing Motivation on Jun 30, 2008 at 5:54 am | Permanent Link | Comments (5)
Learning

Jun 21, 2008

I have a confession to make… I am not proud of this. I have kept it to myself for many, many years. This part of my life caused my mother a lot of frustration for a good part of her life. It’s one of those things that I used to think that, if I had just one wish, I would go back in time and do it all over again. This is part of my life that I haven’t really spoken about.

Ready for it? I was horrible at school. All of it. Elementary, high school and post secondary. I didn’t enjoy the structure of the classroom. I wasn’t “dumb”, if I enjoyed it, I excelled at it. I remember my high school principal saying to my grade 11 Math teacher… “Stu’s not here to learn, he’s here to enjoy himself.”

I didn’t graduate with my friends, I had no cap, no gown. I did not walk across a stage. My parents did not snap a fun photo of me with my arms raised in celebration. There was no after party. I sat in the audience, alone. Wishing I had worked just a little harder, done just a little more. I learned a lot that evening.

It would be strange for my old English teacher to meet me now. I keep three journals, I write all the time, I live for another chance to share my thoughts with myself and anyone who is interested. I have written two books and I am beginning my third. I love the passion I get from learning. In fact, one of my three journals is labeled “The Learning Journal”. Each day, I try and share some time with someone great. I watch, read or listen to a great thinker almost every day. It’s like going for coffee with them.

This morning after my run, I watched a 30 minute interview with Richard Branson. He taught me something today. He pushed me to think about how I live my life. He said, “All you have in the end is your reputation.” Made me think about the day-to-day actions of the friends I keep, the staff at The Leadership Training Centre and the way I live my life. I got charged up. I am ready to learn more.

Consider this quote…

“The level of thinking that got you to where you now are will not get you to where you dream of being.”
- Albert Einstein

There was a time when I fought the learning, Now I have an insatiable appetite for it. I want to grow. Too many of us finish our formal school and put our lives on “cruise control”. Not this guy, not me. I want to learn more about the world, more about me.

So what are you going to learn today? How are you going to push yourself a little further. I have met too many people that have said they wished they learned more, not less. Want to start? Look at this website ... it has a plethora of great wisdom… http://www.ted.com. Go learn, enjoy.

Posted by Stu Saunders in Learning and Growing Motivation on Jun 21, 2008 at 6:07 am | Permanent Link | Comments (1)
The beginning line

Jun 16, 2008

Well it’s 10pm on Monday June 16th, 2008. I have done it. In two hours my 22 day challenge will be done. I have really changed part of the core of my being, of who I am and how act and react to people and situations. I am proud of myself and that’s ok. To often we don’t pat ourselves on the back. We don’t high five each other enough. It’s almost as if the thought of simply being excited for something you have done is a bad thing, you are considered to be arrogant or pompous. I strongly disagree. I was like that for a long time, hiding behind myself. Always concerned that if I tooted my own horn that I would be look down on.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about grand standing or showing off. I simply mean it’s ok to say “Good Job” and then smile and move on to the next challenge. I feel good about me. I like that feeling.

As I got closer to the end of the challenge, friends were asking me if I was looking forward to a beer or sleeping in or taking some time of running. I was surprised at the questions. For a while I was thinking that it would be nice to just “get through it”. Now though I have created new habits, new thinking and simply a new way of living. Imagine if we all could instill 1 good habit every three weeks into our daily lives! At the end of a year you would have over 15 new habits! That’s awesome.

So to answer their question… No. In fact I take the last 22 days as simply the walk and stretch to my the starting line, the beginning of the race. You just can’t walk up to a marathon and start running. More often then not you will fail. I am ready to put the feet into the blocks and begin the real challenge; the race of life. So what’s my next step? Another 22 day challenge. Another list of 15 things to change and work on, to get better at.

Racers… Take your mark…

Oh, by the way I will be writing a blog in the next couple of days that will explain how you can do your own 22 day challenge. So check back and again thanks for all the support.

Posted by Stu Saunders in Goal Setting Leadership Motivation on Jun 16, 2008 at 5:08 pm | Permanent Link | Comments (1)
The dream

Jun 14, 2008

Sitting at the lake today, looking at a crowded beach front. Sandcastles being built, kayaks scooting about, people relaxing in the sun on a Muskoka chair. I am happy. My dream was right there in front of me. Something I had considered a whimsical thought once was so very real. I remember the first spring so many years (5) ago, only 8 school groups maybe 300 students. Now 2008, we will have close to 2000 students and over 30 schools. We are still growing.

When I first thought of the 22 day challenge I compared it the idea of the creation of our camp. There were some doubters, some supporters and a lot of people that reserved their comments. I had tried a couple of times to start the challenge before and come up short, way short.

This time I stuck to it, and now that I am on day 20 I feel great. I figure I have accomplished 95% of the challenge, a few little challenges on the route. One thing I discovered is the support of real friends, those that care. One of the big parts of the 22 day challenge was to let go of the things and people that hold me back from being the person that I truly want to be.

I have done that and I have never felt so free. We tend to hold onto people, places, times in our past that we wish we could experience again, went a different way or even didn’t happen or met at all. I held on to a few of those “things” and it hurt me. I now feel free.

I am surprised how much I have grown in such a short period of time. Thanks to all of those who have sent me support and encouragement. I will continue to grow as the camp will. When you find our what works and what is truly important then anything is possible.

I have to run, I have to judge the sandcastle contest!

Posted by Stu Saunders in Motivation on Jun 14, 2008 at 4:05 pm | Permanent Link | Comments (4)
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