PeaceWalker Blog

Lessons from Janitor William 'Bill' Crawford By Col. James Moschgat, 12thOperations Group Commander                                                              William 'Bill' Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor. While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, "G' morning!" in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties. Why? Perhaps it was

  You're having a pleasant conversation when suddenly someone verbally attacks you (or someone else). They say something that causes you to become defensive or makes you wonder; WOW, why did THAT come out of their mouth?! Here's an example: "Craig that's a stupid rule! What idiot came up with THAT?" A knee-jerk reaction could cause you to get defensive, start back-peddling, arguing or trying to prove your point. Maybe you take another direction by trying to discount others in attempt to come out on top of the "debate." ...OR you can simply say:   "That's interesting, why would you say something like that?"   ...and then listen to what the person says.  After the person says what they need to you can then reflect it back to them. That may sound something like this: "So what I'm hearing you say is this (repeat back to them what you thought they are sa id ). Is that right?" This puts the spotlight ba

  It's a simple concept. Treat someone like crap and there is a good chance that they won't appreciate it and in turn, not think or act so kindly toward you when given the chance. I find it interesting how after some people gain some level of notoriety, popularity or influence no matter how significant, it's easy to develop a superiority complex. They may begin to think of themselves as elite. Not long after that, they start to treat others who aren't in their click or status differently, disrespectfully. Treating other people poorly for whatever reason is a recipe for more conflict with them as well as within ourselves. We've all seen it back in our school days: The cool kids treating the other kids who weren't as popular crappy. You may see the cool kids laughing behind the backs of kids who weren't in the popular group or people being made fun of openly.We do this as adults too. It could be at work, in our family, extracurricular activities and/or in

Hello Gang~ Many of you know of my involvement with Resolution Group International and Jack Hoban. I thought some of you would be interested in Jack's 2016 message, so I re-posted it for you.    Enjoy  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   New Year's Message January 1, 2016 Dear Friends: Happy New Year – welcome to the year of the Monkey!   Actually it is the year of the Fire Monkey. I have heard that 2016 is a year for taking risks and being rebellious, a year where agile, inventive minds, sheer guts and bravado will win out. It will require courage, action and true devotion, but it is a year to pursue even the wildest of dreams. 2016 is a time to start new endeavors, for they are destined to succeed under Monkey’s influence. But a word to the wise: those who can hang on for the wild ride, outsmart the confidence-trickster, and bluff their way through will come out unscathed. Those who are dull or slow witted, and can’t h