TO THOSE I CARE ABOUT:
Abilene Christian University invited me to a special night with Dr. Phil with 50 of ACU's Top Friends. It was held up in Fort Worth, and he gave us some of the greatest insights I have ever heard—right up there with Coach John Wooden and my friend, Kerr Taylor. Like them, Dr. Phil is an American patriot and devout Christian. He is from Oklahoma City and has an outstanding career, and he is not done yet:
Several close to me have heard me share already and all thought worth sharing even more—which now I am.
I noticed:
He has an incredibly soft-speaking spirit and is a different person when in a group like us.
An incredibly deep thinker and would pause after any question to truly think about it.
Although 73, he is passionately focused on making a difference before he is called Home. I feel that!
His key verse from the Bible is: Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
He is a devout Christian that has a great sense of humor—one thing he said that we all really liked:
“ I pray to God and trust Him, but I am still rowing to the shore!” 😊
He as a great show now that is NON-WOKE and one he has purposed to have where a family can have it on all day and there will be no bad content. Specifically:
https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/ and there is a mobile app as well called Merit+.
KEY DISCUSSION SHARES:
He was leaving after this meeting to go to USC and UCLA where he has been hired to help with the on-site college riots.
This (the riots) was a big part of the night—and it was intense.
SIDEBAR: Rest assured criminal charges will be coming, BUT the civil suits that are now being brought by students, alumuni, and families COULD break the bank with respect to the endowments. I am not sure HOW Columbia will recover. Alan Dershowitz—is a great lawyer who is leading most of the efforts in the civil side—and is one of the best ever! Plus, the enrollments will drop and there are companies right now reconsidering hiring from the colleges in question! Can you imagine how bad this could get?
For those of you that are parents… it then got even more intense with Dr. Phil:
He shared how the smart phone and social media have created one of the greatest mental health issues ever—and he shared the stats. They were truly terrible.
That “living on phones” is making this new generation coming up “disaffected” and almost insensitive to all that is around them, and this will cause lasting issues.
That both social media and smart phones are creating a very lazy generation, and one that is terribly misinformed. They are falling more and more out of touch with reality. Their “reality” is their phone and social media, and he shared that with AI and profiling based on individual use, this is going to get even worse. ISOLATION, BULLYING, SADNESS, and DEPRESSION are at all-time highs and growing!
That counselors are now moving from JUST psychological issues to psycho-social (I had never heard that word before) issues: Like parents worrying about big issues like bullying; teachers and what they share... and all the things we/you all worry about – rightly so.
SOME KEY ANSWERS FROM QUESTIONS
Some key questions were from the audience on “what keeps him awake to night”. His reply was really good:
WE ALL NEED TO KNOW OUR PURPOSE! This is key for the generation coming up – and most have NO CLUE.
IF YOU KNOW YOUR PURPOSE, BE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT: Chef, Teacher, Fireman, COO, Mom, Dad, Advisor/ Consultant... you name it.. OWN IT and pour your passion into it. What is yours?! Have you ever talked about it with your spouse or others?
STRONG WORK ETHIC--- THIS GENERATION IS THE LAZIEST EVER—as such, they are susceptible to not being self-sufficient and will be dependent on others (entitled, privileged, and spoiled). We have to instill strong work ethic. This falls on families as well as bosses.
STRONG ANALYTICAL PROCESSING SKILLS—he got on high schools and universities here—they love multiple choice, but what are we truly teaching!? Einstein says it best:
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” AMEN!
We have to make sure our kids are learning HOW to think, how to process, and how to live life to its fullest!
All he said are key to be successful, but the most important is work ethic. He shared there are a lot of smart, talented LAZY people out there that produce nothing! Our kids should not be adding to that number! But if we can get instilled all 4…. Now we’re talking.
The final question was: “Assuming a graduating senior or youth has all 4 of the above, what else is key?”
His answer: RESILIENCE, RESILIENCE, RESILIENCE.
He shared that we all will fail, but this generation will “fail” more just due to the speed and dynamics of today, BUT they have to get back up!
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HIS RECOMMENDATIONS
Phil is an optimist and believes God is large and in charge… but he shared WE ALL have to be better as well.
1. Families need to be families and work more than ever to be present with their children, grandchildren, and all.
2. Outside counseling and help from your community -- neighbors, church, friends – are more key than ever before.
3. As Christians, quit being “milk toast”. Be bold—you should not see yourself in the way, but you are the way!
4. Prayer—not just for our families, but for leadership as well. These riots epitomize a huge lack of leadership—from very smart/capable people!
5. My generation—which was everyone there—we need to do a better job sharing, mentoring, and guiding where helpful. TRUTH!
I will say my discussions with others already on the above issues have been great, and I hope what he shared truly helps you!
SHARE IT FORWARD
Brent Longnecker
P.S. — I left realizing I sure have more I can be doing! What about you?
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